Britten: Hymn to St. Peter, Op. 56a

Britten's sacred music is among the most engaging and original music of its kind composed in the middle years of the 20th century. New College Choir was among the first to recognise its quality, and continues to sing it with passion and panache. This newly recorded anthology is released by New College Choir to mark the centenary of Britten's birth.

The 2 CD set offers an overarching view of his work in this domain, featuring favourites such as Rejoice in the Lamb and the Hymn to St Cecilia alongside settings more rarely heard, the Hymns to St Peter and of St Columba, and the wedding anthem Amo ergo sum. Overall, it offers a definitive panorama of Britten's sacred music from the 1930s to the 1960s in exemplary performances by one of the world's leading choirs.

Sheffield Cathedral is dedicated to St Peter & St Paul and this recording, Tu es Petus – ‘Thou art Peter’ – presents an unusual collection of music in honour of St Peter.

A new recording from this excellent choir.

Includes rarely-heard works works from Jonathan Dove and Carl Rütti, and the first recording by a British choir of the stunning Grande Messe Solennelle by the contemporary French composer, Thierry Escaich.

Sheffield Cathedral’s previous recordings included ground-breaking releases devoted to the works of Robert Walker and Patrick Gowers.

Once again Herald brings us a nicely themed CD of sacred choral music. Organist Paul Morgan and Conductor Stephen Tanner conduct the wonderful voices of The Girls Choristers and Gentlemen of Exeter Cathedral.

Britten’s substantial choral output ranges from small-scale pieces for boys’ choir to massive works such as the Spring Symphony and War Requiem. This three-disc compilation brings together a large selection of early and late unaccompanied choral works, performed by The Finzi Singers under Paul Spicer.

Here, among many others, is Rejoice in the Lamb, written in 1943 for Walter Hussey, the vicar of St Matthew’s Church in Northampton, for his congregation’s Jubilee Celebrations. Hussey was interested in forging a closer association between the arts and the Church, an aim that Britten himself shared. The composer chose as his text extracts from Christopher Smart’s Jubilate Agno, a rambling poem of the mid-eighteenth century, composed largely in a mad house. Although there is a delightful sense of madness present here, the religious character of the work is the most striking.

A.M.D.G., seven unaccompanied settings of poems by Gerald Manley Hopkins, was among the first works written by Britten after his arrival in the US in 1939. The work’s title is an abbreviation of Ad majorem Dei gloriam (To the greater glory of God), a saying that appears throughout the writings of Ignatius de Loyola, the founder of the Jesuit order of which Hopkins was a member. The premiere performance of this work was meant to take place in November 1939, but the outbreak of war caused the concert to be cancelled. The first performance was given by the London Sinfonietta Chorus, several years after the composer’s death, in August 1984.

This re-release is available on the Classic Chandos label at 3 CDs for the price of 2. The Finzi Singers and Paul Spicer have recorded a wide variety of British music for Chandos, much of which has not been heard before either in performance or on disc. They have been regarded as major exponents of British twentieth-century choral music.

This superb collection, released in celebration of the 100th anniversary of Britten’s birth, features all three of The Sixteen's celebrated Britten recordings.

Arguably the most famous British composer of the 20th century, Benjamin Britten possessed a formidable talent and distinctive style. His remarkable career spanned over 40 years and this collection of choral works features a fascinating selection of music from throughout his life.

Works include Hymn to the Virgin, a piece originally conceived during his school days; A Boy was Born which first brought him to the public’s attention; the much-loved A Ceremony of Carols - a masterpiece composed on board ship as Britten returned to England from the USA in 1942; and the Choral Dances from ‘Gloriana’ with tenor soloist Ian Partridge.

A Ceremony of Carols won a coveted Deutsche Schallplattenkritik when first released.