Three Choirs

Three Choirs is the oldest surviving music festival in Europe; the custom of an annual Music Meeting of the cathedral choirs of Gloucester, Hereford and Worcester dates back to the early years of the eighteenth century. Since that time a continuous tradition of music-making, which only two world wars have interrupted, has been maintained in the three cities. In this book, the first official and in-depth history of Three Choirs for almost forty years, Anthony Boden investigates the origins of the Festival and describes its development, its traditions and the important personalities and events with which it has been linked. Initially, the Festival consisted of two services and two concerts; gradually the meetings were extended in duration and scope. Throughout its history the Festival has been the occasion of many musical landmarks: Parry's Scenes from Prometheus Unbound, first performed at Gloucester in 1880, has been identified as the work which gave initial impetus to the musical renaissance in England, and ten years later, at Worcester, the creative genius of Edward Elgar was first acknowledged when he conducted the premiere of his Froissart overture. It was also at Gloucester, in 1910, that Ralph Vaughan Williams, making his Three Choirs debut, conducted the first performance of his Tallis Fantasia. In this important book, extensively researched, Anthony Boden presents a vivid and entertaining history of Three Choirs. The text is augmented by a full bibliography, and appendices containing the Annals of the Three Choirs. Fully illustrated, this comprehensive study will appeal to music lovers and musicians and it will be welcomed by all with a serious interest in music history.