Abbey Choir departs for Rome tour

Monday, 23rd January 2017

Abbey Choir departs for Rome tour

The Choir of Westminster Abbey departs today (Monday 23rd January) for a four-day visit to Rome to participate in the closing events marking the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity at the Vatican.

The Choir’s programme includes a concert in the Basilica of St John Lateran on Tuesday 24th January, sung with the Sistine Chapel Choir and featuring music by Palestrina, Tallis, Purcell and Parry.

Two choirs will perform together again on Wednesday 25th January when sing Vespers on the Feast of St Paul the Apostle, presided over by His Holiness Pope Francis in the Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls.

The visit builds on earlier collaborations between the two choirs. They first sang together at the instigation of Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican in 2012. This was followed by a visit from the Sistine Chapel Choir to the Abbey in 2015.