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BBC Singers at Norwich Cathedral

The BBC Singers with conductor Ashley Grote and cello soloist Guy Johnston in a concert from Norwich Cathedral inspired by two notable women with historic links to the city.

The BBC Singers, conducted by Ashley Grote and joined by renowned British cellist Guy Johnston, make a welcome return to the magnificent surroundings of Norwich Cathedral for a special concert as part of the Cathedral’s Summer Music Festival. The programme features works themed around two women central to the history of the city – Mother Julian of Norwich and Edith Cavell. Joanna Marsh and Roxanna Panufnik were both inspired by medieval mystic Mother Julian of Norwich and the BBC Singers perform their settings of her text All Shall Be Well. In Standing as I do before God, Cecilia McDowall sets words spoken by nurse Edith Cavell the night before her execution on 12 October 1915. Edith Cavell is buried at Norwich Cathedral. The Cathedral’s magnificent organ played by David Dunnett take centre stage in works by McDowall, MacMillan and Parry, and cellist Guy Johnston performs alongside the BBC Singers in Ola Gjeilo’s lush and poignant O Magnum Mysterium. The concert is brought to a close by Hubert Parry's poignant and reflective Songs of Farewell completed in 1915.

Recorded on 9 July 2026 and presented by Ian Skelly.

Joanna Marsh: All Shall Be Well
Ola Gjeilo: O Magnum Mysterium
Cecilia McDowall: Standing as I do before God
Cecilia McDowall: Church Bells beyond the stars
Roxanna Panufnik: All Shall Be Well
Sir James MacMillan: A New Song
Parry: Fantasia and Fugue in G
Parry: Songs of Farewell

Guy Johnston (cello)
David Dunnett (organ)
BBC Singers
Ashley Grote (conductor)

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27 days left to listen

2 hours, 14 minutes

Last on

Wednesday 19:30
BBC Radio 3

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Music Played

  • Joanna Marsh

    All Shall Be Well

    Choir: BBC Singers. Conductor: Ashley Grote.

  • Ola Gjeilo

    Serenity (O Magnum Mysterium)

    Performer: Guy Johnston. Choir: BBC Singers. Conductor: Ashley Grote.

  • Cecilia McDowall

    Standing as I do before God

    Singer: Emma Tring. Choir: BBC Singers. Conductor: Ashley Grote.

  • Cecilia McDowall

    Church bells beyond the stars

    Performer: David Dunnett.

  • Roxanna Panufnik

    All Shall Be Well

    Performer: Guy Johnston. Choir: BBC Singers. Conductor: Ashley Grote.

  • James MacMillan

    A New Song

    Performer: David Dunnett. Choir: BBC Singers. Conductor: Ashley Grote.

  • Frank Bridge

    Summer

    Orchestra: BBC National Orchestra of Wales. Conductor: Richard Hickox.
    • Orchestral Works, The Collector's Edition.
    • Chandos.
    • 1.

  • George Butterworth

    Two English Idylls

    Orchestra: Academy of St Martin in the Fields. Conductor: Neville Marriner.
    • Fantasia on Greensleeves.
    • Decca.
    • 1.

  • Hubert Parry

    Fantasia and Fugue

    Performer: David Dunnett.

  • Hubert Parry

    Songs of Farewell: 1. My Soul, there is a country

    Choir: BBC Singers. Conductor: Ashley Grote.

  • Hubert Parry

    Songs of Farewell: 2. I know my soul hath power to know all things

    Choir: BBC Singers. Conductor: Ashley Grote.

  • Hubert Parry

    Songs of Farewell: 3. Never weather-beaten sail

    Choir: BBC Singers. Conductor: Ashley Grote.

  • Hubert Parry

    Songs of Farewell: 4. There is an old belief

    Choir: BBC Singers. Conductor: Ashley Grote.

  • Hubert Parry

    Songs of Farewell: 5. At the round earth's imagined corners

    Choir: BBC Singers. Conductor: Ashley Grote.

  • Hubert Parry

    Songs of Farewell: 6. Lord, let me know mine end

    Choir: BBC Singers. Conductor: Ashley Grote.

  • Franz Schubert

    String Quartet in G minor D.173

    Ensemble: Leonkoro Quartet.

Broadcast

  • Wednesday 19:30
    BBC Radio 3