Ealing Abbey Choir

United Kingdom

Ealing Abbey Choir was founded in 1910 by Dom Cyril Rylance (1880–1958), a monk of the monastery, coming into existence as the Catholic Church in England was rediscovering its musical heritage through the works of Renaissance composers and Gregorian chant. The choir’s repertoire of Gregorian chant and Latin polyphony today also includes more recent works by composers such as Jonathan Dove and Eric Whitacre. The Abbey Choir consists of treble choristers and six professional lay clerks. The choristers are all pupils of St Benedict’s School, Ealing, where they play a prominent musical role. The Choir’s principal commitment revolves around the liturgy in the Abbey Church each week and at Christmas and Easter. Outside the liturgy the choir is extremely active. Recently the choir has recorded on the Herald label, with Personent Hodie released in 2010 and Buxtehude’s Membra Jesu nostri in 2013. The choir has toured to Rome (2007), Strasbourg (2010), USA (2011 & 2015) and Poland (2014) to great acclaim, with a future tour planned to Austria and Slovakia (2016). Recent concert performances include Bach’s St John Passion, Handel’s Messiah Monteverdi’s Vespers 1610 and Orff’s Carmina Burana at Cadogan Hall.