The Battle of the Cathedral Choirs.

The battle lines were drawn in the Battle of the Cathedral Choirs. For the past three years St. Thomas won the competition. The Confederacy of Dunces's St. Bartholomews came in second. Would the tide turn?

St. Thomas Choir arrived in Cloverdale by train after spending the day preparing for competition at the Comprehensive School in Fernwood on the Moor. No one was allowed to enter the school's auditorium while they rehearsed. The windows were sealed shut to eliminate sound leakage. St. Thomas's Choirmaster was afraid St. Bartholomew's choir spies were afoot and ordered a search of the bushes under the windows. The competition was approaching and every choir sought some kind of tactical advantage.

The day of the competition brought twelve Cathedral choirs together at St. Bartholomews in Cloverdale. St. Bartholomew's was the host choir and therefore performed last. The defending champions, St. Thomas, performed right before St. Bartholomew. The choir master raised his baton and stabbed into the air. The battle began. The music started. The melody was recognized. It was Bach's Saint Matthew's Passion! Who would dare drag such young voices into this tangled web of notes and chords? St. Bartholomew's Choirmaster squirmed in his chair. If St. Thomas pulled this off they would become legend. If they failed, they faced ridicule for attempting to climb such dizzying heights. The audience was still.

Now, you may hear a portion of what the audience heard that night. St. Thomas's Choir attacked and took no prisoners!



Needless to say, St. Thomas took home the trophy. St. Bartholomew took second but with a renewed determination to destroy their arch enemy on next year's battle ground.