NEARLY 50 musicians from St Thomas-on-The Bourne have returned from a successful summer tour to Cologne – the choir’s first visit to Germany.

The undoubted highlight was singing at midday prayers in Cologne Cathedral – the largest and most important cathedral in Germany at more than 500 feet high to the top of its twin spires.

As well as Cologne Cathedral, the choir sang at services in the lovely former Cistercian monastery at nearby Altenberg, and in the great Romanesque churches of St Aposteln and St Pantaleon in the centre of Cologne.

The final musical event of the tour was a concert at St Aposteln.

Robert Lewis, the director of music, said: “This was a demanding tour which involved a massive amount of planning and organisation by choir members.

“The music included much of our most ambitious repertoire, worthy of the great churches in which we sang. The choir rose to the challenge and the quality of singing was outstanding throughout.”

The music included works by a wide range of English, European and American composers from the 16th to the 21st centuries, including Byrd, Palestrina, Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Mendelssohn, Bruckner, Parry, Vaughan Williams, Britten, Lauridsen, Jenkins and Rutter.

Vocal highlights included the famous treble solo O for the Wings of a Dove.

As well as the music, the choristers found time to visit Beethoven’s house in Bonn and Aqualand, as well as taking a boat trip on the Rhine.

Reverend Karen Hutchinson, who took part in the tour, said: “I will be very sad to leave the choirs of St Thomas and their music when I move to Norwich later this month. But I will take with me many happy memories of their performances on this tour.”

There will be an opportunity to hear the best of the music from the tour at a concert at St Thomas-on-The Bourne Church, on Frensham Road, at 6pm on October 9. Admission will be free, with a retiring collection.

If you have a child who loves singing and would enjoy the opportunities offered to choristers at St Thomas, e-mail [email protected].

The choir is also looking for experienced gentlemen who wish to sing at a cathedral standard. Anyone interested should again e-mail the director,

The choristers from Farnham are pictured in front of the impressive Cologne Cathedral.