Over 4,000 people attended three spectacular Advent Processions, titled ‘From Darkness to Light’, at Salisbury Cathedral last weekend. You can read Bishop Stephen and Dean Nick's addresses by clicking on the hyperlinks.
The processions are seen by many as an un-missable prelude to the festive season, with each service traditionally beginning in the pitch black with absolute silence that is only broken when the advent candle is lit and a solo voice rings out across the age-old building.
Two colourful processions made up of over a hundred people – including the Bishop and Dean Nick – then systematically make their way around the cathedral whilst lighting hundreds of candles in their wake.
Towards the end of worship, the two processions joined together in a blaze of colour and light as the flicker of 1,300 candles highlighted the beauty of century-old stained glass and made the inside of the cathedral glow.
Under the direction of David Halls, the Salisbury Cathedral Choir performed on all three nights, accompanied by John Challenger, the cathedrals Assistant Director of Music, at the organ.
Our Advent theme of light doesn’t end there, however, as artist David Batchelor incorporated similar ideas into a solo exhibition that launched on 28 November inside Salisbury Cathedral.
The heart of the exhibition is a dazzling kaleidoscope consisting of slowly turning spheres that hang from the ceiling titled, ‘Disco Mécanique, 2008.’ The multi-coloured galaxy created out of thousands of plastic party sunglasses from Brazil, both absorbs and reflects the light and colour of the Cathedral around it – and speaks to the Advent theme of joy and hope.
If you’d like to hear more about Batchelor’s enchanting work, you can see the artist in conversation with Dr Alexandra Loske and Beth Hughes on Sunday 15 January at Salisbury Cathedral. Tickets are available for £10, and more information can be found here on the cathedral’s website.