The Choir of All Saints' Church, Northampton


Welcome to the music department of All Saints' Church. A choir of men and boys has sung in the fine church of All Saints Northampton since the Middle Ages, and today sings regularly at services as well as performing concerts.

The choir today consists of separate choirs of twenty-four boys and fourteen girls, who are supported by a back row of layclerks and choral scholars, many of whom are former choristers. Under the directorship of Lee Dunleavy , the choir maintains a busy schedule of rehearsals, services and concerts, exploring a wide repertoire of music from the sixteenth century to the present day. After four recordings on the Lammas label, the choir released its most recent disc with Regent Records – a Christmas CD entitled The Bethlehem Star.

The choir undertakes regular tours, most recently to New York, Rhode Island, the French Riviera and Switzerland. The choir also sings regularly around the UK; in 2005 they sang services in St Paul’s Cathedral, New College and Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford.

In 2006 the Boys and Men held a residency at Truro Cathedral and the Girls and Men toured Guernsey, Brittany and Paris, perfoming motets by Jean Langlais accompanied by Marie-Louise Langlais at the Langlais Festival, and receiving a standing ovation at Sunday Mass at the Cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris.

So far this year the choir have visited Lichfield and St Edmundsbury Cathedrals, held a two-day residency at Westminster Abbey, sung the semichorus in Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius, and added a number of new works to their repertoire, including Stravinsky's Mass, Elgar's Great is the Lord, and Tye's The Mass Euge bone. Last term they visited Peterborough and Southwark Cathedrals, took part in a workshop with John Rutter, and sang in a highly-acclaimed concert with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2008 they will be undertaking a two-week tour of Canada and the United States.

Please explore the website to get a flavour of All Saints' choir and their activities. If you would like further information about the choir or about the Friends of All Saints' Music, please contact the Director of Music.