About The Lord Mayor’s Chapel

The Lord Mayor’s Chapel (LMC) is a truly remarkable medieval place of worship that has been a beacon of peace within the bustling streets of inner Bristol since 1230. Originally part of the Abbey of St Augustine (which later became Bristol Cathedral, the chapel was bought by the organisation that became Bristol City Council. The chapel has had many uses over the years, finally becoming the official place of worship of the Lord Mayor of Bristol in 1772. In 2023 Bristol Cathedral became responsible for the care of this beautiful building and for the growth of its worshipping life. William Forrest became the Chapel Organist in September 2023 as part of his role as Music Assistant at Bristol Cathedral. Services are taken by Cathedral clergy on rotation, serving a small but loyal congregation.

Role Description

The Chapel Choir sings during term time at the Chapel’s Sunday morning service, which is usually Choral Mattins, with a Sung Eucharist on the third Sunday in the month. There are extra services in the lead up to Christmas and during Holy Week. Singers are asked to commit to as many services as possible, to ensure that as a minimum all four voice parts are covered, and that we have eight singers (i.e. two to a part) where possible.

Duties and Responsibilities

The main duty of a member of the Lord Mayor’s Chapel Choir is to sing at Sunday and other services: 

• Sing at Choral Mattins or the Sung Eucharist on a Sunday. Rehearsals begin at 10.00 for an 11.00 service, which lasts about an hour.
• Attend rehearsals on Thursday evenings every two weeks, from 18.15 to 19.15, during which the music for the upcoming two Sundays is looked at.
• Sing, where possible, at extra services at Christmas and during Holy Week. 
• Whilst personal practice outside of rehearsals is not insisted upon, several singers in the choir do take music away for such purposes.

Within the bounds of what can be expected of voluntary singers, singers are asked to:

• Be confident and competent singers who can hold a musical line on their own.
• Be reasonable sight readers, or be able to learn their part quickly, owing to the relatively short amount of rehearsal time available.
• An awareness of Anglican chant would be beneficial, though by no means essential. The choir sings a psalm at every service (Mattins and Eucharist), and there are two canticles sung to chant at Mattins, too.

Benefit

The Choir is a small but friendly group of accomplished amateur singers, which sings in one of Bristol’s hidden gems and a fine acoustic. The congregation, whilst small, is deeply appreciative of the music provided at services, all of which comes together to form a tightknit community.

The choir has an extensive library repertoire, from Tallis and Palestrina, through to Elgar, Stanford, and Morten Lauridsen, which is constantly expanding, providing singers with familiar and new repertoire alike.

Whilst singers join the choir on a voluntary basis, a small contribution is made per service sung towards the costs of travel to central Bristol.

Contact

William Forrest

Chapel Organist

email: [email protected]

phone: 01179468177