Gibbons: Choral and Organ Music
Gibbons is often better represented in the hymn book than in the serious music of a service - and this CD helps demonstrate why that's a shame. With a mix of verse and full anthems, plus both sets of Mag and Nunc, and a smattering of organ music it gives a good picture of Gibbons' church output. If you like the sound of madrigals, you'll like some of the church music, but there are also works in here to rival more heavy duty compositions - Out of the deep, for example. Both evening services are fun - the contemplative verse settings of the second service and the livelier short service.
CD and MP3s of Church Music
If you are new to church music, try our hot CD at the bottom of the page.
Alternatively, consider one of the collection CDs to get a flavour for different composers. One of the best-known pieces ever is Allegri's haunting Miserere. You might also like to try a CD of Byrd's 3 masses for a collection of some of the most perfect music ever written.
Not sure what it's all about? Listen to a couple of clips to get a feel for this remarkable music.
Real Audio
From the excellent Atlanta Sacred Chorale - a snippet of Tallis' If ye love me
From the Nebraska Wesleyan University Choir - Howell's A Spotless rose
MP3
From the Chapel Choir of Royal Holloway College - a small part of Byrd's Sing Joyfully
Amazon now has an excellent MP3 download store, where many of these tracks can be
downloaded without complicated digital rights management. In the UK visit the UK download shop
You can jump straight from the CD menu at the top of any page to the following types of CD:
- By composer
- By performer
- Christmas CDs
- Collections - a good starting point if you don’t have a particular composer in mind
- Hymn CDs - these are with singing (see the Hymn CD site for accompaniments)
- Setting CDs - Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis.
- Wedding CDs