New hopes for cathedral choir that folded with too few boys as it rises to dizzying heights

But with the uncertain demise of one cathedral choir came the foundations for something far grander.

The boys choir at Ripon Cathedral folded in February, without enough members to see it through a new generation. Now, rising like a phoenix from the ashes come new voices in numbers that have doubled in size. It took some creative thinking, and a tour of small schools, but a raft of young talent is now taking the floor.

To director of music Dr Ronny Krippner, this is a moment in history. And for the choristers, singing to some 1,000 people this Christmastime, it is something they will always remember.

"We are just overjoyed," said Dr Krippner. "I don't know any other word for it. We didn't know if our choir would be here. We felt we had hit rock bottom really. I could see it would break if we didn't do something dramatically different."

Many cathedral choirs around the world struggled in the wake of the pandemic. Firstly, there was no practice. But no practice means no new talent, in forming tomorrow's choirs.

Under Project Phoenix Dr Krippner, set about a new plan. There were visits to 24 schools. The boys choir reformed in September. All but four are newcomers - while the girls' choir is 25-strong. In the New Year they are seeking interest from even younger singers, from Yr2 to Yr4, with a Ripon Cathedral Music Appeal to support training and time.

"There is a lot of people, and a lot of talent, in a rural place like Ripon," he said. "We were able to reach enough kids - boys and girls - to see them sing again. We are just overjoyed that it's worked. That magnitude of sound they make really fills the building."

It costs £300,000 a year to keep the choir singing and the music playing. The choir sings at some 220 services a year, with almost 28,000 hours of rehearsals to continue a tradition that has spanned 14 centuries.

To Dr Krippner, being a chorister is one of the best educations there is. Daily practice brings lessons in routine, discipline, and focus. Only then do they start making music, be it in classical song, mediaeval charms or modern composers, and across different languages.

Without that daily rhythm of song, believes Dr Krippner, cathedrals wouldn't be the same. As a young boy, in a small town in Bavaria, he had been struck by one organist's playing in church each Sunday morning. He had known since then that this would be his future.

"Music in an Anglican church is the backbone of all it does," he insisted. "That core tradition has never stopped for good - since Mediaeval times it has never changed. Every day, somewhere, there is a song service sung by a choir. Without it the cathedral would be a silent place. It comes to life because of its choir."