The earliest mention of a choir
at Lichfield is around 1265 when six choristers chosen by the bishop were
mentioned. They were led by a precentor and a deputy called a sub-chanter. A
Master Peter is listed in 1272 and he might have been their teacher. It is
known boy trebles were singing in cathedrals as early as the year 909 when boys
sang in Wells Cathedral. Perhaps, with Lichfield and Wells cathedrals having a
similar history it might be conjectured the choristers were boys and earlier
than the 13th century at Lichfield.
In the 14th-century choristers
wore surplices and caps and were paid a penny each for attending certain
special services. They were given a pension on retirement. In 1315, Bishop
Langton provided accommodation in the Vicar’s Close for Lay Vicars and they added
to the choir.
The earliest singing would have
been plainsong or plainchant. If Lichfield was like elsewhere, from the early
part of the 14th-century polyphony (literally many sounds) was sung on special
occasions.[1]
Only a fraction of the music has survived, though composers like John Dunstaple
(or Dunstable) were known throughout Europe.[2]
His compositions mostly used 3, 4, or 5 parts sung by men and boys.
By 1535, there were twelve choristers and services increased in number including one in the night. Choristers were now taught to read music (pricksong), sing a range of church music, and play the organ. In 1547, the Vicars Choral were allowed one month's leave each year, and the master of the choristers took on the role of choosing and managing the choristers. Bishop Hales left money in 1490 to build a house for the choristers to live together and this was thought to have been completed on the north side of The Close c. 1511. Entrance was by a fine gateway. In 1527, the house had its own cook.
Gateway to
the Chorister’s House, drawn in 1773. The inscription is ‘Domus Choristes’.
After Reformation, 1534, music was
purged of idolatrous elements.[3]
Eventually much of the music was set to parts of the Book of Common Prayer. This
would be a change from chant in Latin to singing in the vernacular.[4]
The sung vernacular psalm would have been the main music..
In the late 15th-century to the
early 16th, a boy-bishop, sometimes called a chorister-bishop, was chosen by
fellow choristers on St Nicholas Day, 6th December, and later led a service on Holy
Innocents' Day, 28 December. It marked the answer given by Jesus as to who is
the greatest. “Whoever welcomes this child in my name welcomes me, and whoever
welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me; for the least among all of you is the
greatest.” (Luke Chapter 9 v 46). How this played out at Lichfield is unknown,
but if similar, to the service elsewhere the boy was dressed in full bishop's
robes with mitre and crozier, and with other boys dressed as assisting priests,
they might enter the town to bless the people. There was then a service in the
cathedral with the boys occupying the chancel and the adults sitting elsewhere.
Special hymns were sung as the boy-bishop presided over the whole liturgy and
gave blessings to the church. A wealthy
parishioner often invited all to a feast; though in some cathedrals this was
forbidden. The ritual was abolished by the time of Reformation, 1534.
Head of a
boy wearing a medieval bishop’s mitre and assumed to be a boy-bishop. The head
is found on the south wall of the Chapter House.
A third ancient
custom was for choristers at Christmas to call at houses with a cup and insist
on money or drink. This tradition of wassailing included the eating of Simnel
cake with the drink.
In the 16th
century the works of Thomas Tallis and William Byrd would have been prominent.
If so, the difficulties of singing their compositions would have tasked the
combined men and boy choirs. It would also have needed trained instrumentalists.
Choral Evensong is often presumed to have been common to this time, but it is
not true. Hymns, sung responses, canticles and anthems simply did not exist.[5] The most commonly sung music was from Thomas
Sternhold and John Hopkin’s book, The Whole Book of Psalmes, Collected into
English Meter, 1562. There was no organ accompaniment and no harmony. The
congregation would follow the parish clerk or cantor line-by-line. This was the
music of Anglican worship for over 200 years.[6]
In the 1580s
after the loss of pilgrimage and revenue, there were eight choristers and by 1600,
there were few choristers and little money to pay them. They were no longer
living together in a chorister’s house. Between 1610 and 1618, the composer
Michael East became master of the choristers and remained until his death in
1648. He wrote many anthems used in the cathedral. He built a schoolroom for
the choristers above the adjoining gateways of two canonical houses. After the
Civil War destruction and by 1663, the choristers' music school was reopened. Little
is known about the choir for the next two centuries, but it is assumed the
music tradition was being cared for. The works of Henry Purcell would have been
favoured and required highly trained singers and instrumentalists. The
chorister’s house was rebuilt in 1772.
In 1794 there
were eight choristers which in 1861 increased to ten. The choristers and
probationers were now given free education from a schoolmaster appointed in
1866. By the 19th century the metrical psalm tradition was seen as dreary and
often sung badly. Church music was now being influenced by compositions from
outside of the church. Folk songs, mixed bands and dance tunes began to
influence music particularly in non-conformist churches. Many hymns were
written in the 18th and 19th centuries, especially in Dissenting Chapels. High
Church Anglican clergy frowned on this new, popular singing and choral reform
became the response. In time, this became choirs singing and the congregation
listening; congregational participation was minimal. Music was entirely with an
organ. The choir became positioned close to the clergy and not the
congregation. The challenge for cathedrals was to find and fund trained
singers. Schools of church music began to be founded and financed.
During the early 20th-century, the choristers were housed
and educated in Dam Street, outside the Cathedral Close. By the 1930s, the
number of choristers had risen to 18, and there were 36 boys (two sets of 18)
receiving free education at the chapter's expense. In 1942, the preparatory
school was named St. Chad's Cathedral School and feepaying non-choristers were
admitted. From 1955, the school occupied the Bishop's Palace. In 1970, there
were around 80 boys in the school, of which 18 were choral scholars with fees
paid by the chapter. Girls were admitted to the school for the first time in
1974 and a girl choir started in 2006.[7]
Lichfield
Cathedral Chorus, originally Lichfield Cathedral Special Choir, was formed in
1959. Lichfield Cathedral Chamber Choir was formed in 1980–1.
In the
cathedral library is a highly valued ‘First Book of Selected Church Music’ from
1641 and known as ‘The Barnard Part Books’. It is seven of the original ten
volumes of the first printed collection of music with works by Gibbons, Byrd,
Tallis, Morley, Tye, Batten, Parsons and Shepperd. The leather-bound volumes
were the work of John Barnard of St Pauls who dedicated them to Charles I.
Paradoxically,
cathedrals might have in recent years grown their congregations because of the
decline in traditional music and liturgy in parish churches.[8] The
success of cultural, ethnic and diverse religions in alternative churches must
be connected to their new musical traditions. Clearly, choirs and new forms of music
have become an essential part of worship. The cathedral is now a venue for all
sorts of musicians and singers as well as concerts.
[1]
N. Orme, Going to Church in Medieval England, (Yale: 2021), 78.
[2]
J. Morris, A people’s church. A history of the church of England. (London:
2022), 258.
[3]
Ibid. 259. Idolatry included references to purgatory, invocation of the saints,
transubstantiation, and reference to the pope. Settings to Marian texts were
ignored.
[4]
Ibid. 260.
[5]
Ibid 262. The commonest singing was of ‘metrical psalms’ with a regular metre
capable of being sung by the most untrained individual.
[6]
Ibid. 263