Finzi: God is gone up, Op. 27 No. 2

Hyperion is delighted to present this latest CD from The Choir of Westminster Abbey under their inspirational director, James O’Donnell. They continue their exploration of the rich repertoire of the liturgy in its historical context in the Abbey with music for the Feast of the Ascension. Ascension Day is a particular moment of celebration within the annual round of Easter praise and is celebrated in glorious and triumphal language. The works recorded here represent a wide range of the best of liturgical music, starting from the intricate and joyful writing of the sixteenth-century composer Peter Philips and ending with fascinating and appealing pieces by living composers. Along the way are works from the great flowering of English cathedral music in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

A substantial programme of sacred choral music by Gerald Finzi and Gustav Holst, sung by the Winchester Cathedral Girls’ Choir and the Lay Clerks in the third recording on Regent from Winchester Cathedral.

Included here are most of the sacred choral works by both composers suitable for liturgical use, and features not only well-known works such as God is gone up and Lo, the full, final sacrifice by Finzi, and the exquisite unaccompanied eight-part Nunc dimittis by Holst, but also a number of rarely-heard or recorded works by both composers.

Recorded in the glorious acoustics of Winchester Cathedral by one of the world’s finest cathedral girls’ choirs.

A journey in music through a year at Truro charting some of the major Festivals of the Church’s year from Advent to Christ the King.

A collection of both well-loved items and some less familiar works that might be heard at choral services in the Cathedral during the year.

The latest recording from the critically acclaimed fine choir of Truro Cathedral!

The forth release in Regent’s new ‘A Year at…’

A new release in the Naxos wedding music series, ‘A Choral Wedding’ is a 2 CD collection of popular choral anthems and favourite hymns which have been chosen specifically as suggestions for brides and grooms planning church weddings with a choir.

CD 1 includes a variety of anthems from the popular Anglican tradition such as Wesley’s Blessed be the God and Father and Parry’s I was glad through to classical evergreens such as Mozart’s Laudate Dominum and Fauré’s Cantique de Jean Racine. There are some seasonal items too – Stainer’s God so loved the world for an Easter wedding and Lauridsen’s O magnum mysterium for a Christmas wedding.

CD 2 is a re-packaged version of Abide with Me (8557578), and includes a wide selection of congregational hymns such as sing-along favourites Jerusalem and Praise, my soul, the King of Heaven.

Gerald Finzi made an important contribution to British twentieth-century song, choral and orchestral repertoire. His acute awareness of the frailty of existence found its musical expression not only in his song settings, but in the Cello Concerto, music of turbulent and tragic emotions, and his great masterpiece Intimations of Immortality, a deeply touching lament for the passing of the innocence of childhood.