A major new work of sacred music will receive its premiere at Chichester Cathedral in June 2025, as part of the Ecclesiastical Law Society’s annual conference.
The piece, Bless ye the Lord, is an introit (entrance piece) for organ and choir, specially commissioned by Chichester Cathedral from leading British composer Judith Bingham. It will be premiered at a public service of Choral Evensong on Saturday 21 June, attended by His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople — who will preach — and the Archbishop of York. The service forms part of a three-day international gathering marking the 1700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea.
Widely recognised for her contributions to sacred and choral music, Judith Bingham is a former member of the BBC Singers and has composed extensively for church choirs, cathedrals and leading ensembles around the world.
Watch the premiere live
The service featuring the world premiere of Judith Bingham’s introit will be streamed live from Chichester Cathedral.
Q&A with Judith Bingham, Composer
I try to bring drama into my church music!
Judith Bingham
What was your first response to being invited to write for Chichester Cathedral’s 950th anniversary?
Charles Harrison, the Cathedral's Organist and Master of the Choristers, had suggested that the Introit might be of a meditative nature and also include reference to the diversity of the service. I started thinking about the passage of time. This is the note that's in the front of the score: 'When I decided upon Psalm 134, I read it at first in the Wycliffe translation, as being nearest to 950 years ago (without going into Middle English). I like Wycliffe’s direct and sometimes quirky English. But then it struck me that a huge amount of time has passed since the Psalm was written in the 9th century BC, and how many people have spoken or sung it in a myriad of languages and cultures. So I took other translations, one from the year of my birth, another an American version, and interwove them. The first section suggests dance movements, the second second an atmosphere of worship.'
You’ve worked with many cathedrals and choirs — what’s special to you about writing sacred music for liturgical use?
I used to be a professional singer, and have sung in many many services all over the place. It has given me a great respect for the singers and the liturgy. When I was a young singer, and the services were rarely recorded, there was a sense of the music being transient, and yet part of a flow of singing, that had been present in churches for two thousand years. I am always conscious of that timeline, and how I, as a composer, am also part of the line of composers, some with no names, that have brought their beliefs and sound world to be part of the service, to facilitate worship. I've also tried to bring drama into my church music in the same way as, say, Monteverdi did.
What do you hope listeners take away from this new piece?
The introit sets the scene, helps people to get 'in the zone.' This piece is drawing everyone together I hope, and focussing their thoughts on the mystic rather than the mundane.
Q&A with Charles Harrison, Organist and Master of the Choristers of Chichester Cathedral
‘Bless ye the Lord’ is everything we hoped it would be: original, atmospheric, technically rigorous, challenging yet eminently singable.
Charles Harrison
Why was Judith Bingham chosen for this important commission?
Judith is a leading composer of choral music, with a distinguished catalogue of compositions to her credit. She is also a distinguished performer, having been a member of the BBC Singers, and understands the human voice from that perspective. She is a finer composer per se, but with a special gift for exploring the emotional and expressive potential voices in a choral context. Judith has a distinctive musical style that I find impossible to classify: it is not ‘like’ any other composer’s work, it is entirely her own. Her new work for Chichester, ‘Bless ye the Lord’ is everything we hoped it would be: original, atmospheric, technically rigorous, challenging yet eminently singable.
How does this new work reflect the Cathedral’s commitment to both tradition and creative renewal?
At its premiere, and for the many performances envisaged for the future, this piece will be used as part of Choral Evensong, a service formulated in 1662 that drew on the older liturgies of compline and vespers. And it will be sung by a choir whose format has changed little for many centuries. You can’t get much more traditional than that! Yet any tradition needs to be nourished, renewed and refreshed if it is not to turn into a historical curiosity or a museum piece. Judith’s new work is absolutely contemporary in style: it is not a pastiche of any other composer’s work or of any old musical style. Judith sets verses from psalm 134, which possibly dates from the 9th century BC, but she uses three different translations, from the 14th century, from 1952 (the year of her birth) and from 1991. So the piece covers the full span of the text’s 3000-year history.
About the Conference
The 2025 annual conference of the Ecclesiastical Law Society, titled Nicaea Received: 1700 Years of Canons, Councils and Ecumenism, will take place from 20 to 22 June at Chichester Cathedral and the Bishop’s Palace.
It will explore the lasting legal, theological and ecumenical legacy of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea. The keynote address will be given by His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, alongside other international speakers including Professor Myriam Wijlens of the University of Erfurt.
This newly commissioned introit will be part of the opening of the Eucharist during the service and will become part of the wider canon of sacred music, available for future performance worldwide.
Support the future of music at Chichester Cathedral
Although this special commission is funded separately by Chichester Cathedral, it reflects the ongoing vitality of the Cathedral’s musical life.
To secure that future, the Cathedral has launched the Chichester Cathedral Platinum Endowment Trust for Music, aiming to raise £5 million by 2026. This endowment will support the long-term sustainability of music at the Cathedral — including the choir, organ scholarships, free concerts and future commissions.
As part of this effort, a Match Funding Campaign is now underway. Thanks to four generous gifts totalling £950,000, every donation made during this campaign is being doubled. As of April 2025, over £135,000 has been raised towards the £950,000 match goal.
Every note counts. Every gift matters. And every donation will be doubled.