In the small rural city of Ripon, within North Yorkshire, stands Ripon Cathedral. A large, antiquated building that looks more like an artwork; from a distance and looking closely you can see the incredible craftsmanship that has taken place. However, the carefully crafted music that radiates from the cathedral walls is an ongoing charm of the cathedral. Not just the ringing of the bells, the bellowing organ or the harmonised cathedral choir, but the musical evenings hosted there. Such as the recent concert of Vivaldi Four Seasons at Christmas – featuring the Piccadilly Sinfonietta.

The Piccadilly Sinfonietta was formed in 2017 and has quickly grown to be an immensely popular chamber orchestra within the UK. For good reason that is as it is comprised of some incredibly remarkable musicians who uniquely also perform with virtuoso soloists who posses the instrumental talent to impress almost every listener. They claim to specialise in music from the “baroque, classical and romantic periods.”

At Ripon Cathedral they performed four sets of captivating music that consisted of Pachelbel Canon in D, Corelli Christmas Concerto, Mozart Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, Vivaldi Four Seasons. This performance was a range of things and none of which are negative; it was captivating, intense and relaxing. Especially within the beautiful setting that was the candlelit cathedral with ornate stone and woodwork to gaze upon. It’s powerful acoustics that make the music come to life dancing right around you perfect for a performance like this. The performance brought the interest of many age categories however sadly there was still an overwhelmingly large older age category only further cementing the stigma that I have personally experienced around classical music, this being that it is not interesting enough to listen to at a young age and that it is music for the elderly. I would use the words of Andre Rieu to describe my view, “Music has the ability to unite people from all walks of life, transcending language and cultural barriers.”. You may say that that could apply to any music but continuing the words of Andre “The beauty of classical music lies in its timelessness – it is a genre that has been loved and appreciated for centuries”.

There is a beauty to hearing a group of musicians come together and perform in such a setting and to continue this appreciation I encourage you to go along to such an event and if you plan on doing so, bring your family or friends. Go along to the Christmas carol concert on the 17th of December for example, or St Cecilia Orchestra’s The magic of music concert. These events are enjoyable for all people and are a great way to see the Cathedral and witness incredible talent.