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The Sacred Flame - Cambridge Singers   

I'll be honest, my mental image of the Cambridge Singers is of rather heavy handed singing, suitable for John Rutter's jolly carols, but not exactly competition for the Sixteen. However in this collection of Renaissance and Baroque they have proved they can do subtlety too. The Monteverdi pieces bounce along with just enough lightness. There's a wonderful range of the best music here. Gesualdo's O vos omnes, for example, is full of 'he can't do that!' moments - it's electrifying. Buxtehude's chunky and jubilant Magnificat adds a little light relief among the exquisite likes of Victoria and Josquin Desprez... and it runs through neatly through Schütz to the (relatively) trendy 'new' music of Mr Bach.

All in all a great collection.

CDs by St Paul’s Cathedral Choir

There's no doubt that the choir of London's cathedral, St. Paul's, is world class, but they do labour under one problem. The cathedral itself is a beautiful building, but its acoustic is terrible for delicate choral music, with a complex echo that can render the most precise singing a little mushy. To be honest, the choir would do themselves a favour if they recorded somewhere else, but presumably they would see this as letting the side down. Even so, their CDs are often worth buying as they cover some essential music and on the whole do it very well. One other minor criticism - perhaps because of the acoustic they occasional verge on the Victorian in the slowness of their tempos - but they're still a great choir.

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

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.  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.

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

My Soul doth Magnify the Lord   

If you enjoy those miniature masterpieces, the settings of the Evening canticles, the Magnificat and the Nunc Dimittis, this is an excellent CD to have at the core of your collection with a good set of the best Mag & Nuncs around (even better, also get the companion My Spirit Hath Rejoiced). St. Pauls isn't the idea acoustic for a crisp, precise recording, but there's plenty of verve in the performance to make up for the occasionally excessive echo  

Stanford in C, Walmisley in D minor, Wesley in E, Blair in B minor, Wood Collegium Regale (F), Brewer in D

My Spirit hath Rejoiced   

A companion to My Soul Doth Magnify the Lord, this is another collection of the settings of the Evening canticles, the Magnificat and the Nunc Dimittis. They've cunningly left several of the best settings for the second CD, so there's no excuse to only go for one, and it continues your collection with a good set of the best Mag & Nuncs around. As before, St. Pauls isn't the idea acoustic for a crisp, precise recording, but there's plenty of verve in the performance to make up for the occasionally excessive echo   

Noble in B minor, Howells Gloucester, Murrill in E, Harwood in F, Darke in F, Sumsion in G, Dyson in D