Six of the Best

A candlelit concert by the Salisbury based vocal group Sarum Six got the Friends of Salisbury Cathedral’s 2016 programme of events off to a flying start.

Nearly 100 people attended the concert entitled A Winter’s Tale given by the vocal ensemble in the Cathedral Refectory in January.

The first half of the concert comprised Christmas music with the second half evoking the coming of spring.

The programme, which spanned secular as well as sacred music, included the rousing Gaudete and Joy to the World, a delicate arrangement of Along the Little Road to Bethlehem and the comical The Carol Singers.

The second half included Billy Joel’s Goodnight my Angel and the theme to Disney film The Little Mermaid, Under the Sea.

During the interval members of recorder ensemble Close Consort entertained guests.

The Friends, who have been raising money for the Cathedral since their founding in 1930, are putting on an event every month this year.

On 9^th February they are hosting a coffee morning in the Bell Tower Tea Rooms and on 10^th March, Friends’ chairman Captain Duncan Glass will give a talk in the Cathedral Refectory on lighthouses and Trinity House.

Later in the year there are day trips to Bowood House in North Wiltshire and Trinity House in London, a holiday to Kent and a wine tasting evening.

On 22^nd May there will be a chance to tour ‘Secret Gardens in the Close’ and enjoy tea and cakes on the lawn of South Canonry – the home of the Bishop of Salisbury, the Rt Rev Nicholas Holtam and his wife, Helen.

The Friends are also hosting a new members’ event in July with tours of the Cathedral’s hidden treasures, and the annual Friends’ Day in September.

For more information on becoming a Friend or to book for the events, contact Kate Beckett at the Friends’ Office, telephone 01722 335161 or email friends@salcath.co.uk.