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Cathedral musicians offer to record hymns for Churches in need of music for digital worship

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While the Cathedral’s historic building may be closed, the centuries-old tradition of worship and music-making is continuing albeit in a very different way, with a special programme of online worship on the Cathedral website and the Norwich Cathedral Services YouTube Channel.

The Cathedral would also like to help Churches across the Diocese with their own digital worship by providing organ recordings of hymns (without singing) for use in online services.

These will be recorded on request by the Cathedral’s Master of Music, Ashley Grote, and Assistant Organist George Inscoe on their digital practice organs at home.

Ashley said:

“There are so many wonderful Eastertide hymns out there and hopefully this will help more people enjoy this beautiful music.

We are conscious that many Churches in the Diocese do not have the resources to provide or record their own music to send out to their congregations as part of digital worship, and so we want to help fill that gap.

Clergy are invited to email me, giving details of which hymns they require, and we will record them on our digital practice organs and aim to send back an MP3 sound file within 24 hours.

The sound of course won’t compare to the mighty organ of Norwich Cathedral, but it is much better than no music at all!”

Any Church wishing to request a hymn recording should email masterofmusic@cathedral.org.uk

Please state which hymns you would like to be recorded, including which tune, if there is more than one possibility, and how many verses of each hymn are required.

Meanwhile the sound of music can also be heard around the Cathedral’s Lower Close on Sunday mornings, when the Master of Music plays his digital organ from home and opens the windows for all the residents to hear.

Ashley said:

“This idea started back on Palm Sunday, when we would normally be processing through the streets of Norwich from The Forum to the Cathedral, re-enacting Jesus’ triumphant arrival into Jerusalem. Unable of course to process together, we thought it would be nice for people in The Close to be able to stand on their doorsteps and at least sing a Palm Sunday hymn together – All Glory, Laud and Honour.

“Living as I do in a house by the Lower Green, I can turn the volume up full on my home digital practice organ, open all the windows, and play loudly enough for people in the surrounding houses to be able to hear and join in!

“We continued it in the beautiful sunshine on Easter Morning, and again last Sunday. Even though we can’t physically meet together, neighbours can greet each other by waving and shouting hello, and then join in singing together for a few minutes. It has proved a very popular way of maintaining that vital sense of community and lifting people’s spirits.”

For all the latest details about Norwich Cathedral’s programme of digital worship, visit cathedral.org.uk