Howells: Collegium Regale: Te Deum

York Minster is the greatest medieval church in northern Europe. Here, the greater Festivals of the church’s calendar are celebrated with music tailored to the theme of the Day, and sung by the Minster’s magnificent choir, under the direction of Robert Sharpe.

This new recording, the first in a projected series, presents Epiphany Sunday at York Minster – the ‘twelfth night’ after Christmas Day, marking the pilgrimage of the Three Kings, ‘Magi’, or Wise Men, to the infant Jesus. The three services of the day - Matins (‘Morning Prayer’), the Eucharist or Holy Communion, and Evensong (‘Evening Prayer’) - are sung with a selection of the celebratory music that might be heard in the Minster on Epiphany Sunday.

In addition to Widor’s well-known large-scale Mass setting at the Eucharist, and famous canticle settings by Walton, Dyson and Howells at Matins and Evensong, there are new works receiving their first recording from David Briggs, (an Epiphany carol commissioned by the Minster in 2012), Philip Moore, and Richard Shephard.

For 32 years the Abbey School Choir sang daily evensong in Tewkesbury Abbey and one of their final services was captured for posterity by Delphian. In this recording swansong, the choir offers a treasurable memento of a uniquely English Office; complete with lessons and prayers, this sumptuous tapestry of Anglican jewels also includes the first recording of Gabriel Jackson’s refulgent new setting of the Evening Canticles. Reborn as Tewkesbury Abbey Schola Cantorum, the choir was immediately signed by Delphian and has embarked on a series of much-lauded recordings.

This recording heralds the beginning of an exclusive recording contract between Chandos and the Choir of St John’s College, Cambridge. All performances will be conducted by Andrew Nethsingha, the Choir’s Director of Music since 2007.

The disc of choral music by Herbert Howells includes two settings of the Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis: one setting was written for St John’s, where Howells was Acting Organist during World War II; the other for Gloucester Cathedral in the composer’s native county. It also features two premiere recordings, A Grace for 10 Downing Street and Psalm 142.

Andrew Nethsingha said, “We are delighted to be embarking on a partnership with such an excellent label as Chandos. With them, we will release a wide variety of repertoire. We have chosen to start with a disc of Howells’ music – Herbert Howells was closely associated with St John’s College for several decades. Two major works written for the St John’s Choir, including “Sequence for St Michael” will feature on the CD. The recording of “By the waters of Babylon”, a deeply moving psalm setting for baritone, violin, cello and organ will be another highlight of the disc.”

This is St John’s College Choir’s first long-term contract with Chandos. However, it has already made a number of recordings for the label, including Mozart’s Requiem and works by Charpentier and Poulenc (conducted by George Guest) and music by Tallis and Gibbons (conducted by Christopher Robinson).