Roland Cook was one of many Lay Vicars to have been part of the Cathedral's choral foundation. However, his death - fifty years ago today - on 16 February, 1968, aged 73, is particularly significant as it marked the death of the last member of the Corporation of the Vicars Choral to hold freehold office. This meant that once he had been appointed, he was entitled the income from the lands owned by the Corporation of Vicars Choral until his death, even after his retirement on 12 January 1967 following his service of 44 years at Lichfield, having been installed into the stall of Longdon on 13 January 1923, after he was auditioned in October 1922.
There is a noticeboard in the Lay Vicars' vestry today which commemorates him:
The inscription reads,
'Placed here in 1969 to commemorate the former corporation of the
Vicars Choral, following the death of Roland James Cook, the last member
to hold freehold office under statutes dating from the 13th century'.
(with apologies for the poor photograph)
Before coming to Lichfield, Cook had been at Canterbury Cathedral and during his 44 years at Lichfield, he had a distinguished career as a singer. His son has been in touch and sent a photograph of his father as young man:
and a photograph from 1934 in which Cook is a part of a group of BBC Midland Singers in a studio in Birmingham:
His son comments that "the only others in the picture that I know are the
musical director Edgar Morgan, a dapper man on the right hand side and
the small lady in front of Dad, Margery Westbury as in Paul Temple. Edgar Morgan lived in Handsworth and was a deputy organist at
the Cathedral, but I knew him as the music teacher at the Grammar School who only came in on Mondays and Fridays".
If you can offer any information about any of the other singers in this photograph, please get in touch!
This weekend marks Michael Guest's final weekend in the choir after just over 40 years. In this time, he has served under four Bishops, five Deans, six Precentors, six Directors of Music, six Organists, and seen 17 basses, 13 tenors, 24 altos (one of whom, twice) and over 200 Choristers come and go.
This is a copy of the advertisement to which he responded, and the letter from the Dean, George Holderness, offering him the post. He duly started in September 1977 and was officially installed into the Lay Vicar's stall of Longdon on St Lucy's Day, 13 December, 1977.
The text of the advertisement from May 1977 reads:
STAFFORDSHIRE
LICHFIELD CATHEDRAL
There are vacancies for a TENOR and a BASS in the Cathedral Choir. All duties outside normal office hours. Flexible holiday system. Small historic house available at moderate rent.
For details and application form apply: The Secretary to the Dean and Chapter, 14 The Close, Lichfield, Staffordshire, WS13 7LD.
The text of the letter, dated 2 June 1977, reads:
Dear Mr. Guest,
On behalf of the Dean and Chapter I have pleasure in writing to offer you the post of Tenor Lay Vicar in Lichfield Cathedral Choir. The conditions are as laid out in the enclosed sheet and the post would commence on 1st September, 1977, though the first sung services commence on Sunday, 11th September.
We would also be happy to offer you the tenancy of No. 10 Vicars' Close (which I believe you have already seen) at an annual rental of £208 exclusive of rates.
I should be grateful if you would let me know as soon as possible whether you are able to accept this offer. We very much hope that you will be able to do so.
Yours sincerely, +George Holderness Dean of Lichfield
Recorded in summer 1990 and broadcast at the start of the new academic year, this edition of Songs of Praise featured cathedral choirs from the Northern Division of the Choir Schools Association. Filmed in Lichfield Cathedral, it also marked the first public engagement of the Patron of the CSA, HRH The Duchess of Kent.
Cathedrals which I know are represented alongside Lichfield include Lincoln, Liverpool, Edinburgh, York and Wakefield, but please let me know if there are others so I can update this list.
The choir booklet reveals that on the day itself just an hour and a quarter (from 11.00am until 12.15pm) was allowed for the television rehearsal, with the recording starting at 1.45pm and finishing at 6.00pm.
While the original video that we were given had clearly been watched, we are grateful to the Archive of Recorded Church Music which has provided a link to a better quality copy in their archives.
The magazine of the Choir Schools' Association, 'Choir Schools Today', included the following article and photograph in their 1990 edition (issue 5), and the cover photograph (below) shows 5 year-old Samantha Wright, a pupil at Lichfield Cathedral School, greeting HRH The Duchess of Kent on her arrival for the 'Songs of Praise' recording; beside her is the Very Reverend John Lang, Dean of Lichfield.
1990 High Spot
More than 8 million viewers tuned in to watch BBC Songs of Praise with the Choir Schools Association at Lichfield Cathedral.
The Cathedral was packed with over 800 boys and girls for the programme broadcast on 9 September. Not only was this the first occasion to bring together choristers from eleven of our Northern CSA members, but it was the first public appearance of Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Kent, as Patron of the Association. Her Royal Highness was interviewed by Ian Gall on her role at the end of the programme.
Viewers were treated to a combined choir of some 200 choristers leading the singing. The home team got off lightly with a gentle stroll across The Close. For some it was an early start, 5am for the Edinburgh contingent. The long journey was followed by a hectic schedule of rehearsals and recording before the drive home.
Jonathan Rees-Williams, Lichfield Cathedral Organist, conducted the choristers. "I was very pleased with the day. Choristers are usually very quick to learn, but on this occasion they excelled themselves as they met the BBC's very exacting standards. A great deal of credit is due to all the boys, but particularly those who had travelled so far to join us."
The programme included old favourites such as Dear Lord and Father and Angel voices ever singing. At the same time the programme premiered a piece commissioned specially for Songs of Praise. Let God be praised was written by Brian Morris, Principal of St David's University College at Lampeter, with music by CSA Chairman, Richard Shephard.
Presenter Ian Gall interviewed Richard about the Association, along with a variety of others involved. We heard all about choir school from several viewpoints: matron, choristers, and ex-choristers.
This is an ideal opportunity to say thank you on behalf of CSA.
To Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Kent for joining us and sparing additional time to be interviewed on our behalf.
To Roger Hutchings, Series Editor and Producer of Songs of Praise for making such a marvellous programme.
To Ian Wren, Headmaster of Lichfield Cathedral School who masterminded all the arrangements so brilliantly. A big thank you to all his helpers as well.
To staff and pupils at all the schools who travelled to Lichfield to make the programme.
To the many other people who helped bring it about.
Beyond the cassette label 'Summer 1979', specific details about this private recording of a concert in the Cathedral are sparse. However, local recollections suggest that it was a concert to showcase the first year's achievements of Jonathan Rees-Williams who had taken on the role of Organist and Master of the Choristers at the start of April 1978 and was installed on 16 July, 1978.
The inclusion of the entirety of Vaughan Williams' Mass in G minor (including the Credo), which was a new addition to the choir's repertoire under Rees-Williams, is a clear indication of what he had achieved in a short space of time, after Richard Greening's eighteen years at the helm.
As well as singing the regular services at the Cathedral, the choir has always been involved in concerts both within the Cathedral and in the diocese. This is a copy of a private recording made of a recital given at St Peter's Church in Edgmond as part of their seemingly now defunct annual music festival.
The discovery of the Lichfield Angel during the installation of the Nave platform in 2003 and its public unveiling in 2006 provides the backdrop for this edition of the BBC's Songs of Praise hosted by Aled Jones and recorded in Lichfield Cathedral, featuring both the Cathedral Choir and the Lichfield Cathedral Chamber Choir (along with a performance by OperaBabes). This episode also features an interview with Jill Saward who died earlier this year.
The Royal Maundy service happens annually on Maundy Thursday and is held in a different cathedral each year, and details of its history are best found elsewhere online such as the official home of the Royal family or Wikipedia.
In 1988 the service took place at Lichfield Cathedral and there is a variety of media coverage of the event.
The hour long service was broadcast live on BBC Radio 4 and that can be heard in this recording; annoyingly, from a choral perspective, the excellent commentary is frequently given over the music.
Lichfield District Council released an Official Souvenir Video which, its commentary tells the viewer, cannot contain the choir singing. While the music can be heard and much of the service is included, this video is potentially of more interest to local historians.
The event also received local news coverage on Central News
