Britten: Corpus Christi Carol

This collection brings together rarities and surprises from the Decca/Argo Britten discography, a collection notable as much for the infrequency with which much of this music is performed, as it is for the fact that many of these are world-premiere recordings of Britten’s music. The source material itself is extremely rare and virtually every recording represented here is, in its LP/EP format, a collector’s item, largely from the Argo catalogue. The all-vocal program opens with Voices for Today which Britten wrote to mark the 20th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations. His devotion to excellent music for children is represented by a collection of songs, including five from Friday Afternoons and sung by the boy alto John Hahessy. It was Hahessy who was chosen over Norma Procter to sing the alto part in Britten’s Canticle II ‘Abraham and Isaac’. The earlier Procter/Pears/Britten version, recorded in 1957 but not released at the time in favour of the Hahessy recording; it is included on this collection. In later years, it was perhaps inevitable that other British singers would be compared with those who created and inspired Britten’s work, notably Ferrier, particularly after her early death. Pamela Bowden was one of those singers: she studied with Ferrier’s teacher, Roy Henderson, in London, and was hailed as the singer’s successor. She is represented by A Charm of Lullabies and it seemed sensible to include the remainder of the music on her original EP – two songs by Purcell – as bonus tracks for this release. A rare spoken-word appearance is made by author (and speaker) T.H. White, who reads an extract from his book The Sword in the Stone to an accompaniment of Britten’s music.

The Christmas album from distinctive Chorister boy-band Libera. An exciting mix of secular and sacred Christmas and Winter holiday favourites including "White Christmas", "Once in Royal David’s City", "Silent Night", "In dulci jubilo" & "O Holy Night". The deluxe edition contains the full album together with a special Libera Christmas tree decoration and 16 exclusive Libera postcards featuring song lyrics and pictures of the Libera boys.

The Christmas album from distinctive Chorister boy-band Libera. An exciting mix of secular and sacred Christmas and Winter holiday favourites including "White Christmas", "Once in Royal David’s City", "Silent Night", "In dulci jubilo" & "O Holy Night".

Compelling for her intensity and integrity as much as for her unmistakeable voice, Dame Janet Baker struck a distinctive path as a performer, primarily on the concert and recital stage. Among her most celebrated recordings are her interpretations of Elgar with Sir John Barbirolli, here complemented by songs and oratorio arias by composers such as Bach, Handel, Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Mahler, Strauss, Fauré, Vaughan Williams and Britten.

A charming selection of sacred music for treble voices, plus a perennial Irish favourite, Cockles and Mussels, sung with irresistible Gaelic charm by the boy trebles of St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin.

With varied accompaniment featuring organ, harp, and guitar, this is a beautiful collection of both well-loved, and some unfamiliar, instantly-appealing works for boys’ voices.

The first release for a number of years from St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin – which has the only choir school in Ireland, founded over 500 years ago.

A generously filled disc at with over 70 minutes of music.

Sarah Connolly received excellent reviews for her recital performance of ‘English Songs’ on 11 April 2011 at the Alice Tully Hall in New York. The New York Times wrote: ‘Ms Connolly’s voice was strong and steady through its range, velvety, but with a soft, subtle graininess that gave weight and presence to even her most ethereal floated notes.’

Here the mezzo-soprano, accompanied by Malcolm Martineau on piano, performs four arrangements by Benjamin Britten: three folk songs and one song from an early choral work. These complement the recent Britten CD on Chandos, on which Connolly performs the cantata Phaedra as well as A Charm of Lullabies (CHAN 10671).

Next come eleven songs from the 1920s, which is considered the golden decade for English art songs. Among the highlights are By a Bierside, Ivor Gurney’s stark reflection on death, written in the World War I trenches, and Herbert Howells’s King David which has long been considered a masterpiece. Howells himself said: ‘I am prouder to have written King David than almost anything else of mine.’

The most recent contribution to this disc of English Songs is the surreally retro A History of the Thé Dansant by Sir Richard Rodney Bennett, which was published in 1995.

All of Benjamin Britten’s most popular scared choral works, including two rarities; The Sycamore Tree and Advance Democracy.

Sung by the critically-acclaimed Choir of Truro Cathedral, directed by Christopher Gray, in his first recording since taking over as Director of Music.

While children’s voices have been heard in church music for centuries, music specifically composed for young choristers is a relatively recent, and most welcome, development.

As the attractive and diverse music by the fourteen composers represented on this delightful recording shows, children’s choirs now have a wealth of outstanding repertoire to delight, challenge and initiate them into the world of music.

The Grammy award-winning New London Children’s Choir, founded by Ron Corp in 1991, has been described by the Financial Times as “excellent” and by The Independent as “terrific.”

They have performed in the UK, Europe and North America to critical acclaim and boast an impressive discography, including two recordings of music by Britten for Naxos (8553183 and 8557203).