Parish Church Choir and Music

This instrument has served the church well for over a hundred years and the last major restoration work done to it was in 1982. It is in the nature of pipe organs that as well as regular maintenance, every few decades more far-reaching work needs to be undertaken. To the surprise of many who see only the pipes which are on display  in the front of the case,  the working mechanisms of organs rely on a very large amount of wood and leather, the latter serving to carry pressurized wind from the bellows to the pipes. These materials have a finite life-span, beyond which they begin to dry out, split and leak which reduces their functionality significantly. The Parish Church organ has reached and passed this point and so the decision has been taken not just to restore what is there, but to take steps to address certain other significant problems.

  At present, the principal pipes of the instrument, those which create the majority of the sound, speak into the chancel and choir instead of into the nave where they are most important. Conversely, the pipes of the soft stops which are used in accompanying choral music speak into the nave instead of into the choir. The result is that the organ at present has to be played at a certain volume in order to be audible to the choir, but that volume is often sufficient out in the nave to drown out the singers. The instrument is thus rather severely compromised, the result of numerous piecemeal ‘improvements’ carried out over the years. The restoration project centers around addressing these deficiencies, turning sections of the organ through 90 degrees in order that the main choruses speak towards the nave and the accompanimental sections towards the choir. As any such project would inevitably involve the complete reconstruction of the instrument, opportunity is being taken to enlarge as well. Additional stops are being added with the aim that Cirencester Parish Church will boast not only one of the finest parish church organs in the country, but also an instrument which will better that of many cathedrals and will be suitable to earn international renown. The work is being undertaken by the leading British firm of organ builders, Harrison and Harrison of Durham.

Choirs

The Parish Church justifiably is proud of his choral tradition. There are three choirs: The Parish Church Choir, the Junior Choir and the St Johns's singers.

We are always very happy to receive interested enquiries from people who would like to join the choirs and experience different styles and forms of music at a high level.

For anyone wishing to join the choirs, please contact the Director of Music, Anthony Hammond, directly or via the Parish office (contact number at the bottom of this page).