Collections

The big advantage of a
collection is that you can sample a whole range of composers of the period
at one go. It also gives more variety of style and approach. These
collections have been specially selected to fit even if you have a number
of single-composer CDs. While there will be some overlaps, there are also
plenty of gems that make each CD worth owning. See also our separate page
of Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis collections.


The Road to Paradise - Gabrieli Consort

Effortlessly and beautifully sung by the Gabrieli Consort
under Paul McCreesh, this is one of the best collections of unaccompanied
church music we've ever come across. Not only is pretty well everything
here a gem, many of them are relatively unknown, and unlikely to be on
other collection CDs. The range is wonderful. There is gorgeous polyphony
on the Parsons piece, and though Britten's Hymn may be better known
I had forgotten just how hair raising it is until hearing this
electrifying performance. Media vita is not one of Sheppard's best,
though it does have some of his trademark "wow!" clashes and builds, and
at 19 minutes is quite a tour-de-force. The lyrical Richard Rodney Bennett
piece has rather King's Singers-y harmonies (none the worse for that),
while we shouldn't underrate Tavener's Song for Athene just because
it was well known from Diana's funeral. Other pieces of note include the
simpler but satisfying Sheppard In Pace, the moving Harris anthem
and Holst's ethereal Nunc - topped by a stunning Amen. Altogether,
a cracker.
-
New 19
July 2007
- Tallis - Misere nostri
- Chant - Jacet granum, clangat
pastor
- Parsons - Ave Maria
- Britten - A Hymn to the Virgin
- Byrd - Christe qui lux es et dies
- Sheppard - Media vita in morte
sumus
- Bennett - A Good-Night
- Tavener - Song for Athene
- Sheppard - In pace in idipsum
- Holst - Nunc Dimittis
- Harris - Bring us, O Lord God
- Howells - Take him, Earth, for
cherishing
- Chant - In paradisum
Advent at St. Paul's - Choir
of St Paul's Cathedral

Advent tends to get overwhelmed by Christmas, so
it's a great time to put off the pressure to dive into Christmas music and
hear some of the sublime pieces written for the beginning of the church
year. With a good mix from ancient to modern, this CD is a refreshing
collection. It's not entirely obvious why all the selections are there - the
luscious anonymous Rejoice in the Lord Alway (that used to be
ascribed to Redford), for instance. But this is top notch church music all
the way. As usual, the acoustic at St Paul's makes more for a rich sound
than absolute crispness, and tempos are occasionally a trifle slow, but
overall up to an excellent standard.
- Anon - Laudes Regiae
- Palestrina - Matins responsory
- Handl - Ecce concipes
- Peerson - Blow out the Trumpet
- Lloyd - Drop down, ye heavens
- Byrd - Laetentur coeli
- Wilby - Echo Carol
- Weelkes - Hosanna to the Son of
David
- Britten - Regis regum
rectissimi
- Anon - Rejoice in the Lord
Alway
- Gibbons - This is the record of
John
- Rutter - Hymn to the Creator of
Light
- Anon - Angelus ad Virginem
- Bruckner - Virga Jesse floruit
- Parsons - Ave Maria
- Palestrina - Vespers responsory
- Trad - O come, o come, Emmanuel
- Carter - Toccata on Veni
Emmanuel
Byrd Motets in paired settings
A clever idea that works surprisingly well. Six Byrd motets (Latin
anthems) are paired with a motet that uses the same words by a different
composer. It's a great way to explore some of Byrd's contemporaries, while
discovering afresh just how brilliant Byrd was. You may have the Byrd Ave
Verum Corpus, his most famous (and possibly best) motet elsewhere, but it
bears having multiple copies. This is an old recording (1965), which means
that it's very good value for money, yet still entirely acceptable to the
listener. - New 16
February 2000
- Byrd - Haec dies, Ave verum
Corpus, Miserere mei, O quam gloriosum, Iustorum animae, Tu es Petrus
- Palestrina - Haec Dies, Tu es
Petrus
- Philips - Ave verum Corpus
- Gabrieli - Miserere mei
- Victoria - O quam gloriosum
- Lassus - Iustorum animae
The English Anthem Vol 3 - Choir of St Paul's Cathedral

There is plenty of
worthwhile music here in another collection of English anthems from St
Paul's. Although as usual the acoustic does give a slight mushiness to the
sound, the choir (or director) seems slightly less inclined than usual to
adopt slow tempos, which was a pleasant change. Harwood's opening
blockbuster with its long organ opening is an acquired taste, reminiscent
of Stanford's B flat Te Deum in its ability to be both chirpy and
grandiose. Stanford himself weighs in with the even longer The Lord is
my Shepherd, not one of our favourites of his output. These
collections tend to be weighted to the Victorian/Edwardian, so it's good
to see Tavener's ravishing Hymn to the mother of God, balanced by
Walton's equally beautiful piece of the same name. If you like a modern
piece, Saxton's At the round earth's imagined corners (the name
alone is wonderful) is electrifying. This doesn't mean the older names
aren't there, though. Wood classic in Expectans Expectavi is joined
by the simple but touching Attwood Come Holy Ghost (soloist isn't
brilliant, but is fine). Holst's Turn back, O man, always in danger
of sounding plodding, comes across well, and there's a pleasant surprise
if you don't know it in Parry's There is an old belief. All in all,
a good lucky bag of a CD.
-
New 9
May 2006
- Harwood - O how glorious
- Stanford - The Lord is my Shepherd
- Tavener - Hymn to the mother of
God
- Wood - Expectans expectavi
- Harris - Faire is the heaven
- Attwood - Come Holy Ghost, our
souls inspire
- S S Wesley - In Exitu Israel
- Saxton - At the round earth's
imagined corners
- Walton - Hymn to the mother of God
- Holst - Turn back, O man
- Parry - There is an old belief
- Elgar - Give unto the Lord (psalm
29)

The English Anthem Vol 4 - Choir
of St Paul's Cathedral

A collection of solid English anthems which,
despite being 4th in the series manages to include such staples as
Attwood's Teach me, O Lord (with its infamous 'the way of thy
statutes' that usually comes out as 'statues'), Wood's stately O Thou,
the Central Orb, Bullock's Give us the wings of faith and
Bairstow's Jesu, grant me this I pray. As usual, mixed feelings
about the St Paul's choir - very accurate but, the building's acoustics
are mushy and they do love to do things slowly-
New 23
April 2004
- Matthias - Let the people
praise thee, O God
- Bairstow - Jesu, Grant me this
I pray
- Jackson - Alleluia, laudate
puer Dominum
- Howells - A Hymn for St. Ceclia
- Harris - Bring us, O Lord God
- Orr - They that put their trust
in the Lord
- Stanford - Coelos ascendit
hodie
- Bullock - Give us the wings of
faith
- Harvey - I love the Lord
- Attwood - Teach me, O Lord
- Wood - O Thou the central orb
- Grier - Let us invoke CHrist
- Parry - Hear my words, ye
people

English
Madrigals and Songs - Oxford Camerata

This is a real oddity for us, because it's not
actually church music - but if you thought madrigals were all 'hey nonny,
nonny', it will be a hugely pleasant surprise. And if you love church
music, you'll love this CD too. This sampler begins with a handful of
early tudor songs, including Cornysh's wry number 'Ah Robin, gentle Robin'
where the narrator discusses his leman (mistress). The central chunk is a
set of 'madrigals from the golden age', ncluding the most fantastic title
of any madrigal, Weelkes' magnificently named 'Thule, the period of
Cosmography'. To finish off, there are some more modern romantic songs and
part songs, beginning with Robert Pearsall (he of the classic arrangement
of In Dulci Jubilo we all know from Carols for Choirs) whose semi-pastische
'Lay a garland' remains one of the most stunning unaccompanied choral
pieces ever - it's worth buying the CD for this alone - and ending with
Stanford's haunting 'The blue bird'. All this for under a fiver (or $8) -
you'd be mad not to buy it. Incidentally, the music of 'Lay a garland' is
available free from the
Choral Public Domain Library. Just enter
the name in the search box to find it.
-
New 2
March 2002
 |
English Renaissance - The King's Singers.

This is by no means a new recording, dating back a good few years,
but it's worth having in your collection if only to counter a certain
amount of intellectual snobbery. There have been times in careers of the
changing body of men (and occasionally women) that have been The Kings
Singers when their rather strained attempts at humour and kitsch
arrangements of pop overwhelmed the fact that they have almost always been
an excellent group of singers. This sparkling collection of music by two of the masters of the
period, Thomas Tallis and William Byrd, shows that the KS can deliver.
They give a
beautifully polished performance of some of these superb composers'
best-known pieces, including Byrd's Ave Verum Corpus and Tallis'
Lamentations of Jeremiah. Simply wonderful - New
16 February 2000, updated 10 June
2004
- Byrd - Haec dies, Beata viscera
Maria Virginis, Ave verum Corpus, Vigilate, Viri Galilaei, O Lord,
Make Thy Servant Elizabeth, Sing Joyfully, Laudibus in sanctis
- Tallis - Te lucis ante terminum,
Lamentations of Jeremiah, If ye love me
Exultate Deo - Westminster Cathedral Choir

Arguably the best wide-ranging sampler available for this period,
with the delightfully crisp and seducing sound of the Westminster
Cathedral Choir. It's like Who's Who of the period. Classic CD said 'For
anyone eager to sample varied music from the Golden Age of polyphony this
is a perfect disc' - and who are we to argue? - New
6 June 2000
- Byrd - Ave verum corpus,
Civitatis Sancti tui, Haec dies
- Tallis - Salvator mundi, O nata
lux, In manus tuas
- Palestrina - Sicut cervus,
Exultate Deo
- Philips - Ascendit Deus, Ave
verum corpus
- Allegri - Miserere
- Parsons - Ave Maria
- Lotti - Crucifixus
- Viadana - Exultate justi
- Tye - Omnes gentes
- Gabrieli - Jubilate Deo
- Monteverdi - Cantate Domino
- Victoria - O quam gloriosum
French and German Organ Music - John Keys
A short CD at around 45 minutes (reflected in the price),
but one that organ enthusiasts are liable to want for some infrequently
recorded but magnificent pieces. This reviewer is usually involved in
choir music rather than organ, so I have to admit to never having heard of
Muffat (apparently of Scottish and French descent but regarding himself as
German), but his Toccata is quite a revelation. Of course, no one is going
to be surprised by Bach's D minor Toccata and Fugue (performed with
clinical precision by Nottingham's John Keys), but there are a number of
other delights here (Kerll's cuckoo inspired number isn't to our taste,
but it is unusual) to make this well worth adding to a collection. An
amateur recording (i.e. burned onto CD on a computer), but a very
professional performance from Keys. Not available from Amazon, but you can
buy the CD direct from us at this page, or
buy individual tracks as emailed MP3s or burned
to CD here - New
7 March 2006
- Muffat - Toccata duodecima et ultima
- Kerll - Capriccio "Cucu"
- J. S. Bach - Toccata & Fugue in D
minor BWV 565
- J. S. Bach - Kyrie, Gott Vater in
Ewigkeit BWV 669
- J. S. Bach - Christe, aller Welt
Trost BWV 670
- J. S. Bach - Kyrie, Gott Heiliger
Geist BWV 671
- Mendelssohn - Sonata in C minor Op.
65 No 2
- Lefebure-Wely - Sortie in E flat
Great Cathedral Anthems VII - Choir of Chichester Cathedral

Chichester is a good cathedral choir, and they
give an excellent performance in this set of anthems, but whoever chose
them needs a bit of a talking to, because frankly some of them are dire.
The headline Goss piece, The Wilderness, all nine minutes of it, is sort
of overblown, melodramatic piece that gives Victorian music a bad name.
There is some good stuff in there though (Ouseley's O Saviour for
one and Clarke's Purcellish I will love thee for another) - so
check the anthem listing. Actually they appear to have taken the 'great'
in the title too literally with 4 anthems over 9 minutes, including the
positively monumental O Lord, thou art my God at just under 20 minutes.
New
23 April 2004
- Goss - The Wilderness
- Goss - If we so believe
- Clarke - I will love Thee
- S. S. Wesley O Lord, Thou art
my God
- Mendelssohn - Say where is he
born, There shall a Star
- Ouseley - O Saviour of the
World
- Schubert - Where Thou reignest
- S. S. Wesley - The Wilderness
- Parry - Sunset
Hail, Gladdening Light - Cambridge Singers

Subtitled "music of the English church", this is
an excellent and eclectic collection. Like most of the more modern
Cambridge Singers recordings it lacks the heavy footedness of their early
attempts - clear and well sung. There are too many anthems, motets and
more to mention them all but worthy of note are the anonymous (sometimes
attributed to Redford) setting of "Rejoice in the Lord Alway" that knocks
spots of Purcell's over-fussy version, Bairstow's darkly moving "I sat
down under his shadow", the Goss standard "These are they that follow the
Lamb", a couple of Tavener's shorter pieces (and just to add confusion a
Taverner anthem too) and Stone's definitive setting of the Lord's Prayer.
A great introduction to church music, but also an excellent addition to a
collection with much that doesn't appear elsewhere. New
4 January 2005
 |
Miserere

The Allegri Miserere, probably the most famous piece of this period
is usually coupled with other well known pieces. This recording has the
advantage of including a couple of less-known, but stunning works (okay,
the Palestrina is quite popular, but even so...). As usual, the Tallis
Scholars give a polished performance. Altogether, it's a great recording,
reasonably priced as it dates back to 1980. -
New
16 February 2000
- Allegri - Miserere mei Deus
- Mundy - Vox patris caelestis
- Palestrina - Missa Papae
Marcelli
 |
More Sweet to Hear
- Choir of Gonville & Caius, Cambridge/Magnus Williamson

A period piece, subtitled 'organs and voices of Tudor England,'
this CD provides a pure illustration of the organ sound expected by Tudor
composers using two reconstructed Tudor organs. Voices are provided by the
not particularly well known, but fine, choir of Gonville & Caius College,
Cambridge. The CD splits into three, starting with early Tudor choral
pieces where the organ is the prime interest, then a mixed batch of pure
organ and choral secular pieces, followed up by a collection of later
Tudor works. The first set, including the opening Burnett Te Deum,
are perhaps the least interesting and will probably appeal more to period
specialists or organ enthusiasts than choral fans - the fauxbourdons in
the Burnett, for instance, give the organ a lot more interesting things to
do than the singers. In the second set there are some intriguing organ
sounds reminiscent of the conventional instrumental music of the period
(the bouncy The trowmppettus for example), and some surprises from
the great church musicians of the time, notably Sheppard (if rather
boringly non-clashing for this most innovative composer) and Tallis.
In the third section,
Byrd and Morley
probably provide the most satisfying music from the delicate organ
piece Ut re me fa sol la to the more familiar sounds of Teach Me
O Lord and the Magnificat from the Second Service. I
particularly liked Morley's Out of the Deep, which while rarely
unpredictable was an excellent and relatively rarely heard piece. It was
only really in this section that the Caius choir could be judged. The
sound was good, if a little dull on top - it's odd that having gone to the
effort of using period organs, a choir with a very obvious mixed sound was
used here. For those used to more modern organs, the instrumental sound is
a little thin to begin with, but the CD certainly provides a fascinating
insight into the bridge between the early tradition and the church music
most of us are familiar with. Recommended. -
New
5 March 2007
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