Choir's Cornish Challenge

This September, Bodmin Way Community Choir will be doing something rather special. It's been invited to sing at the Evensong service in St Petroc's Church, Bodmin, as part of this year's Gorsedh Kernow celebrations. The twist? The entire service on Sunday 6 September will be in Cornish!

Gorsedh Kernow celebrates everything that makes Cornwall's Celtic heritage so unique – its language, history, literature, art, music, dance and sport. Through ceremonies, competitions and cultural events, it helps keep Cornwall's traditions alive and thriving.

Proclamation in Bodmin May 2026

For the choir, it has been a wonderful opportunity to step into that tradition by singing in the Cornish language. It may have looked a little daunting at first, but thanks to linguist, priest and Gorsedh Kernow chaplain Revd Canon Jane Kneebone, the singers discovered just how enjoyable learning Cornish can be.

Jane joined the choir for two Wednesday evening rehearsals, arriving with carefully prepared sheets containing the Cornish words, their English translations, and a phonetic guide to help the singers pronounce everything correctly.

Before long everyone was having a go, with plenty of smiles, laughter and concentration as some unfamiliar sounds were tackled together.

The choir, along with others, will be singing five beautiful hymns:

1. Agan Levow'n Krev a Gan (Our Voices Strongly Sing) – to the tune Llanfair

2. Leunha Gans Prays (Fill Thou My Life) – to the tune Richmond

3. Yn Krist Hepken (In Christ Alone) – to the tune In Christ Alone

4. A Dhuw a Res dhe Bobel Lel (O God, who gave to loyal people) – to the tune Kingsfold

5. Bro Goth agan Tasow (Old Land of our Fathers) – to the tune Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau 

Thankfully, Jane hasn't abandoned the choir now that summer is here. She's has provided recordings of each hymn, spoken clearly in Cornish, so the holiday homework is simply to listen, practise... and then practise some more! It's amazing how quickly the words begin to feel familiar after hearing them a few times.

The choir will meet again on Wednesday 2 September for one final rehearsal before the big day. By then, the singers hope their Cornish pronunciation will be doing justice to these lovely hymns and to the rich heritage the service will be helping to celebrate.

It's not every day you get the chance to sing an entire service in one of Britain's oldest living languages, and the choir is incredibly grateful to Jane for sharing her knowledge, expertise and enthusiasm. Choir members can't wait to be part of what promises to be a very special Evensong and a memorable Gorsedh Kernow celebration.

If you'd like to discover more about Gorsedh Kernow and its work celebrating Cornwall's language and culture, visit https://gorsedhkernow.org.uk.