Tavener: The Lord's Prayer

GRAMMY® Award winners in 2009, The King’s Singers are one of the world’s most celebrated ensembles. Their programming concept in this disc is unique: built upon the individual clauses of The Lord’s Prayer, beginning and ending in plainchant, it ranges over the centuries to explore the spiritually charged text. Chant is at the heart of the programme, and each composer’s setting illuminates the others, shedding rich interpretative light on the poetic and devotional aspects of the prayer.

One of the world’s most celebrated ensembles, The King’s Singers have a packed schedule of concerts, recordings, media and education work that spans the globe. Championing the work of both young and established composers, they are instantly recognisable for their spot-on intonation, impeccable vocal blend, flawless articulation of the text and incisive timing. They are also consummate entertainers: a class act with a delightfully British wit.

Treasures of Christ Church is a newly recorded, special collection of 500 years of English choral music sung from original manuscripts, uncovering the unique history of music at Christ Church from Tallis, Taverner, Handel, Purcell and Byrd through to world premieres from Rutter and Goodall.

All of the composers on Treasures had an association with Christ Church (whose hallowed halls were famously seen in the Harry Potter films), stretching back to the tenure of John Taverner, through Tallis, Handel, Purcell and Byrd to present day world premiere recordings of works by John Rutter and Howard Goodall.

The history: John Taverner, the most outstanding English composer of his time, was appointed Informator Choristarum of Cardinal College, Oxford in 1526, with the brief of establishing the foremost choral institution in the country. He succeeded magnificently and the tradition continues to this day at what is now known as Christ Church, Oxford. The Choir maintains a special and distinctive place within the great English choral tradition, with an unbroken, continuous tradition of glorious music-making for over five hundred years. Today the choir is renowned for its vibrant sound and artistic versatility, qualities that have been praised throughout the world. Packaging will feature striking visuals with photographs of original manuscripts on pristinely preserved parchment and leather-bound, gold-embossed scores. The promotional video will take viewers through the unrivalled archives and include interviews with Stephen Darlington and the composers.

This ‘songbook’ is unique to the Schola Cantorum choristers of Tewkesbury Abbey. “Essentially, it’s a showcase for the Abbey trebles,” their Director of Music Benjamin Nicholas explains. “We’ve been assembling our own 'Songbook' for quite a while now – the songs the trebles sing, from time to time, in boys-only concerts, and which they are taught in individual singing lessons. I’ve always been keen to build each boy up as a soloist, not necessarily with the express idea of them singing lots of solos, but so that they can learn to sing in a soloistic way.”

This is evident most of all in the distinctive singing of 11-year-old Laurence Kilsby, whose gifts won him the BBC Chorister of the Year competition in 2009. On this recording, he features as soloist in two Shelley settings by Roger Quilter, the Bach/Gounod Ave Maria and in John Ireland’s beautiful, sincerely-felt Passiontide motet Ex Ore Innocentium from 1944.

John Tavener describes his music as resembling ‘ikons in sound’ – a window on to the Divine world. The British conductor and composer James Whitbourn conducts the London-based ensemble The Choir in a programme of Tavener’s hauntingly beautiful unaccompanied choral music in performances described as “impressive and spiritual”.

‘The power of the performances is overwhelming and the credit goes to James Whitbourn and his vocal ensemble The Choir’ The Organ

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).

A slimline 10 CD box set for the Christmas gift market, featuring the ten titles in the award-winning series from St. John’s College, Cambridge:

- Lennox BERKELEY Sacred Choral Music 8557277

- BRITTEN Rejoice in the Lamb, Hymn to St Cecilia 8554791

- ELGAR Sacred Choral Music 8557288

- FINZI Lo, the Full, Final Sacrifice and other choral works 8555792

- Herbert HOWELLS Requiem and other choral works 8554659

- LEIGHTON Sacred Choral Music 8555795

- RUBBRA Nine Tenebrae Motets 8555255

- STANFORD Anthems and Services 8555794

- TAVENER Song for Athene, Svyati and other choral works 8555256

- WALTON The Twelve, Coronation Te Deum, Missa Brevis 8555793