A drone recording of the Cathedral at night featuring an organ arrangement will be released in September.

Holst’s The Planets: Out of Darkness will premiere on Salisbury Cathedral’s YouTube channel on September 18 at 8pm, available to view for free by everyone. An accompanying audio recording will also be available for purchase as a CD and download.

Arranged for the organ and performed by assistant director of music at Salisbury Cathedral, John Challenger, and filmed by Salisbury-based Ben Tomlin, The Planets: Out of Darkness is a full-length filmed performance, recorded at night in the interior of the empty Cathedral.

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John said: “It is at night time that I find the Cathedral especially remarkable. It is not the pipe organ alone, but the stones which surround it, the feelings evoked when such music emerges from the shadows, that contribute to the overall effect.

recording of 'The Planets' at Salisbury CathedralThe recording of 'The Planets' at Salisbury Cathedral will be released in September (Image: Salisbury Cathedral)

"These meditative moments (a job perk for the very lucky organist who gets to practise at the dead of night) is something I have long wanted to share through the medium of film.”

Written between 1914-1917, each of its seven movements relates to the character of a planet from the Solar System. 

The film and recording are the conclusion of a two-year long community project, initiated by John Challenger and aimed at sharing the music creatively with young people.