Hyperion Records

Wells Cathedral Choir celebrated its 1100th birthday in 2009: boys first sang at Wells Cathedral in 909 and the full choral tradition dates back over 800 years. In 1994 the choral foundation at Wells was enriched by the addition of girl choristers. Today the choir comprises eighteen boy choristers, eighteen girl choristers and twelve Vicars Choral. The boys and girls usually sing separately with the Vicars Choral but occasionally come together for larger events. In 2010, in a feature on the world’s finest choirs, Gramophone rated Wells Cathedral Choir as the greatest cathedral choir in the world.

The choir is at the heart of the worshipping life of the Cathedral, and sings a wide repertoire of music ranging from the masterpieces of the Renaissance period to the finest choral works of the present day. New music is also commissioned from some of today’s most exciting composers, including Gabriel Jackson, James MacMillan, Tarik O’Regan, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies and John Rutter. The choir broadcasts regularly, and its recordings have won international praise, with Gramophone hailing the choir as ‘one of the most impressive of today’s British cathedral choirs’ in ‘world-class form’ and making two of its recent discs Editor’s Choice.