Granting English Evensong world heritage status would better reflect its “global significance”, campaigners have said.
Several organisations, including the Cathedral Music Trust (CMT) and the Royal School of Church Music, have put forward the Anglican church music for the UK Living Heritage Inventory. If placed on the UNESCO list, it could be proposed for more world heritage registers.
English Evensong was developed following the Reformation, with liturgy set to music in English, rather than Latin. Choirs can be found in churches, cathedrals and university chapels.
‘Excellence’
President of CMT Harry Christophers CBE said: “Our sacred choral tradition is second to none. It is the envy of the world and is a tradition that has been going for well over 500 years.
“The music from those days sounds as modern as anything written today, and to gain Unesco Living Heritage recognition would ensure that the music, both written in the past and the present, continues to be celebrated and sustained for centuries to come.”
Composer Sir John Rutter added: “When I guest-conduct abroad as a representative of our choral tradition, I am treated like a Brazilian footballer or a Hungarian chess master. Britain is recognised around the world as a crucible of choral excellence, an accolade that needs to be acknowledged.”
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