SALISBURY CATHEDRAL CELEBRATES - Archived

One perfect day

On Monday 29th May Salisbury Cathedral celebrated the completion of the repair and conservation work on the West Front. Thousands of people picnicked in the Close under blue sky as a themed pageant based on 7 Centuries of music surrounded them. The surreal whirl of llamas, sackbutts, horses and madrigal singers was a prelude to a thrilling wave of music and colour around the Cathedral. Salisbury Festival and BBC Television Music Live created a spectacle watched live all over Britain. Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Robert Ziegler and accompanied by the Salisbury Festival Chorus and Children's Chorus performed Carl Orff's Carmina Burana. A spectacular light and pyrotechnics show by Starlight bathed the pale limestone of the West Front in a kaleidoscope of Latin script, stained glass in jewel colours and giant gargoyles with a firework finale. Thank you to the hundreds who worked for years to conserve the West Front. Its beauty and craftsmanship is now revealed to astonish and delight generations to come.