Vaughan Williams - Choral Works

from CDA66420, CDA66655, CDA66511 & CDA66569

Best has a fine sense of VW as a dramatic composer, bringing tremendous urgency to Dona Nobis Pacem and real passion to the Five Mystical Songs. Best's Serenade to Music is the original, not... — BBC Music Magazine, July 2008, 5 out of 5 stars More…

Release Date: 2nd Jun 2008
Catalogue No: CDS443214
Label: Hyperion
Length: 4 hours 41 minutes

Presto Recording of the Week

14th July 2008
Building a Library

July 2017

First Choice

Vaughan Williams: Serenade to Music

Work length13:45

$2.05

$2.50

Elizabeth Connell (soprano), Amanda Roocroft (soprano), John Mark Ainsley (tenor), Martyn Hill (tenor), Maldwyn Davies (tenor), Anne Dawson (soprano), Linda Kitchen (soprano), Alan Opie (baritone), Gwynne Howell (bass), Thomas Allen (baritone)
English Chamber Orchestra
Matthew Best

Vaughan Williams: Five Mystical Songs

Work length19:41

$5.00

$6.25

Thomas Allen (baritone)
English Chamber Orchestra, Corydon Singers
Matthew Best

I. Easter

Track length5:28

$1.00

$1.25

II. I got me flowers

Track length2:54

$1.00

$1.25

III. Love bade me welcome

Track length5:57

$1.00

$1.25

IV. The Call

Track length2:00

$1.00

$1.25

V. Antiphon

Track length3:22

$1.00

$1.25

Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on Christmas Carols

Work length12:35

$2.05

$2.50

Thomas Allen (baritone)
English Chamber Orchestra, Corydon Singers
Matthew Best

Excerpt, Vaughan Williams: Flos Campi

Work length22:13

Album only

Nobuko Imai (viola)
English Chamber Orchestra, Corydon Singers
Matthew Best

Excerpt, Vaughan Williams: Dona Nobis Pacem

Work length35:16

$6.00

$7.45

Judith Howarth (soprano), Thomas Allen (baritone)
Corydon Orchestra, Corydon Singers
Matthew Best

I. Agnus Dei –

Track length3:13

$1.00

$1.25

II. Beat! beat! drums! –

Track length3:45

$1.00

$1.25

III. Reconciliation –

Track length6:34

$1.00

$1.25

IV. Dirge for two veterans –

Track length10:45

$1.50

$1.85

V. The Angel of Death has been abroad – O man greatly beloved

Track length10:59

$1.50

$1.85

Vaughan Williams: Four Hymns

Work length17:04

$4.00

$5.00

John Mark Ainsley (tenor), Matthew Souter (viola)
Corydon Orchestra
Matthew Best

I. Lord! Come away!

Track length4:24

$1.00

$1.25

II. Who is this fair one?

Track length4:33

$1.00

$1.25

III. Come love, come Lord

Track length3:52

$1.00

$1.25

IV. Evening Hymn

Track length4:15

$1.00

$1.25

Vaughan Williams: Toward the Unknown Region

Work length12:54

$2.05

$2.50

Corydon Orchestra, Corydon Singers
Matthew Best

Vaughan Williams: O Clap Your Hands (Psalm 47)

Work length3:13

$1.00

$1.25

Corydon Orchestra, Corydon Singers
Matthew Best

Vaughan Williams: Lord, Thou has been our refuge

Work length7:55

$1.50

$1.85

Thomas Allen (baritone)
Corydon Orchestra, Corydon Singers
Matthew Best

Vaughan Williams: The Pilgrim's Progress

Work length1:03:54

$13.55

$16.85

Sir John Gielgud (narrator), Richard Pasco (narrator), Aidan Oliver (treble), Ursula Howells (narrator)
City of London Sinfonia, Corydon Singers
Matthew Best

I. Prologue

Track length5:17

$1.00

$1.25

II. The Kingdom

Track length3:17

$1.00

$1.25

III. The Gate

Track length2:59

$1.00

$1.25

IV. The Way

Track length4:24

$1.00

$1.25

V. The Shepherd

Track length3:43

$1.00

$1.25

VI. The Palace Beautiful

Track length4:52

$1.00

$1.25

VII. Apollyon

Track length5:05

$1.00

$1.25

VIII. Vanity Fair

Track length6:11

$1.00

$1.25

IX. The Trial

Track length7:22

$1.50

$1.85

X. Giant Despair

Track length4:44

$1.00

$1.25

XI. The Delectable Mountains

Track length14:20

$2.05

$2.50

XII. Epilogue

Track length1:40

$1.00

$1.25

Vaughan Williams: A Song of Thanksgiving

Work length16:12

Album only

Sir John Gielgud (narrator), Lynne Dawson (soprano), John Scott (organ)
City of London Sinfonia, The London Oratory Junior Choir, Corydon Singers
Matthew Best

Vaughan Williams: Three Choral Hymns

Work length12:40

$3.00

$3.75

Roger Judd (organ), John Bowen (tenor)
City of London Sinfonia, Corydon Singers
Matthew Best

I. Easter Hymn

Track length3:12

$1.00

$1.25

II. Christmas Hymn

Track length5:55

$1.00

$1.25

III. Whitsunday Hymn

Track length3:33

$1.00

$1.25

Vaughan Williams: Magnificat

Work length14:19

$2.05

$2.50

Catherine Wyn-Rogers (mezzo-soprano), Duke Dobing (flute), Roger Judd (organ)
City of London Sinfonia, Corydon Singers
Matthew Best

Vaughan Williams: The Shepherds of the Delectable Mountains

Work length21:46

Album only

Bryn Terfel (baritone), Alan Opie (baritone), Adrian Thompson (tenor), Jonathan Best (bass), John Mark Ainsley (tenor), Linda Kitchen (soprano)
City of London Sinfonia, Corydon Singers
Matthew Best

Vaughan Williams: The Hundredth Psalm 'O be joyful in the Lord'

Work length7:56

$1.50

$1.85

Roger Judd (organ)
City of London Sinfonia, Corydon Singers
Matthew Best

About
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About

Favourites, Ralph Vaughan Williams

David picks out some top recordings of the works of English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams.

Issued to mark the fiftieth anniversary of Vaughan Williams’s death, this collection is tantalizing: it starts with one of the best-selling discs in the the catalogue, the Serenade to Music, and includes such favourites as the Five Mystical Songs and The Hundreth Psalm. There are also two intriguing pairings: in Dona nobis pacem, RVW warns of the impending doom of WWII, in A song of thanksgiving we hear his moving response to its successful conclusion; in The shepherds of the delectable mountains we hear an early working of Bunyan’s literary masterpiece, later extensively reworked in the landmark 1942 BBC radio production of The Pilgrim’s Progress featuring Sir John Gielgud and reprised here, this time in condensed form.

Artists

Elizabeth Connell (soprano), Amanda Roocroft (soprano), John Mark Ainsley (tenor), Martyn Hill (tenor), Maldwyn Davies (tenor), Anne Dawson (soprano), Linda Kitchen (soprano), Alan Opie (baritone), Gwynne Howell (bass), Thomas Allen (baritone), Nobuko Imai (viola), Judith Howarth (soprano), Matthew Souter (viola), Sir John Gielgud (narrator), Richard Pasco (narrator), Aidan Oliver (treble), Ursula Howells (narrator), Lynne Dawson (soprano), John Scott (organ), Roger Judd (organ), John Bowen (tenor), Catherine Wyn-Rogers (mezzo-soprano), Duke Dobing (flute), Bryn Terfel (baritone), Adrian Thompson (tenor), Jonathan Best (bass)

English Chamber Orchestra, Corydon Singers, Corydon Orchestra, City of London Sinfonia, The London Oratory Junior Choir, Matthew Best

Reviews

July 2008

Best has a fine sense of VW as a dramatic composer, bringing tremendous urgency to Dona Nobis Pacem and real passion to the Five Mystical Songs. Best's Serenade to Music is the original, not least in matching the star quality of the singers, but also in its magical atmosphere. He equally evokes VW's sensuous side, not only in Flos Campi but also in the Magnificat with its ecstatic writing for female voices.

CD Review

Performances like these don’t come along very often; each one is an absolute winner, and with rich, atmospheric recording quality the satisfaction is of a very special quality

June 2014

Matthew Best and the Corydon Singers have made something of a speciality of English choral music, and this four-CD box-set showcases their beautiful sound and consummate musicality. They're mostly smaller-scale works, though Dona Nobis Pacem features, and there are some less well-known items such as the Song of Thanksgiving - which in the Corydon Singers' capable hands are just as appealing as the established favourites.

1st June 2008

The performances are splendid, graced by such soloists as Thomas Allen (Dona nobis pacem, Five Mystical Songs) and Bryn Terfel (The Shepherds of the Delectable Mountains)..The rapturous Serenade to Music has a cast of 16 singers fit to rival those of the original recording. Anne Dawson’s top note on the word “music” is spine-tingling.

Vaughan Williams - Choral Works

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Favourites, Ralph Vaughan Williams

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