St Catharine’s Choir at the British School at Rome

Every year the College Choir undertakes a major summer tour: recent trips have included the Czech Republic, France and Hungary. The College Choir recently returned from its 2023 summer tour to Rome, which included the opportunity to perform at the British School at Rome (BSR).

Dr Edward Wickham (2003), Director of Music at St Catharine’s, commented:

“Not every idle plan, conceived over lunch on High Table, comes to fruition … and so successfully. But in July this year, one of my informal chats with Professor Abigail Brundin (2000), Fellow in Modern and Medieval Languages, coalesced into an enthralling and memorable musical collaboration between the College Choir and the BSR.”

Professor Brundin has been Director of the BSR since September 2021, and one of her ambitions has been to bring music into the beautiful surroundings, designed in the early 20^th century by Edwin Lutyens. She explained:

“I was keen to offer an Italian audience the experience of a May Week concert in a Cambridge college. We have a small and leafy courtyard at the BSR which is shaded and stays a bit cooler in the fierce Roman summers, and I thought it would be a wonderful venue for an outdoor concert by our fabulous choir.”

Dr Wickham added, “The BSR provided the perfect destination for our annual College Choir tour. The annual trip gives the choir – who have worked hard, week in week out through the year – the chance to perform to international audiences and bond in an environment unpressured by their usual academic responsibilities. The BSR is a more civilised and calming environment than the usual city-centre hostels we encounter on our trips. And tea is served on the dot of 4 every afternoon! What more could you wish for?”

The trip culminated in an open-air performance, in the courtyard of the BSR, to a typically cosmopolitan audience; and featured a programme of sacred and secular works drawn from a repertoire built up by the choir over the past year.

Dr Wickham recalled, “It was rather difficult to rehearse in the blazing heat of the day, but once evening set it, the setting was terrific. And a great acoustic.”

Earlier in the trip, the choir had given performances at the Anglican Church in Rome and – as a tour opener – sung Mass in the imposing space of the Pantheon.

Dr Wickham said, “A little different from our modest, protestant chapel at St Catharine’s. We had to learn long passages of Gregorian chant for the occasion, to be sung as incense was liberally wafted. The four-part mass of William Byrd (it’s his anniversary year) sounded glorious in there; and to top it off, during the communion the organist and cantor sang a two-part, Italian version of the hymn ‘Holy, holy, holy’ with music by Catz alumnus J.B. Dykes. Sheer coincidence!”

The Choir would like to express its gratitude to Professor Brundin and the staff and community of the BSR for making this trip happen; and to Keith Sykes for contributing financially. For several choir members, this was their last engagement with the choir; and provided an appropriately inspiring send-off.