ABSTRACT
In Durham, musical life - both sacred and secular - revolved around the cathedral musicians, principally the organist and choir. This latter officially comprised 10 choristers and eight singing men; in practice the choir was supplemented by a varying number of supernumeraries and by the minor canons. The choir was not the isolated, insular body that might be expected of a foundation so far from London. Early eighteenth-century organists were recruited from outside the area - William Greggs from York and James Hesletine from London - and many of the adult singers in the choir were recruited from a similar distance. Amongst those singing men who came to the city from the south of England was the celebrated London concert-singer Thomas Mountier; Mountier had been associated with the choir of Chichester Cathedral before becoming known in London as a singer in Handel's operas.
