Blow: Voluntary in D Minor

The Choir of Westminster Abbey under their inspirational director James O’Donnell delve into the Abbey’s vaults for this latest fascinating disc.

The triumphant mood of the Restoration required much glorious liturgical music, and the Abbey was home to some of the greatest composers and performers of the age. This recording presents music likely to have been sung by—and in some cases, almost certain to have been written for—the Choir of Westminster Abbey during the late 1670s and early 1680s. They sing four canticles from the compendious Service in B flat by Henry Purcell, together with psalmody in reconstructed contemporary style, and anthems and motets by Purcell and his contemporary John Blow, who famously both preceded and succeeded Purcell as Organist of the Abbey.

The first recording of the historic 1723 Abraham Jordan organ in St George’s Church, Southall, completely restored to its original specification by Mander Organs in 2009.

One of only a handful of instruments surviving from this period in the UK, this delightful early eighteenth-century organ has a surprising wealth of colour and characteristic sonorities, including one of the world’s earliest examples of a ‘swelling organ’.

Critically-acclaimed organist, William Whitehead, presents a broad survey of Restoration and Georgian English organ music appropriate to the restored instrument, and includes many works new to the catalogue.

SFZ Music are pleased to announce their latest release, a delightful programme of organ and vocal music by John Blow, Henry Purcell, and their contemporaries and pupils. Built in 1704, the organ of St Botolph, Aldgate is one of the most reliable witnesses to the sound of English church music of the late 17th and early 18th centuries. It is the oldest surviving English church organ, and the only surviving instrument by the great organbuilder Renatus Harris. In 2006, following a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, the organ was painstakingly and thoroughly restored to its original state by Martin Goetze and Dominic Gwynn. Timothy Roberts was for a long time the organist of His Majestys Sagbutts & Cornetts and is a distinguished recitalist specialising in Baroque and Renaissance music.

"a splendid collection of fine music… the result is so convincing in the two tracks where the audience participates in performances of two Psalms that we are caught up in a genuine recreation of the kind of atmosphere in which much of this music was first heard and for which it was intended. The majority of the pieces here are Voluntaries by Blow, finely played by Timothy Roberts, with other music by Purcell, John Reading, William Richardson and Jeremiah Clarke, the entire collection forming a valuable conspectus of music of the time, and well recorded on the oldest surviving English church organ, at St Botolph's, Aldgate dating from about 1704. The vocal items are excellently done, and all in all this makes a really worthwhile and most useful addition to the discography of the period. Texts are included." The Organ