National choral charity leads call for UNESCO recognition of English ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage’

The Cathedral Music Trust (CMT), founded 70 years ago to support the cathedral music sector, has launched an ambitious national campaign this year to secure UNESCO Living Heritage recognition for English Sacred Choral Music.

The concept of ‘living heritage’ forms part of the UK Government’s ratification of the 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, a treaty dedicated to cataloguing and conserving ‘practices, knowledge and skills passed down through generations’. As well as being practised in religious venues across the country, the tradition of choral singing extends beyond its function in worship to bring communities together and shape our wider musical landscape.

Sacred choral music in the UK ‘is the envy of the world and is a tradition that has been going for well over 500 years,’ says President of the CMT, Harry Christophers CBE. ‘The music from those days sounds as modern as anything written today, and to gain UNESCO Living Heritage recognition would ensure that the music, both written in the past and the present, continues to be celebrated and sustained for centuries to come.’

It is hoped that such a status will be more than symbolic in nature. Recognition could be crucial in creating awareness and wider support from not only the cultural sector but also the general public – something which Sir John Rutter acknowledges is already the case for the English choral tradition when performed around the world: ‘When I guest-conduct abroad as a representative of our choral tradition, I am treated like a Brazilian footballer or a Hungarian chess master. Britain is recognised around the world as a crucible of choral excellence, an accolade that needs to be acknowledged.’

The CMT is working alongside a number of partner organisations towards English Sacred Choral Music becoming part of the first UK Intangible Cultural Heritage inventory, due to be published in the second half of 2026. An ‘Expression of Interest’ has been submitted, and an open letter undersigned by 38 individuals, choirs and music charities has been sent to Lisa Nandy MP, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media, and Sport.

If you wish to support the campaign, you can add your name to their letter of support before Friday 27 March. Further information about the plan can be found on the CMT’s UNESCO Living Heritage web page.