Female altos

Singing in the Anglican tradition has historically been a relatively male domain, however females in Anglican choirs have since been making steady progress to change this. Many choirs still seek to appoint only male altos, but in recent years more women have been accepting a variety of roles within the tradition. Two of our altos, Amy and Ella, have taken up such roles at Bath Abbey and Bristol Cathedral. We invited them to share some of their experiences.

Amy:
I have been working at Bath Abbey for the last 4 years. I have worked in the shop and as a choir chaperone and enjoyed listening to the choir every week during rehearsals and services and always thought about what it would be like to be part of the Abbey choir.

I was first asked to audition for the Bath Abbey choir to be a dep, which meant that I would be filling in for the male altos when they weren’t able to attend. This was a great opportunity to get involved with the music making at the Abbey! I hadn’t sung in a church choir before but I really enjoyed this and knew that I wanted to do it more often. When one of the altos left last year, it was proposed that myself and another female alto take on the role together, which we have now been doing since September 2019.

We were the first female lay clerks to ever sing at Bath Abbey, which is a pretty great achievement! We share the role of the 3 services a week at the abbey and are also now involved in album recordings and tours. Everyone was very excited about this and we were able to share our experience in the press when we first started and were spoken about in Abbey news! It is very fulfilling to have the opportunity to sing in the amazing building that is Bath Abbey every week. I was made to feel very welcome and have never thought about the fact that I am occasionally the only woman in the choir.

From being a dep, I was so used to being called a ‘gent’ or ‘the men’s choir’ but since taking on the full-time role, the ‘back rows’ have once again become the lay clerks. Singing in the Abbey has been a great experience and I hope that the tradition of female altos in the church continues.

Ella:
In March 2016, Bristol Cathedral appointed their first female choral scholar, and since have had 4 individual women holding full-time positions. This decision very much reflected the equality that was already apparent in the front row of the choir; boy and girl choristers equally share all of the services, and have equal opportunities.

I was a Chorister at Bristol Cathedral from the age of 8. After I had finished school, like Amy, I was first invited to ‘dep’ for the choir before I decided to apply for the role of Alto Choral Scholar. I was extremely grateful to be appointed in September 2018, particularly since I am conscious that it is not as easy for women to get so involved elsewhere.

Some of my personal musical highlights over the years have included mass at St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice. Christmas and Easter consistently feature brilliant repertoires, and the many services leading up to these occasions are particularly memorable. More recently, the choir tour to Holland and Belgium again included a fantastic collection of music performed in equally exquisite buildings, complemented by warm evenings watching the sunset on the beach.

I am thrilled and honoured to be a part of this historic tradition and hope that women across the country will continue to play a significant role in Cathedral music-making.