Chichester Cathedral Choir will be expanding their forces as they honour the 60th anniversary of Leonard Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms in a landmark concert in the cathedral.
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00:00Good afternoon, my name is Phil Hewitt, Group Arts Editor for Sussex Newspaper. It's always
00:06a huge pleasure to speak to Charles Harrison, Organist and Master of the Choristers at
00:10Chichester Cathedral, especially now in a really, really significant year for so many
00:16different reasons. Cathedral's 950th anniversary and the 60th anniversary of the Chichester Psalms
00:22by Leonard Bernstein, really important concert coming up on May the 17th in the Cathedral.
00:27Yeah, that's right. So Chichester Psalms was a really groundbreaking piece when Bernstein
00:36wrote it in 1965. And I think that's because it was an early example of crossover music.
00:44It wasn't music that came out of the Anglican tradition or even the sort of Western tradition
00:49of classical music. It has the energy and the vibrancy of a Broadway musical. And we now know
00:55that Bernstein was writing musicals around that time and possibly even intended some of this music
01:01to go into a stage show that in the end was never produced. So he was able to recycle that music
01:07when the commission came from the Dean of Chichester, Walter Hussey.
01:12But just how much do you feel that you'll be stretching the choir in doing this piece? I'm
01:18sure they'll take it in their stride, but it is a challenge, isn't it?
01:21Well, it is, yeah. And the demands that composers place on show singers are quite different from
01:27those that are typically placed on members of cathedral choirs. So it's highly rhythmic music,
01:33it's driven. They're often singing in a very high part of their range, the articulation,
01:40the sort of the accents that are needed are a challenge that they are demanding. But the
01:47choristers absolutely love it because it's got this sort of Broadway lyricism and swagger about
01:53it. So they revel in it, actually. I've just got to take care not to rehearse it for too long
01:58in any one session so we don't wear them out or do them any vocal damage.
02:02And to do it justice, you're having to somewhat expand your forces, aren't you, with a number of
02:07additional singers? Yeah, Chichester has a small cathedral choir. It's possibly the smallest of all,
02:14you know, with about 16, 17 children and six adult singers on the back row. So it's perfect
02:21for our day-to-day work in the cathedral. But for bigger scale pieces, especially those involving
02:28other instruments, we just need a little bit more security and power to do the piece justice.
02:37So with Chichester Psalms, the version we're doing has harp, percussion and organ.
02:42The battery of percussion instruments do make a lot of sound and we just need a little bit more
02:48vocal power to match that. It sounds a lovely prospect and it does come in a really important
02:53year, the cathedral's 950th anniversary, which to a large extent is about looking back. But
02:58particularly with the choir, you are looking forward and seeking to absolutely assure its
03:04future, aren't you, with very significant fundraising? Yes, we are looking to raise
03:11five million pounds in the next year or two. That's an initial target. You managed to say that without
03:16sounding daunted, which isn't good. Well, if you'd asked me a year ago, I think I would have been
03:23a little bit more circumspect, but actually the fundraising has got off to a really good start
03:28and due to the generosity of two donors, we're able to say that every donation that comes in
03:36will be matched up to £950,000. That's a good number, isn't it, £950,000 in the 950th
03:42year of the cathedral. So every pound that anyone gives to support the music here
03:48will be doubled up to that level. So that does give us terrific encouragement. And the context
03:54is rising costs and you're looking to head off potential problems further down the line, aren't you?
04:00Yes, I think a lot of us are feeling the impact of rising costs in our everyday lives and the
04:05costs of education are increasing, costs of employing musicians are increasing as well.
04:12So we can't take it for granted that the cathedral will be able to afford this out of its own
04:17resources in perpetuity. And I think what is not always understood is that cathedrals get no help
04:25from the government. They get no help from the Church of England. They have to make all their
04:29own money. So it is up to us. It is our responsibility to see that we can sustain this and
04:35afford it in the years to come. Well, good luck. Really exciting year. Charles, always really
04:41lovely to speak to you. Thank you very much indeed. Thank you.