From an epic concert featuring three Cathedral Choirs to a Battle of the Organs, audiences will be able to enjoy a whole week of musical festivities to celebrate Norwich Cathedral’s organ this July.
The historic pipe organ is at the heart of the Cathedral’s musical life and the special summer festival is planned to celebrate the first anniversary of the organ’s return following an ambitious rebuild project to ensure people will be able to enjoy its music for generations to come.
The Organ Reborn! Norwich Cathedral Organ Festival will take place from Saturday 6 to Sunday 14 July 2024.
Featuring three headline concerts, six organ recitals, two talks and more, there is a packed programme of events for music fans to look forward to.
Ashley Grote, the Cathedral’s Master of Music, said: “We are really excited to be celebrating the return of Norwich Cathedral’s historic pipe organ with this special festival showcasing the organ in all its glory with nine days of wonderful musical events.
“From big concerts and services to talks and school workshops, there is something for everyone in the programme and we hope people of all ages will enjoy hearing the incredible music being played on this magnificent instrument.”
He added: “The festival week will bring internationally renowned organists to Norwich as well as world-leading ensembles including the BBC Singers and the Britten Sinfonia.
Norwich Cathedral Choir.
“The opening concert will see Norwich Cathedral Choir join forces with Ely and Peterborough Cathedral Choirs for a thrilling programme of choral favourites.
“There will be a programme for schools running through the week, a family-friendly Battle of the Organs and a silent movie with live organ accompaniment.
“All of these events will run alongside our choral services, one of which will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 during the festival week.”
The Dean of Norwich, the Very Revd Dr Andrew Braddock, said: “Norwich Cathedral is delighted that the festival will celebrate the amazing breadth and diversity of which organ music is capable.
“Across a whole range of styles and performances, the festival invites the wider community to experience organ music in all its versatile brilliance.”
Britten Sinfonia.
The festival will start in style on Saturday 6 July when Norwich Cathedral Choir will be joined by Ely Cathedral Choir and Peterborough Cathedral Choir for a concert featuring choral favourites including Parry’s I was glad and Handel’s Zadok the Priest.
The BBC Singers will be returning on Thursday 11 July for a performance featuring works by East Anglian composer Benjamin Britten and settings of texts by medieval mystic Julian of Norwich.
The hat-trick of headline concerts will conclude on Saturday 13 July with Britten Sinfonia and Norwich Cathedral Choir performing a programme of works by Fauré, Poulenc and Duruflé.
Throughout the festival week there will also be many more organ concerts to enjoy, ranging from A Night at the Movies with Leicester Square Odeon organist Donald MacKenzie to recitals by social media star Anna Lapwood and internationally acclaimed concert organist David Briggs.
Leicester Square Odeon organist Donald MacKenzie.
The free Battle of the Organs concert on Saturday 13 July will see Norwich Cathedral’s three organists – Ashley Grote, David Dunnett and Robbie Carroll – join forces to play musical favourites ranging from Bach’s Toccata and Fugue D minor to the theme from Thunderbirds on three organs all at once!
As always, all are welcome to attend daily worship at the Cathedral, and on Wednesday 10 July at 3pm BBC Radio 3 will be broadcasting Choral Evensong live from Norwich Cathedral as part of the Organ Festival.
Full details of the festival, including ticket prices and how to book, are available at cathedral.org.uk
The festival is being generously underwritten by The Statham Society which supports the musical life of Norwich Cathedral.
Here are the full details of the organ festival’s events….
NORWICH CATHEDRAL ORGAN FESTIVAL EVENTS LIST
Three Cathedral Choirs Concert
Saturday 6 July, 7pm
Norwich Cathedral Choir will be joined by Ely Cathedral Choir and Peterborough Cathedral Choir for an all-East Anglian celebration of choral music, with a programme of choral favourites including Parry’s I was glad, Handel’s Zadok the Priest and Wesley’s Blessed be the God and Father.
Ashley Grote, Edmund Aldhouse and Tansy Castledine will conduct the concert and David Dunnett and Robbie Carroll will play the organ.
Tickets £15-£35.
Organ Festival Eucharist
Sunday 7 July, 10.30am
In this special service celebrating the festival, Norwich Cathedral Choir, accompanied by members of Norwich Baroque, will lead the worship with music including Haydn’s Missa brevis Sancti Joannis de Deo (the ‘Little organ mass’).
Free admission and no ticket required.
Organ Festival Evensong
Sunday 7 July, 3.30pm
Join Norwich Cathedral Choir for Festal Evensong, including William Walton’s Chichester Service and festival anthem The Twelve.
Free admission and no ticket required.
Organ concert: Holst The Planets
Sunday 7 July, 8pm
Norwich Cathedral’s assistant organist, Robbie Carroll, will perform an organ solo transcription of Holst’s The Planets suite. The upper voices of Norwich Cathedral Chamber Choir will lend their ethereal voices to the final movement Neptune, the mystic.
Free admission. A retiring collection will be taken.
WOOFYT! The Wooden One-Octave Organ for Young Technologists
Monday 8 July, all day
Wednesday 10 July, morning
Thursday 11 July, all day
Primary School children are invited to have fun learning about music with the WOOFYT!
During the workshop, they will build a section of a pipe organ, learn how science and music go together, and visit the console of the Cathedral’s newly rebuilt 102-stop pipe organ.
To book, primary schools should email schoolsadmin@cathedral.org.uk.
Please note we are unable to accept bookings from individuals.
Organ concert: Anne Page plays Bach
Monday 8 July, 8pm
Acclaimed Bach specialist Anne Page gives a recital of works by Johann Sebastian Bach on the newly re-built Cathedral organ.
Tickets £12 (seating unreserved).
Young Organists’ Platform
Tuesday 9 July, 1pm
St Peter Mancroft Church
The first of two lunchtime recitals given by young organists at Norwich’s St Peter Mancroft Church to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the church’s Peter Collins organ.
Free admission. A retiring collection will be taken.
Talk: Pierre Cochereau and the Parisian organ tradition
Tuesday 9 July, 3pm
Internationally acclaimed organist David Briggs is Artist-in-Residence at the Cathedral of St John the Divine in New York City and a celebrated exponent of the organ music of the 20th century French tradition.
On the centenary of the birth of Pierre Cochereau (b. 9 July 1924), Organist of Notre Dame de Paris from 1955 to 1984, David Briggs will talk about his extraordinary life as an organist, improviser and composer.
Tickets £5. The talk will take place in the Cathedral’s Weston Room.
Organ Festival Evensong
Tuesday 9 July, 5.30pm
The Girl Choristers, Lay Clerks and Choral Scholars of Norwich Cathedral Choir sing a service of Choral Evensong.
Free admission and no ticket required.
Organ concert: David Briggs
Tuesday 9 July, 8pm
Internationally acclaimed concert organist and improviser David Briggs will perform a programme of French organ works on the centenary of the birth of Pierre Cochereau (b. 9 July 1924), who was organist of the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris from 1955 to 1984.
David is currently Artist-in-Residence at the Cathedral of St John the Divine in New York City.
Tickets £12 (seating unreserved).
WOOFYT! For grown-ups
Wednesday 10 July, 1pm
An opportunity for adults to learn about organ design and construction through the WOOFYT (Wooden One-Octave Organ for Young Technologists).
Tickets £5. Booking via TicketSource.
The workshop will take place in the Cathedral’s Weston Room.
Please note this session is open to adults only.
Choral Evensong broadcast live on BBC Radio 3
Wednesday 10 July, 3pm
Norwich Cathedral Choir, led by the Cathedral’s Master of Music Ashley Grote, will sing Stanford’s Evening service in C and Parry’s Hear my words, ye people during this service of Choral Evensong. David Dunnett will play the organ.
No ticket required. The congregation is asked to be seated by 2.45pm after which time admission is not possible.
A Night at the Movies
Wednesday 10 July, 8pm
Donald MacKenzie, one of the world’s leading theatre organists and organist of the Odeon in London’s Leicester Square, will provide improvised accompaniment on the Cathedral organ to the 1928 silent movie Steamboat Bill, Jr. starring Buster Keaton.
Tickets £12 (seating unreserved).
BBC Singers in Concert
Thursday 11 July, 7pm
The BBC Singers, conducted by Ashley Grote and featuring David Dunnett on organ, make a welcome return to Norwich Cathedral in a special performance recorded for BBC Radio 3. The programme will include works by East Anglian composer Benjamin Britten, settings of texts by medieval mystic Julian of Norwich, and the powerful Missa brevis by Hungarian composer Zoltán Kodály.
Tickets £15- £35.
Young Organists’ Platform 2
Friday 12 July, 1pm
St Peter Mancroft Church
The second of two lunchtime recitals given by young organists at Norwich’s St Peter Mancroft Church to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the church’s Peter Collins organ.
Free admission. A retiring collection will be taken.
Talk: Organ Reborn! The Norwich Cathedral Organ Project
Friday 12 July, 3pm
Andrew Scott, Managing Director of Harrison and Harrison Organs, who undertook the 2023 rebuild of the Norwich Cathedral organ, and Canon Nicholas Thistlethwaite, who was the independent advisor to the Dean and Chapter of Norwich Cathedral, will give a behind-the-scenes presentation about the ambitious rebuild project to ensure the music of the Cathedral’s organ will be enjoyed long into the future. There will also be an opportunity to ask questions.
Tickets £5.
The talk will take place in the Cathedral’s Weston Room.
Organ Festival Evensong
Friday 12 July, 5.30pm
The Boy Choristers, Lay Clerks and Choral Scholars of Norwich Cathedral Choir sing a service of Choral Evensong.
Free admission and no ticket required.
Organ concert: Anna Lapwood
Friday 12 July, 8pm
Star of the organ world and social media sensation Anna Lapwood puts the newly-rebuilt Cathedral organ through its paces.
Tickets £12 (seating unreserved).
Family Concert: Battle of the Organs
Saturday 13 July, 11am
In this special concert for all the family, Norwich Cathedral’s organists Ashley Grote, David Dunnett and Robbie Carroll will play three organs all at once – the newly rebuilt pipe organ, the cathedral’s one-manual chamber organ and a digital touring organ generously supplied by Allen organs.
Bring your family along to hear some of the most famous and best-loved works in the organ repertoire, including Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor and Widor’s Toccata in F, as well as some other musical favourites arranged for two and three organs – including the theme from Thunderbirds!
Free admission. A retiring collection will be taken.
Closing Concert: Britten Sinfonia and Norwich Cathedral Choir
Saturday 13 July, 7pm
Britten Sinfonia and Norwich Cathedral Choir will perform a programme of works including
Fauré’s Cantique de Jean Racine, Poulenc’s Litanies à la Vierge noire and Concerto for organ, timpani and strings and Duruflé’s Requiem.
Ashley Grote will conduct and David Dunnett will play the organ.
Tickets £15-£35.
Sung Eucharist: The Liturgy of St Benedict
Sunday 14 July, 10.30am
Norwich Cathedral Choir leads worship on this the final Sunday of the choir year, celebrating the Feast of St Benedict. Music will include Vierne’s Messe solennelle and Arr. Wilberg’s Come thou fount of every blessing.
Free admission and no ticket required.
Festal Evensong and Choir Valedictions
Sunday 14 July, 3.30pm
Join us for the last Evensong of the academic year in which we bid farewell to members of the choir who have completed their final year.
Free admission and no ticket required.
