Mathias: A babe is born

William Mathias’s ebullient, joyful choral writing, drawing on a variety of musical traditions, is immediately accessible and likeable whilst demonstrating an architectural sophistication that brings it into the top rank of twentieth-century liturgical music. He had a particular flair for brilliance, drama and display, which made his music highly suited to ceremonial and festive occasions; present too in his music is a sense of Celtic mysticism and deep spirituality which enhances such works as ‘All wisdom is from the Lord’ and ‘O nata lux’.

This disc includes a comprehensive selection of his works for choir and organ, spanning his wide-ranging musical career and manifold influences. It is performed by Wells Cathedral Choir—recently described in Gramophone magazine as ‘probably the finest English Cathedral choir at the moment’—whose delightfully full-throated, vibrant sound is the perfect vehicle for this repertoire.

In the run-up to Advent and Christmas, the Choir of St John’s College, Cambridge under Andrew Nethsingha presents a joyous celebration of music for the festive season. The disc includes original works by John Rutter, Sir Richard Rodney Bennett, Elizabeth Poston, and Kenneth Leighton. These are complemented by arrangements of popular songs, and a selection of congregational hymns, all displaying strong ties to the Advent and Christmas seasons.

This disc was recorded in the College Chapel in full surround-sound, which means that it not only sounds spectacular, but recreates to a spectacular degree the experience of listening to the Choir perform in the Chapel.

The Choir of St John’s College, established in the 1670s, is today one of the finest college choirs in the world, known and loved by millions for its recordings, broadcasts, and concert tours.

Performances of carols both ancient and modern have become central to the celebration of Christmas.

The choral music on this disc includes Holst’s surprisingly neglected Christmas Day, as well as music by Leighton, Joubert, Mathias, Gardner and Rutter.

The nostalgic mood of Howells’s evergreen carol anthems is echoed in Finzi’s In terra pax, which recalls the pealing of bells at midnight on a frosty Christmas Eve.

The City of London Choir, which enjoys an enviable reputation as a “leader among non-professional choruses” (The Times), makes its Naxos début with this delightful recording.

The Gloucester Cathedral Choir follow their imaginative and acclaimed first release on AVIE, In The Beginning (AV 2072) with a spirited holiday album of traditional and contemporary carols, including famous arrangements by Sir David Willcocks and Sir Philip Ledger, as well as the newly commissioned title track from Richard Rodney Bennett.

As the successor to the boys and monks of the Benedictine Abbey, The Gloucester Cathedral Choir boasts a tradition tracing back over 900 years. Henry VIII established their current incarnation, along with the Church of England, in 1539. Andrew Nethsingha, the choir’s Music Director at the time of this recording, was a chorister at Exeter Cathedral, where his father, the distinguished Sri Lankan-born English church musician Lucian Nethsingha, was director of music for 26 years. He studied at the Royal College of Music where he was awarded seven prizes and was the youngest cathedral organist in Britain when appointed to Truro Cathedral in 1994. In addition to singing in six services every week, the Gloucester Cathedral Choir is heard annually at the Three Choirs Festival, and regularly at the Cheltenham International Festival and on BBC radio and television broadcasts.

Following the success of the beautiful a cappella choral album Peace: A Choral Album for our Times (AV 0039), the Handel and Haydn Society offers a seasonal offering that once again fuses the familiar with new works which are destined to inspire the festive imagination. Sample Jennifer Higdon’s atmospheric O Magnum Mysterium with glasses and chimes, or Eric Whitacre’s harmonious Lux aurumque, alongside longtime favourites such as Lo How a Rose E’er Blooming and The Coventry Carol in a unique arrangement with hand bells. Another special feature is the world premiere recording of Tom Vignieri’s Hodie Christus natus est, commissioned for the Handel and Haydn Society. For the ensemble’s Welsh-born Music Director Grant Llewellyn this recording is a deeply personal project, recapturing the annual spirit of caroling, maintaining tradition whilst forging new frontiers.