The organists and choir-trainers who founded the College of Organists created a new kind of singing voice, which has had a tremendous influence right up to the present day.  Just before the Second World War, music critics from around Europe remarked that the outstanding contribution of England to the music of the world was the singing of English choristers, and by 1962 the 'Cathedral Tone' of English trebles was familiar and recognisable by all.   In this article, originally published in the RCO Journal in 2014, Timothy Day looks at the history of this performing style, and how it enshrined a new set of values and spiritual concerns.

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