The Choir of Buckfast Abbey

The present incarnation of the Abbey Choir was founded in 2009 and has since established a broad liturgical repertoire, embracing polyphony of the sixteenth century and great Viennese Masses, music of the French Romantic tradition and contemporary works by James MacMillan, Matthew Martin and Dom Sebastian Wolff OSB. In recent years, the choir has commissioned a set of eight fauxbourdon Magnificats from Andrew Reid, and given the premiere of a new Mass by Martin Baker.

At the heart of its work, the choir sings Solemn Mass and Vespers each Sunday, together with Mass on Holy Days of Obligation during the week. During choir holidays, a smaller schola supports the singing of the Monastic Community. Alongside its liturgical commitments, the Abbey Choir gives regular concert performances, with recent highlights including the Bach Magnificat with Noxwode Baroque and the Duruflé Requiem with the Southern Sinfonia. The choir recently gave its first performances abroad, including a concert as part of the Saison d’orgue à Saint-Sulpice in Paris.

Since releasing its first commercial recording in 2014, the choir has developed an emerging discography on the Abbey’s in-house label, Ad Fontes. Its most recent release, Messe modale, was named ‘Album of the Week’ on BBC Radio 3’s Essential Classics, while its previous disc—a sequence of music for Corpus Christi—was described as “a taste of heaven” in a five-star review by Choir & Organ. In 2018, at the conclusion of Buckfast’s millennium year, the Abbey Choir sang Midnight Mass, which was televised live on BBC One, and several services of choral Vespers have been broadcast on BBC Radio 3.

Recordings of the Abbey Choir can be found on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube.