Foreign ensembles benefit from more funding and public interest – and the proof is in their singing. Until we treat choirs as well as we treat orchestras, we’ll suffer on the international stage, says conductor Peter Phillips
We like to think we invented choral singing in the UK. Certainly Britain has produced some of the most esteemed choirs in the world, from King’s College, Cambridge to the Monteverdi Choir and the Tallis Scholars. From the founding of the chapel royal in the 11th century through the choral societies inspired by Handel and Haydn in the 18th century to the current scene of professional and amateur ensembles of all shapes and sizes, British choral singing has an almost magical cachet abroad, where in many places the fascination for our cathedral choirs and their survival verges on the incredulous.
But are Britain’s leading choirs actually the best? We wouldn’t know, because as a concert-going public we take almost no interest in foreign ensembles. Attracting an audience in the UK is one of the most difficult challenges an overseas choral group can face. Even the Collegium Vocale Gent, who must rank as the best in their field, recently sang to a half-full St John’s Smith Square, after which their conductor, Philippe Herreweghe, said that coming to London was too difficult.
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