Chester Music Society Choir

Chester Music Society Choir We are an amateur choir, often accompanied by professional musicians and orchestras in our concerts each year, held at Chester Cathedral. They are the top line.

https://linktr.ee/ChesterMusicSocChoir Beginners guide to the CMS Choir

The Sopranos
If marks were given for effort the sops would win every time. They know that if you just try hard enough, you can hit any note and hold it, give or take a few percent. They are there on the front row hanging on Graham’s every word. They are all young girls at heart. The second sops, towards the back, are still so

ps but slightly louche, with occasional chatting. The Altos. Like a crack Roman legion, the Altos hold the left flank of the choir. They are unwavering and totally reliable. They do not sing wrong notes, they do not sing wrong rhythms. They are the first to notice when one edition is missing a flat or a natural. They ask questions most of us don’t even understand. Their low voices can thrill and terrify at the some time. The Tenors
The tiniest and most select section. Tenors are strange. Something in their genes (or jeans) allows them to sing unfeasibly high notes (or low in the case of the occasional tenor lady). This rarity and strangeness makes them untouchable. The Basses
A sort of miasma hangs over the Bad Boy Basses, such that at the back it is almost impossible to see the conductor’s baton or hear any of the other sections. Guided only by the Phantom Toe Tapper and the odd whistling hearing aid, it can be difficult to keep up. Nevertheless, the Basses deliver occasional and unpredictable moments of beauty.

ONE WEEK TODAY! Our Hallelujah concert is a “Greatest Hits of Church Anthems“ so we mocked up this album cover for all o...
16/05/2026

ONE WEEK TODAY! Our Hallelujah concert is a “Greatest Hits of Church Anthems“ so we mocked up this album cover for all of you who remember these compilations.
Come and hear it all live in Chester Cathedral one week today 23rd May 7.30 pm
https://chestermusicsociety.org.uk/choir-concerts/

07/05/2026

Another piece we will be singing on 23rd May
Ave Verum Corpus- Elgar. He wrote this in 1897 whilst organist at St Georges Church Worcester. It was published in 1902. It was written in memory of a friend of Elgar’s father, called W Allen, who was a solicitor who found the 15 year old Elgar a job as a clerk in his office when he left school.

Thank you Hereford Cathedral choir for this clip

https://chestermusicsociety.org.uk/choir-concerts/

06/05/2026

Saturday 23rd May we will be singing: Antonio Lotti- Crucifixus
Baroque period composer best known for his 8 part setting of the Crucifixus, a motet drawn from the Credo (a statement of faith)
Much of his music was written in Venice at a time of expense and extravagence !

Thank you to Tenebrae for this clip

https://chestermusicsociety.org.uk/choir-concerts/

25/04/2026

Come and hear the Hallelujah chorus live. This is the Royal Choral Society but Chester Music Society choir are singing it in Chester Cathedral on 23rd May.

The Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah is possibly the most famous chorus of all time. Handel cried when he wrote it; he said "I did think I did see all Heaven before me, and the great God Himself." The King, George II, was present at the debut. He was so impressed he stood up. Protocol stated that when the King stood up, everyone had to stand, so a tradition was born of the audience standing when it is performed.

https://chestermusicsociety.org.uk/choir-concerts/

A “Greatest Hits” of church anthems, this concert features 16 of the best-known and best-loved church choruses known to...
15/04/2026

A “Greatest Hits” of church anthems, this concert features 16 of the best-known and best-loved church choruses known today. The night will end with the famous and thrilling Hallelujah Chorus, and begins with the goose-bump inducing “I Was Glad” which has been sung at every coronation of an English monarch since 1626.

The 16 composers you will hear are Purcell, Vivaldi, Mozart, Brahms, Haydn, Bach, Elgar, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Faure, Rutter, Handel, Parry, Franck, Jenkins, Lotti. It’s a fantasy football league collection of the great classical composers of all time, and you get to hear them all in one night!

5 of the pieces feature in Classic FM’s list 30 beautiful pieces of classical music for your wedding ceremony. They are: I was glad, Panis Angelicus, Ave Verum Corpus, Jesu joy of Man’s Desiring and Cantique de Jean Racine. Handy if you are thinking of getting married!

There are two pieces by living composers, Rutter’s “A Gaelic Blessing” and Jenkins’ Benedictus from his work The Armed Man.

The evening is accompanied by the phenomenal organ of Chester Cathedral, with 69 different sounds to choose from, the largest of which has pipes 32 feet long! It will be played by Graham Eccles who for many years was the organist for the Daily Service on Radio 4.

Come and hear the biggest choir in Chester. Students and under 18s are FREE
23rd May 7.30pm Chester Cathedral

https://chestermusicsociety.org.uk/choir-concerts/

23/03/2026

Musicians having fun!

22/03/2026

In fine voice last night in the Mozart Requiem. 97 singers on stage, 325 in the audience, a fine night for all. Hope everyone had as much enjoyment listening as we did singing!

Address

Chester

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Chester Music Society Choir posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category