Three Choirs Festival in ten concerts

Description

This delightful book is full of such interest, including the fascinating fact that no one dared to clap wholeheartedly in a cathedral until 1969. – Country Life Magazine

I enjoyed Simon Carpenter’s book very much. He has a clear, engaging style and his narrative is succinct. The book is evidently the result of a lot of careful and detailed research. … This excellent book offers a lively and perceptive introduction to the world’s oldest music festival. – musicwebinternational.com

The Three Choirs Festival is the world’s oldest classical music festival, originating in the early eighteenth century and alternating each year between the cathedral cities of Gloucester, Hereford and Worcester.

In that time there have been countless concerts, the main events at every Festival. This book offers an illustrated history of the festival through ten landmark concerts – from the first performance of Handel’s Messiah in 1757, through appearances of major figures including Elgar, Vaughan Williams, Howells, Holst, Finzi, Parry and pioneering composers Alice Mary Smith and Rosalind Ellicott, to the first concert to be applauded by the audience in 1969. The context and significance of each concert is examined in detail, offering fascinating insights into this historic and much-loved institution.

Simon Carpenter is the author of a history of Guildford Cathedral Choir published by the Guildford Cathedral Choir Association, and researched Gloucester Cathedral organist Herbert Brewer’s relationship with his articled pupils, including Ivor Gurney, Herbert Howells and Ivor Novello for an MA by research degree for the University of Gloucestershire. He is the volunteer archivist and historian of the Three Choirs Festival, and is a Gloucester Cathedral guide.

Paperback  | 176 pages | 234 x 156 mm | Jul 2024
c.65 colour & b&w illus
ISBN 9781910839751