Spotlight

THREE CHOIRS FESTIVAL

AGlorious Feast of Music at the Three Choirs Festival, Hereford 2025

This yearʼs Three Choirs Festival in Hereford was a truly joyful one, with a wonderful audience atmosphere and a stirring programme to match. Over eight days Hereford city came alive with worldclass music making, featuring the renowned Philharmonia Orchestra, the brilliant Festival Chorus, and wonderful guest artists including Roderick Williams, Elizabeth Watts, The Kings Singers, and an array of music from the next generation including the National Youth Choir, National Youth String Orchestra, and the National Youth Orchestra of Wales, creating an inspirational experience for all who attended. The festivalʼs atmosphere was a real highlight, with the festival village and bandstand providing a lively hub

for audiences to soak up the atmosphere just outside the cathedral between the over seventy concerts and events.

For me, the musical highlights were numerous and spread right across the week. The opening night was unforgettable, featuring a glorious and exuberant performance of William Mathiasʼ cantata This Worldeʼs Joie. It was a colourful, joyful work that really sparkled through the way it was orchestrated.

Another significant moment for me was the historic revival of Samuel Coleridge-Taylorʼs stirring masterpiece The Atonement, marking the composerʼs 150th anniversary. Originally commissioned for the 1903 Hereford Festival, this rarely performed work with moments of lush melodies and majestic grandeur was somehow lost for many years and brought

Naomi Belshaw © Joseph Wong

back by the academic detective work of Doctor of Musical Arts candidate Bryan Ijames from the States, who I was delighted to meet and catch up with at the festival. Moments like these always remind me of the wonder of the Three Choirs Festival and its inspiring of nearly 300 years of celebrating new classical music.

Some other gems from the festival included the reperformance of Dobrinka Tabakovaʼs Centuries of Meditations, a former festival commission, performed alongside the everpopular Fauré Requiem. It was wonderful to welcome celebrated Australian mezzosoprano Lotte Betts-Dean, whose enchanting concert with the Marsyas Trio, featuring works by Ravel, Debussy, and Lisa Illean, was a standout performance. The latter composerʼs The Air, the Water was a wonderful

atmospheric and delicately textured piece evoking the natural landscapes of her Australian homeland.

The festival closed in spectacular fashion with Mendelssohnʼs breathtaking oratorio Elijah. A firm favourite with audiences, I discovered last month that in fact the year following the premiere of this work in Birmingham in 1846, the Three Choirs Festival performed it for 83 years straight until 1930! What a wonderful way to end the festival celebrating this blockbuster piece, bringing this yearʼs inspiring week to a close with its majestic choruses and fiery climax. Congratulations to Artistic Director Geraint Bowen, Hereford Festival Chair Bruce Herriot, and Chief Executive David Francis and his team for bringing us such a wonderful festival for 2025.

Naomi Belshaw Three Choirs Festival Chair

KATHARINE O'CARROLL: MY FESTIVAL DIARY 2025

Friday 24th: Arrived at lovely Eileenʼs where I have stayed every Hereford since 2003. During the Volunteersʼ Briefing Iʼm amazed by the sheer amount of hard work done annually by staff and volunteers to bring one wonderful festival week to fruition.

Saturday 25th: Oh the joy of the Opening Service with its sense of occasion and glorious music soaring into the roof, lifting my spirits and setting the tone for the whole week. Pleased to see TCF friends early in the week at the Reception in the beautiful Bishops Palace. Many stay outside Hereford and wonʼt be lingering in the festival marquee after concerts. Very appreciative to see how many American Friends are here, given their additional travel costs. The Chorus and Philharmonia were in good form, and the Hereford choristers as beguiling as ever in a terrific performance of Mathiasʼ This Worldeʼs Joie. Saw more friends in the marquee afterwards, and will meet up most nights.

Sunday 26th: An uplifting Festival Eucharist followed by the all-important Membersʼ Lunch in the Green Dragon. Time to hear David Francis talk about himself and his views on the festival, before going on the coach (such a good idea, no need to worry about parking, and I always meet such interesting people) for Roddy and VocalEssence in Leominster Priory. An outstanding concert with an exuberance of singing, followed at Evensong by Howellsʼ utterly gorgeous Magnificat and then in the evening by Pärtʼs beautiful Cantus and Richard Blackfordʼs moving, unifying and healing The Black Lake. One couldnʼt say of it ̒Well thatʼs the first and last time thatʼs ever going to be heardʼ, as was said of some festival commissions in the 1990s.

Monday 27th: Stile Antico are outstanding. I love polyphony. All those different lines individually as important as each other yet melded together in one harmonious whole. I wish that the peoples of the world could manage to do the same. Edgar Dayʼs Mag and Nunc in B flat sung by the Three Cathedral Choirs at Evensong is magnificent, more joyful soaring sound. How well the TCF Youth Choir sang in the evening. The future of the TCF chorus is in good hands. I love Bachʼs music, and Chilcottʼs Agnus Dei is beautiful beyond belief. On reflection I think Iʼll join the stewardship scheme. Surely I can find a way to donate more money annually to help to keep the TCF alive – costs have increased so much. It gives me great joy, and adds significant meaning to my life. There is something very unique and special about the TCF. Itʼs definitely worth preserving.

Tuesday 28th: Wulstan Atkins Lecture (of course!) and a day of questions. Who would have thought that some eighteenthcentury TCF musicians arrived by water, as Martin Perkins has discovered? How could Olivier Latry pedal so fast and create such a magnificent improvisation on Thine Be the Glory without prior warning? By what fluke did Juliaʼs passing comment enable her to make contact with me after nineteen years (her father Lindsay Lafford was assistant to Percy Hull)? What has happened to the wall paintings in the Black Lion (where I had lunch with my closest TCF friends courtesy of longstanding TCF aficionado Roger Thorn who sadly died last year) which line the room in which the three cathedralsʼ lay clerks sang in the seventeenth century when Hereford Cathedral owned the ̒hostellrieʼ? When was the Chained Library (Membersʼ Outing) completed, and who knew royalty and city officials would enjoy Alexanderʼs Feast (which they certainly appeared to do)?

Wednesday 29th: Thanks to Roger Judd I now know how much we owe Ouseley and St Michaelʼs Tenbury for raising choral standards in cathedrals and churches. I loved Cecilia McDowellʼs Responses at the broadcast Evensong and it was later enlightening (and entertaining!) to see the deans and other church officials lie so convincingly, although I missed the more freely organised Deansʼ croquet matches where I could reinvigorate friendships with TCF friends who canʼt stay late. Howellsʼ Hymnus Paradisi (evening concert) really is an exceptionally expressive and moving work.

Thursday 31st: A joy to hear snippets of Elgarʼs symphonies and to see Hilary (Elgarʼs great-niece) at the Elgar Society Lecture and Lunch, before enjoying (especially) the Weekes in the Kingʼs Singersʼ varied programme. ColeridgeTaylorʼs The Atonement is splendid, so appealing and dramatic with its fine choral writing sung to perfection by the Festival Chorus.

Friday 1st: Glad the Membersʼ Breakfast was well supported. The TCFʼs uniqueness comes in no small degree from the loyalty of the festival goers, many of whom are members, and who all help to keep the TCF survive by buying multiple tickets in addition to membership and/or sponsorship. Every little helps as they say! What incredible vitality from the National Youth Orchestra of Wales. I remember its first TCF appearance in Hereford 2006 with its electrifying performance of Mahler 5. Fauréʼs Requiem was beautifully sung by the Three Choirs Festival Voices (and I didnʼt get lost following the score!).

Saturday 2nd: Truly beautiful singing and memorable short pieces from the National Youth Choir. I particularly liked Rheinbergerʼs Kyrie and Roddyʼs moving Iʼm here . What a musical finale Mendelssohnʼs Elijah proved to be, the Chorus and Philharmonia in joyful enterprise deftly handled by Geraint Bowen. We owe so much to the musicianship, expertise, and time of the three TCF Artistic Directors, choirs, and Chorus. And now sadly time to say farewell to friends I wonʼt see for another year. Roll on Gloucester 2026 with its unmissable programme.

And how can I express what the Three Choirs Festival means to me? It is the one week in my whole year which encapsulates much of what I hold dear. The comradeship of friends developed over many years together with a sense of community and feeling of belonging. Not to mention superb music which, played in the towering reaches of cathedrals built with skill and faith, takes me beyond anything that I can grasp, reason or understand! The festival makes me smile and gives me joy all year long.

Katharine OʼCarroll, Three Choirs Festival Member and Director

Booking dates

Stewards 16 March

Diamond Patrons 23 March

Ruby Patrons 24 March

Emerald Patrons 25 March

Opal Patrons 26 March

Gold & Life Members 30 March

Silver Members 1 April

Bronze Members 7 April

General Public 13 April

DRAMATIC THRILLING MAGNIFICENT

1: The Civic Party © Delish Photography

2: Carducci Quartet and Emma Johnson © James OʼDriscoll

3: Hereford Precentor Andrew Piper © James OʼDriscoll

4: Festival Reception © Joseph Wong

5: Grasp the Nettle © Joseph Wong

6: This Worldeʼs Joie © Dale Hodgetts

7: Festival Chorus © James OʼDriscoll

8: The Flowers Band © Dale Hodgetts

9: Hereford Cathedral Choristers © Dale Hodgetts

10: Geraint Bowen © James OʼDriscoll

1: Festival Chorus © James OʼDriscoll

2: New Festival Associate Composer Gavin Higgins © Joseph Wong

3: Betsan Llwyd and Steffan Rhodri perform The Black Lake © Dale Hodgetts

4: Elizabeth Watts © James OʼDriscoll

5: BBCNOW © Dale Hodgetts

6: Richard Blackford © Joseph Wong

7: Lucy Bowen at the Festival Eucharist © James OʼDriscoll

8: Roddy Williams and VocalEssence © Joseph Wong

9: David Francis at the Membersʼ Lunch © Dale Hodgetts

10: David Hill and BBCNOW © James OʼDriscoll

11: Dimitris Soukaras and Lotte Betts-Dean © James OʼDriscoll

1: Festival Evensong © Dale Hodgetts

2: Philharmonia Orchestra © Dale Hodgetts

3: Festival Bandstand © Dale Hodgetts

4: Festival Youth Choir © Dale Hodgetts

5: Stile Antico © James OʼDriscoll

6: © Delish Photography

7: © Joseph Wong

8: © Dale Hodgetts

9: Mark Bebbington and Irene Loh © James OʼDriscoll

10: Samuel Hudson congratulates composer Bob Chilcott © Dale Hodgetts

11: Walking Tour © Dale Hodgetts

1: Gwilym Bowen, Rowan Pierce, Geraint Bowen and Gareth Brynmor John © Dale Hodgetts

2: Membersʼ Outing – The Mappa Mundi © James OʼDriscoll

3: Alexanderʼs Feast © Dale Hodgetts

4: Hereford Cathedral © Delish Photography

5: The Philharmonia © Delish Photography

6: As You Like It © James OʼDriscoll

7: Gareth Brynmor John © Dale Hodgetts

8: Olivier Latry © Dale Hodgetts

9: Festival President HRH The Duke of Gloucester © Dale Hodgetts

10: Three Cathedral Choirs © Dale Hodgetts

WEDNESDAY

1: Festival Chorus © Dale Hodgetts

2: Broadcast Evensong © Joseph Wong

3: Michael Bell © James OʼDriscoll

4: © Joseph Wong

5: Sarah Connolly, Adrian Partington and Malachy Frame © James OʼDriscoll

6: Jonathan Clinch © James OʼDriscoll

7: Alistair McGowan and Mark Bebbington © James OʼDriscoll

8: Rebecca Hardwick © Dale Hodgetts

9: As You Like It © Dale Hodgetts

Spotlight | Autumn 2025

THREE CHOIRS FESTIVAL

SPOTLIGHT

KATHARINE O'CARROLL: MY FESTIVAL DIARY 2025

Booking dates

DRAMATIC THRILLING MAGNIFICENT

WEDNESDAY

1 AUGUST

SATURDAY

2 AUGUST