Editing Westminster Abbey (section)

==Music==
{{See also|List of Westminster Abbey organists}}
[[File:Westminster Abbey - panoramio (8).jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Westminster Abbey choristers|alt=The choir master walking down the aisle of the abbey, with choirboys in red and white robes standing in stalls down its length]]

[[Andrew Nethsingha]] has been the abbey's [[organist and master of the choristers]] since 2023.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Savage |first=Mark |date=2023-04-26 |title=King's Coronation: Conducting the Westminster Abbey service is a 'daunting job' |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-65398230 |access-date=2023-10-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230723105906/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-65398230 |archive-date=2023-07-23}}</ref> [[Peter Holder (organist)|Peter Holder]] is the sub-organist,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wright |first=Steve |date=2023-06-04 |title=All about Peter Holder, Westminster Abbey sub-organist |url=https://www.classical-music.com/features/artists/peter-holder-organist-westminster-abbey/er-holder-organist-westminster-abbey/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230604141453/https://www.classical-music.com/features/artists/peter-holder-organist-westminster-abbey/ |archive-date=2023-06-04 |access-date=2023-10-28 |website=Classical Music |publisher=BBC Music Magazine}}</ref> [[Matthew Jorysz]] the assistant organist,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-02-23 |title=Coronation Music at Westminster Abbey |url=https://www.royal.uk/news-and-activity/2023-02-23/coronation-music-at-westminster-abbey |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230622150225/https://www.royal.uk/news-and-activity/2023-02-23/coronation-music-at-westminster-abbey |archive-date=2023-06-22 |access-date=2023-10-28 |publisher=The Royal Household}}</ref> and Dewi Rees is the organ scholar.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-03-09 |title=Westminster Abbey Organist Appointed at Bath Abbey |url=https://www.bathabbey.org/westminster-abbey-organist-appointed-at-bath-abbey/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230327042200/https://www.bathabbey.org/westminster-abbey-organist-appointed-at-bath-abbey/ |archive-date=2023-03-27 |access-date=2023-10-28 |website=Bath Abbey |language=en-GB}}</ref>

===Choir===
Since its foundation in the 14th century, the primary role of the Westminster Abbey choir has been to sing for [[Daily Office (Anglican)|daily services]]; the choir also plays a central role in many state occasions, including royal weddings and funerals, coronations, and memorial services.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nepilova |first=Hannah |date=2022-08-14 |title=Westminster Abbey Choir: our guide to the world-famous Abbey choir |url=https://www.classical-music.com/features/artists/westminster-abbey-choir-our-guide-to-the-world-famous-abbey-choir/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230913070753/https://www.classical-music.com/features/artists/westminster-abbey-choir-our-guide-to-the-world-famous-abbey-choir/ |archive-date=2023-09-13 |access-date=2023-10-28 |website=Classical Music |publisher=BBC Music Magazine |language=en}}</ref> In 2012, the choir accepted an invitation from [[Pope Benedict XVI]] to sing with the [[Sistine Chapel Choir]] at a [[Papal Mass]] in [[St Peter's Basilica]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=2023-10-08 |title=Choir of Westminster Abbey invited to sing at Vatican |language=en |work=[[The Times]] |url=https://www.thetimes.com/travel/destinations/europe-travel/italy/choir-of-westminster-abbey-invited-to-sing-at-vatican-p66gm09btht |access-date=2023-10-08 |issn=0140-0460}}</ref> The all-male choir consists of twelve professional [[Lay clerk|adult singers]] and thirty [[Choirboy|boy chorister]]s from eight to 13 years old who attend the [[Westminster Abbey Choir School]].<ref name="classicfm">{{cite web |last=Shaw Roberts |first=Maddy |date=5 May 2023 |title=Music at Westminster Abbey – who are the choristers and organists, and what services are there? |url=https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/westminster-abbey-choir-organs-music-history/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230607182430/https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/westminster-abbey-choir-organs-music-history/ |archive-date=2023-06-07 |access-date=3 October 2023 |website=Classic FM }}</ref>

===Organ===
The first record of an organ at Westminster Abbey was the mention of a gift of three [[Mark (currency)|mark]]s from Henry III in 1240 for the repair of one (or more) organs.<ref name="Knight-2001">{{Cite thesis |last=Knight |first=David Stanley |title=The Organs of Westminster Abbey and their Music, 1240–1908 |date=2001 |degree=Doctoral |publisher=King's College London |url=https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/en/studentTheses/the-organs-of-westminster-abbey-and-their-music-1240-1908}}</ref> ''Unum parem organorum'' ("a pair of organs") was recorded in the Lady Chapel in 1304.<ref name="Knight-2001" /> An inventory compiled for the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1540 lists a pair of organs in the choir and one in the Islip Chapel.<ref name="Knight-2001" /> During the [[Commonwealth of England|Commonwealth]], a Royalist source said that soldiers who were billeted in the abbey "brake downe the Organ, and pawned the pipes at severall Ale-houses for pots of Ale"; an organ was played at the Restoration in 1660, however, suggesting that it had not been completely destroyed.<ref name="Knight-2001" /> In 1720, an organ gifted by George II and built by Christopher Shrider was installed over the choir screen; organs had previously been hidden on the north side of the choir. The organ was rebuilt by [[William Hill & Son]] in 1848.<ref name="Knight-2001" />

A new organ was built by [[Harrison & Harrison]] in 1937, with four [[Manual (music)|manuals]] and 84 [[Organ stop|speaking stops]], and was played publicly for the first time at the [[coronation of George VI and Elizabeth]] that year.<ref name="Harrison & Harrison" /> Some pipework from the previous Hill organ of 1848 was re-voiced and incorporated into the new instrument. The two organ cases, designed and built in the late 19th century by J. L. Pearson, were reinstated and coloured in 1959.<ref name="The National Pipe Organ Register">{{cite web |title=Westminster Abbey (St. Peter), Broad Sanctuary, Westminster, Middlesex [N00646] |url=http://www.npor.org.uk/cgi-bin/Rsearch.cgi?Fn=Rsearch&rec_index=N00646 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221020154809/https://www.npor.org.uk/NPORView.html?RI=N00646 |archive-date=20 October 2022 |access-date=31 July 2012 |publisher=The National Pipe Organ Register}}</ref>

In 1982 and 1987, Harrison & Harrison enlarged the organ at the direction of [[Simon Preston]] to include an additional lower choir organ and a [[Pipe organ#Romantic period|bombarde organ]].<ref name="Harrison & Harrison">{{cite web |title=Westminster Abbey |url=https://www.harrisonorgans.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Westminster-AbbeyFULL-2021.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230512064042/https://www.harrisonorgans.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Westminster-AbbeyFULL-2021.pdf |archive-date=2023-05-12 |access-date=24 April 2023 |publisher=Harrison & Harrison}}</ref> The full instrument has five manuals and 109 speaking stops. Its console was refurbished by Harrison & Harrison in 2006, and space was prepared for two additional 16-foot stops on the lower choir organ and the bombarde organ.<ref name="The National Pipe Organ Register" /> The abbey has three other organs: the two-manual Queen's Organ in the Lady Chapel, a smaller [[Basso continuo|continuo]] organ, and a practice organ.<ref name="classicfm"/>

===Bells===
There have been bells at the abbey since at least the time of Henry III, and the current bells were installed in the north-west tower in 1971.{{sfn|Trowles|2008|p=123}} The [[ring of bells|ring]] is made up of ten bells, hung for [[change ringing]], which were cast in 1971 by the [[Whitechapel Bell Foundry]] and tuned to the musical notes F#, E, D, C#, B, A, G, F#, E and D. The tenor bell in D (588.5&nbsp;Hz) has a weight of 30[[Hundredweight|&nbsp;cwt]], 1[[Quarter (unit)|&nbsp;qtr]], 15&nbsp;lb (3,403&nbsp;lb, or 1,544&nbsp;kg).<ref name="Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers">{{Cite web |title=Westminster, Greater London, Collegiate Ch of S Peter |url=https://dove.cccbr.org.uk/detail.php?searchString=westminster&numPerPage=10&Submit=++Go++&searchAmount==&searchMetric=cwt&sortBy=Place&sortDir=Asc&DoveID=WESTMINS+A |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190816141344/https://dove.cccbr.org.uk/detail.php?searchString=westminster&numPerPage=10&Submit=++Go++&searchAmount=%253D&searchMetric=cwt&sortBy=Place&sortDir=Asc&DoveID=WESTMINS+A |archive-date=16 August 2019 |access-date=6 March 2023 |website=Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers}}</ref> Two additional service bells were cast by Robert Mot in 1585 and 1598, and a [[Church bell#Sanctus bell|sanctus bell]] was cast in 1738 by [[Richard Phelps (bellfounder)|Richard Phelps]] and Thomas Lester. Two bells are unused; one was cast {{circa|1320|lk=yes}}, and the second was cast in 1742 by Thomas Lester.<ref name="Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers" /> The Westminster Abbey Company of Ringers ring [[peal]]s on special occasions, such as the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dickson |first=Annabelle |date=2011-04-28 |title=Royal Wedding: Norwich Man To Ring The Bells At Westminster Abbey |url=https://www.edp24.co.uk/lifestyle/21144078.royal-wedding-norwich-man-ring-bells-westminster-abbey/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231028152835/https://www.edp24.co.uk/lifestyle/21144078.royal-wedding-norwich-man-ring-bells-westminster-abbey/ |archive-date=2023-10-28 |access-date=2023-10-28 |website=Eastern Daily Press |language=en}}</ref>