English choirs seek to protect a musical tradition little changed since Queen Elizabeth I

LONDON (AP) — On a gray afternoon in the days before Easter, a dozen or so schoolchildren straggled into a side building at Rochester Cathedral and began their transformation.

Off went the jackets and backpacks, on came burgundy cassocks and white surplices. Then they trooped into the cathedral, opened their mouths and sang as one. The youthful gaggle had become a choir, giving voice to a tradition of choral music in the Church of England that has survived largely unchanged for almost 500 years.

“I think for me, it’s one of the sounds of our country,’’ said Adrian Bawtree, the choir’s music director. “All of our cathedrals are beautiful, sacred spaces where you can come and just sit and be and you can be immersed, bathed, nourished, sent out back into the world transformed by an experience in 30 minutes.”

The epitome of that tradition is Choral Evensong, an evening service of hymns, psalms and prayers laid out by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, the first Protestant archbishop of the Church of England, in 1549. The service is performed by the choir, with the congregation participating simply by listening.

But that tradition is under threat as the demands of modern life, declining church attendance and tight funding make it harder to find and train the next generation of choristers.

Enthusiasts are trying to reverse that, launching a campaign for the government to recognize English choral services as an important part of Britain’s culture under a U.N. program that seeks to protect “intangible cultural heritage,” as well as historic buildings and natural wonders.

The U.K. government is seeking nominations for a nationwide inventory of cultural traditions — from Morris dancing to the craft of building dry stone walls — that should be preserved. Protecting such traditions is crucial to strengthen community identity and bolster the U.K. economy as heritage tourism generates billions of pounds in annual spending, the government says.

While many people have been introduced to English choral services through the angelic voices of the choristers in flowing robes and Elizabethan ruffs who sing at royal weddings and carol services, choirs perform every day in much more humble settings.

And many are struggling, according to the Cathedral Music Trust, which was founded in 1956 to stem the decline of church music after World War II. Last year it gave 500,000 pounds ($661,000) to 28 cathedrals and churches around the country.

It can be a lot. Rochester, for example, spends about 250,000 pounds ($330,000) a year on music, a substantial outlay for a provincial cathedral but less than some.

The trust hopes recognition of the English choral tradition will bring attention and much-needed funding to choirs, which it says are an important training ground for the musicians of tomorrow, both religious and secular.

“Whilst it happens every day, it is actually quite fragile,” trust CEO Jonathan Mayes said. “It takes an awful lot of work and it takes a lot of funding to actually make it happen and that doesn’t come without effort.’’

Preserving Evensong is important historically because the service was instrumental in the development and spread of the modern English language, said Diarmaid MacCulloch, an expert on Christianity and an emeritus professor at the University of Oxford.

The service is based on the Book of Common Prayer, compiled by Cranmer to make English the language of the Church of England after it broke away from the Latin-dominated Catholic Church during the Protestant Reformation.

The idea was to create services everyone could be part of.

“It is very much a drama, and it is a drama which has been performed by the people of England from 1549 through to the present day,” MacCulloch said. “It’s far more a vehicle of public consciousness performance than any play of Shakespeare.’’

And while a growing number of choirs including Rochester now take girls as well as boys, in other respects it hasn't changed much since then.

“The service would be really quite recognizable to Queen Elizabeth I as much as Queen Elizabeth II," MacCulloch said. "And that’s quite remarkable.”

Bawtree, the music director at Rochester Cathedral, is one of those working to preserve the tradition as he oversees the youngest singers, aged 9-13, known as choristers, as well as a youth choir for older children. All are backed by professional adult singers.

Bawtree said he was captured by church music the first time he heard an organ play and a choir sing when he was about 9 years old. Now he wants people to know that services like Evensong make it possible for anyone to turn up and listen to beautiful choral music, regardless of their beliefs.

“When I heard it, it was like big octopus arms came and grabbed me and said, ‘You’ve got to be part of this.’ So I think I am trying to speak to that 9-year-old child and saying actually this is something that could speak to most people, if not everyone.

“And because I had that experience, I would like to share that with future generations and be passionate about that," he said. "We talk in the world of mindfulness and the power of music to transform lives. This is an extraordinary arena where that can happen.”

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Britain Choral Music Choristers sing during Evensong at Rochester Cathedral in Rochester, England, Friday, March 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Britain Choral Music Choristers put on their garments for Evensong at Rochester Cathedral in Rochester, England, Friday, March 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Britain Choral Music Choristers sing during Evensong at Rochester Cathedral in Rochester, England, Friday, March 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Britain Choral Music Choristers sing during Evensong at Rochester Cathedral in Rochester, England, Friday, March 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Britain Choral Music Choristers sing during Evensong at Rochester Cathedral in Rochester, England, Friday, March 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Yaxel Lendeborg stood at midcourt with a Michigan staffer, going through the paces of a halftime warmup at the giant Final Four midcourt logo. He jogged lightly forward, backward, then shuffled side to side before hopping around.

He spent much of that time grimacing or biting his lip. And he didn't look much more comfortable when he did return to start the second half Saturday night against Arizona.

The good news is Michigan didn't need much from the first-team All-American as it cruised to an unexpectedly lopsided 91-73 win in a matchup of the NCAA Tournament's last two No. 1 seeds, not with the Wolverines' depth simply overwhelming the Wildcats. The question now is how Lendeborg's injuries might affect him for Monday night's NCAA title game against UConn.

Lendeborg said he rolled his left ankle and sprained his MCL. He also was emphatic when asked if there was any chance he would miss the Wolverines' first appearance in the championship game since 2018.

“Absolutely not,” he said at his locker, surrounded by multiple rows of reporters. “Unless I wake up and I get up and fall off my feet, I'm going to be in that game.”

The 6-foot-9, 240-pound Lendeborg entered the game averaging 15.2 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.3 assists, offering strength and size with versatility to chase on the perimeter. He finished with 11 points on 3-of-4 shooting in 14 minutes, including a pair of 3-pointers in his hobbled post-halftime minutes.

For much of the second half, he rode an exercise bike behind the Michigan bench, clapping for baskets or screaming with glee as the Wolverines made big play after big play.

He also spent time late in the game sitting on the court near the end of the bench and almost alongside the photographers on the baseline before having an ice pack wrapped around his left knee. He wore that for the final minutes and still had it on as he carefully made his way through the postgame handshake line with the Wildcats.

But he stayed engaged throughout, climbing to the raised court to greet teammates with high-fives as coach Dusty May emptied the bench in the final minute.

“Our team has extreme depth,” guard Roddy Gayle Jr., said. “We have the ability to feel happy when other people are being successful. Then, even when you're having a bad night, you're able to lean on your teammates for extra help.”

Lendeborg had to count on his entire team to carry the load without him.

Lendeborg had a rough start with two quick fouls and then exited after he stepped on the foot of Arizona big man Motiejus Krivas and twisted his left ankle, the same one he had tweaked during the loss to Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament championship game.

Fear hit hard in that moment.

“I tried my best to get up as quickly as possible to try to not dwell on that feeling. I tried to walk it off,” Lendeborg said, adding with a chuckle: “It didn't get walked off.”

Lendeborg left the bench for trainers to retape his ankle and treat it with ice, returned briefly, then went back to the locker room again.

“I was going to give it a go but there was like five minutes left (before halftime) so they advised it was best to get treatment right away,” he said. “I sat there, got treatment, got ice. I did the best I could to analyze the situation. I was watching the game and trying to make it feel better.”

Lendeborg wore a brace on his left knee when he returned for the second half.

Lendeborg checked out at the 13:02 mark and headed to the bike. He returned again at the 7:10 mark after Arizona had cut a 30-point deficit to 20, saying he wanted to be a secondary ballhandler.

Why did May put him back in with the big lead?

“Well, apparently you missed the UConn-Duke game,” May said, referencing the Huskies' rally from 19 points down to stun the tournament's No. 1 overall seed in the Elite Eight.

Lendeborg said he told his teammates he would largely work around the arc and avoid crashing into the interior to raise the risk of aggravating the injury. He also said he wanted to get a feel for how he might be able to function with the Wolverines headed for one more game.

Michigan had more than enough to put away Arizona, notably with 7-foot-3 center Aday Mara going for 26 points to lead five players in double figures. Michigan shot 47.8% and made 12 of 27 3-pointers. Now, Lendeborg will race to be ready for the shot at leading Michigan to its first national title since 1989, as well as the first by a Big Ten school since 2000.

“For me, it's a lot of treatment, a lot of time with the trainer, a lot of time away from my teammates which I'm not going to like,” Lendeborg said.

Whatever it takes.

“I'm playing,” he said. “I have to.”

AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

Michigan forward Yaxel Lendeborg (23) high fives forward Will Tschetter (42) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game against Arizona at the Final Four, Saturday, April 4, 2026, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

Michigan forward Yaxel Lendeborg (23) falls after play against Arizona during the first half of an NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game at the Final Four, Saturday, April 4, 2026, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Michigan forward Yaxel Lendeborg reacts after an injury on the court during the first half of an NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game against Arizona at the Final Four, Saturday, April 4, 2026, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Michigan forward Yaxel Lendeborg, center, is injured on a play as Arizona center Motiejus Krivas (13) and forward Koa Peat (10) defend during the first half of an NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game against Arizona at the Final Four, Saturday, April 4, 2026, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

Michigan forward Yaxel Lendeborg reacts after an injury on the court during the first half of an NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game against Arizona at the Final Four, Saturday, April 4, 2026, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Michigan forward Yaxel Lendeborg reacts after an injury on the court during the first half of an NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game against Arizona at the Final Four, Saturday, April 4, 2026, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)