May Madrigals on Magdalen Tower

As the sun rises above the Tower of Magdalen College, Oxford on 1 May, the sound of choristers will signal the official start of traditional May Day celebrations in the city, as they have done for nearly 500 years.

The whole choir of Magdalen College, boys and men, take part in the historic proceedings which begin as the bells strike 6am with the College hymn. That means a 5am start to warm up and make the long climb up the 172 steps of the tower, past the bells, to the top.

After a prayer led by the Dean, the choir sing madrigals such as ‘Now is the month of Maying’, and the bells ring out again in celebration while the singers clamber back down the stairs, covering their ears against the deafening noise of the bells and celebrations of the crowds watching from the street below.

Clare Ferguson, Master in Charge of the Choristers says: ‘For the boys it’s a great occasion and there is a traditional winding up of novices as to what happens at the top of the tower!

‘And after their early start the boys are treated to a slap-up breakfast, followed by a friendly game of football before a Sung Eucharist in the College Chapel at 9.15am.’

The origins of the choir’s May Day tradition are hazy, but are thought to possibly date back to the early 16th century and the death of Henry VII who was patron of the college.