M ichael W ise Sacred Choral Music
The Choir of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
Geoffrey Webber
Michael Wise Sacred Choral Music
The Choir of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
Michael Wise (c.1648 – 1687)
1. Prepare ye the way of the Lord [4.27]
Christopher Gibbons (1615 – 1676)
2. Verse for Single Organ [2.41]
Michael Wise
3. How are the mighty fallen [4.55]
Christopher Gibbons
4. A Verse for the Organ [1.39]
Michael Wise
5. The Lord is my shepherd [3.40]
Matthew Locke (1622 – 1677)
6. [Verse] for the Organ [1.04]
Michael Wise
7. Te Deum (Service in D minor) [5.36]
8. Jubilate Deo (Service in D minor) [2.20]
Thomas Hewitt Jones & David Ballantyne organ scholars
Geoffrey Webber conductor & solo organ
Anonymous
9. [Verse] in D major [2.23]
Michael Wise
10. O praise God in his holiness [4.20]
11. Blessed is he that considereth the poor and needy [4.02]
12. Magnificat (Service in E flat) [2.53]
13. Nunc dimittis (Service in E flat) [1.58]
14. The ways of Sion do mourn [7.37]
15. Awake, put on thy strength O Sion [5.06]
Christopher Gibbons
16. [Verse] in A minor [1.16]
Michael Wise
17. Have pity upon me, O ye my friends [4.39]
Anonymous
18. [Double Voluntary] in D minor [3.40]
Michael Wise
19. Open me the gates of righteousness [5.50]
Total playing time [70.15]
Recorded on 30 June & 1-2 July 2007 in the Chapel of Pembroke College, Cambridge, by kind permission of the Dean and Fellows.
Producer: Paul Baxter
Engineer: Beth Mackay
24-Bit digital editing: Adam Binks
24-Bit digital mastering: Paul Baxter
Design: Drew Padrutt
Photograph editing: Dr Raymond Parks
Photography © Delphian Records
Delphian Records Ltd – Edinburgh – UK
www.delphianrecords.co.uk
With thanks to Sam Barrett, Celia Cobb, Keri Dexter, James Drinkwater, Gregory Drott and Rev’d Dr James Gardom.
Composers are rarely saints, yet the antics of Michael Wise, best known for his church music, take some beating. He was frequently negligent in his duties, prone to drunkenness and profanity, quarrelsome and accusatory, and chastised for unspecified ‘other excesses in his life and conversation’. The manner of his untimely death may therefore come as no surprise – he was hit about the head and ‘kill’d downright’ by the night watchman in Salisbury Cathedral for ‘stubborne and refractory language’ – and the surviving anecdotes have formed the basis of a comic music theatre piece by Francis Pott, Wise after the Event, commissioned for London City Churches Week and performed in 1987 on the 300th anniversary of his death. Yet Wise’s church music betrays nothing of his erratic temperament. Ian Spink has noted how his music ‘shows restraint and a sense of decorum’. Perhaps it is easier to picture the composer not through his church music but through the few typically bawdy catches that survive, such as ‘Counsel for Married Folks’ and ‘A Catch on the Cats’. No music survives by Wise other than his church music and catches, yet his verse anthems and services were held in very high esteem by his contemporaries, and copies of his most admired works found their way to nearly every choral establishment in the country soon after their composition, outnumbering those by Blow and Purcell.
The main respectable facts of his life are as follows. The young Michael Wise (birth date unknown) was one the first choristers of the newly re-established Chapel Royal in 1660. He may have been recruited from Salisbury, for after a spell as a lay clerk at both St George’s Chapel, Windsor and Eton College he was appointed organist, lay vicar and instructor of the choristers at Salisbury Cathedral in 1668. In 1676 he was appointed a Gentleman of the Chapel Royal, but he managed to maintain his Salisbury post as well. A new chapter in his life was due to begin in 1687 when James II personally recommended him as Master of the Choristers at St Paul’s Cathedral as services were being started up again in Wren’s new building, but he died before he was able to take up the post.
This recording of choral works by Wise is the first devoted exclusively to his music (with the addition of some contemporaneous organ music). The well-known anthems and services such as Prepare ye the way of the Lord, The ways of Sion do mourn and the Evening Canticles in E flat, still regularly performed today, can thus be heard for the first time alongside a selection of the rest of his output. It was common in the seventeenth century for anthems and services to be preceded by a brief organ prelude in the key of the ensuing vocal piece, and in that spirit a number of short pieces have been chosen to set the key and mood of the following piece (though
the splendid anonymous Double Voluntary is included as a free-standing item). Wise died just before the Smith/Harris revolution of English organ building was beginning to take hold in the late 1680s with the introduction of trumpet and cornet stops, so the pieces chosen here belong to the older school of composition, exemplified by two of the finest London organists of the early Restoration, the Catholic Matthew Locke and the Organist of Westminster Abbey, Christopher Gibbons (son of Orlando).
Ian Spink’s analysis of the surviving sources of Wise’s music in Restoration Cathedral Music 1660-1714 (OUP, 1995) gives a basic chronology of the anthems. Of those included on this recording, his earliest anthems, composed before 1666 whilst he was in the London area, are Blessed is he that considereth the poor and needy, Have pity upon me, O ye my friends, and O praise God in his holiness. Probably dating from 1666-1670, either before or soon after his move to Salisbury, are the anthems How are the mighty fallen, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, and The Lord is my shepherd Dating from the later end of this period is Awake, put on thy strength O Sion. The other two anthems on this recording appear to have been composed later, when his output seems to have greatly decreased. Open me the gates of righteousness probably dates from the late 1670s, and The ways of Sion do mourn only survives in sources that date from after Wise’s
death in 1687. In some ways one is struck by the consistency of his musical style during his short lifetime. The appearance of simple but effective chromatic writing in response to the text is found both in one of his earliest anthems, Blessed is he that considereth the poor and needy (for the phrase ‘raise thou me up’) and in his late masterpiece The ways of Sion do mourn (at the start). But the passing years are evident in the increased use of triple time, mirroring a general trend of the period. The exuberant Awake, put on thy strength O Sion remains in triple time almost throughout with rolling ‘Halleluiah’ choruses, though Wise puts the brakes on sharply at the final cadence by switching to duple time just for the final ‘Halleluiah’. Open me the gates of righteousness also opens in triple time, but a further modern trend here is the verse combination of two trebles and bass, giving an Italianate trio texture.
Wise was relatively unusual in giving a large amount of solo material to boy choristers. The decades following the Restoration saw a general increase in the amount of verse material written for the lay-clerks, and the exclusive use of a trio consisting of alto, tenor and bass in Awake, put on thy strength O Sion is another more modern feature of this piece, but even in Wise’s later anthems we find him regularly using treble voices. Perhaps he followed the example of William Child at St George’s, Windsor in this respect, or perhaps he favoured boys’ voices ‘for their ethereal
effect and supposed connotations of innocence’, as Spink has remarked, though he also uses a treble soloist for the troubled adult themes of How are the mighty fallen and penitential anthems such as Have pity upon me, O ye my friends.
The early rapid dissemination of Wise’s church music around the country in manuscript form gave rise to some markedly different versions of his more popular pieces. Keri Dexter has discerned at least three regional versions of the chorus of The ways of Sion do mourn, suggesting that the original circulating exemplar may have been a short score without alto and tenor parts. Many other such problems exist for the modern editor of Wise’s music, not least the problem of the fragmentary organ parts. With only sparse appearance of figured bass in the sources, the editor is often presented with difficult choices for harmony in the verse sections, and those familiar with the modern edition of Wise’s Magnificat and Nunc dimittis in E flat will notice a number of differences introduced for this recording. Another problem is presented by The Lord is my shepherd, since not all sources conclude with the Doxology. There is no reason to doubt that the Gloria was composed by Wise, so it may be that the duet’s popularity meant that non-liturgical performances were sometimes given.
The first printed editions of Wise’s music came with William Boyce’s great anthology Cathedral
Music (three volumes, 1760-73), which included Awake, put on thy strength O Sion, The ways of Sion do mourn and an expanded version by Henry Aldrich, Dean of Christ Church, Oxford, of How are the mighty fallen, now entitled Thy beauty, O Israel. Boyce’s publication probably drew Wise to the attention of the historian Charles Burney, who wrote in enthusiastic terms about The ways of Sion do mourn: ‘The use the author has made of chromatic intervals at the word mourn, is not only happy and masterly, but new, even now, at more than a hundred years distance from the time when the anthem was produced! The whole composition seems to be admirable; and besides the intelligence and merit of the design, the melody is truly plaintive, and capable of the most touching and elegant expression of the greatest singers of modern times; the harmony too and modulation are such as correspond with the sense of the words, and enforce their expression.’ In the nineteenth century Wise’s principal advocate was Vincent Novello, who published a small number of anthems, including Awake, put on thy strength O Sion; in the last century William Harris published an edition of the Wise/Aldrich hybrid Thy beauty, O Israel in 1941, and more recently Christopher Dearnley edited the Evening Canticles in E flat and Michael Smith (who wrote a doctoral dissertation on Wise) published a few more previously unknown anthems, including The Lord is my shepherd.
The chief appeal of Wise’s church music was neatly summed up by E.H. Fellowes, who wrote in his 1941 study English Cathedral Music that his popular anthems are ‘unpretentious in scope and design, but … are distinguished by a strong feeling for melodic beauty and for structural form.’ His anthems, all of modest length, make good use of repeated refrains and echos, and contain many memorable turns of phrase. Amongst numerous examples one might highlight (selecting from the less well-known works) the delightful echos for two trebles in The Lord is my shepherd, the intensity of the repeated phrase ‘and are not satisfied in my flesh’ in Have pity upon me, O ye my friends (as well as the poignant ‘For I know that my redeemer liveth’), the lively response to the musical
instruments in the text of O praise God in his holiness, the powerful chorus and expressive declamation in How are the mighty fallen, and the charming lilt of ‘God is the Lord who hath showed us light’ in Open me the gates of righteousness. His services also stand out for their melodic appeal, which sets them well above those by many of his early Restoration contemporaries. Spink summarises his achievement as follows: ‘Viewed as a whole, Wise’s church music presents an attractive picture of new idioms cautiously absorbed into a fundamentally traditional musical language ... Despite the modest scale and subdued effect of his work, his achievement was considerable, nevertheless, and deserves greater recognition.’
© 2008 Geoffrey WebberNote on the performances
This recording was made in Pembroke College Chapel, Cambridge, designed by Christopher Wren, and uses the chapel’s organ by N.P. Mander Ltd (1980), which incorporates the original cases and 5 stops of 8’ and 4’ pitch from the organ built for the Chapel by Charles Quarles in 1708. These early stops are used for most of the solo and accompanimental organ parts on the recording. Keri Dexter’s edition of The ways of Sion do mourn has been employed (The Restoration Anthem, Volume One, Church Music Society/OUP), but all other pieces by Wise are performed in editions specially prepared for this recording. Given the absence of autograph sources, Wise’s original intentions are often obscure, most obviously
concerning the organ parts and the middle voice parts in the choruses. A light sprinkling of ornament signs in some sources suggests that ornamentation was sometimes added by singers and organists, and a modest amount of ornamentation has been added in these performances (slides, forefalls and backfalls, trills and free divisions). Isolated occurrences in the sources have been followed closely, as in the organ ritornelli of Thomas Tudway’s copy of How are the mighty fallen in the British Library, though these are unlikely to have originated with the composer. A much greater degree of ornamentation is generally found in the sources of the solo keyboard repertoire of the period.
© 2008 Geoffrey Webber1 Prepare ye the way of the Lord
Prepare ye the way of the Lord, Make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted and every mountain shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight and the rough places shall be made plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together. And the voice said
cry, What shall I cry?
All flesh is grass, and the goodliness thereof is as a flower that is in the field. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, but the word of the Lord shall stand fast forever.
O Zion, that bringest glad tidings, get thee up into the mountains.
O Jerusalem, that bringest glad tidings, lift up thy voice with strength and say unto Judah, behold thy God. Isaiah 40 vv. 3-9
3 How are the mighty fallen
How are the mighty fallen.
Tell it not in Gath, lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice,
Tell it not in Gath, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph.
From the blood of the slain, from the bow of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan turned not back, nor the sword of Saul returned not empty. Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were not divided. How are the mighty fallen in the midst of battle. Ye daughters of Israel, weep over Saul who clothed you in scarlet, who put on ornaments of gold upon your apparel.
I am distressed for thee, O Jonathan, thou wast slain in thy high places. Very pleasant hast thou been, O Jonathan, thy love to me, O Jonathan, was wonderful, passing the love of women. How are the mighty fallen and the weapons of war are perished.
2 Samuel 1 vv. 19-20, 22-26
The Lord is my shepherd
The Lord is my shepherd: therefore can I lack nothing.
He shall feed me in a green pasture: and lead me forth by the waters of comfort.
Yea, though I walk in the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff comfort me.
For thy loving kindness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever and ever.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be: world without end. Amen Psalm 23 vv. 1-2, 4, 6
7 Te Deum (Service in D minor)
We praise thee O God: we knowledge thee to be the Lord.
All the earth doth worship thee, the Father everlasting.
To thee all angels cry aloud: the heavens and all the powers therein.
To thee Cherubim and Seraphim continually do cry, Holy, holy, holy: Lord God of Sabaoth; Heaven and earth are full of the majesty of thy glory.
The glorious company of the Apostles praise thee.
The goodly fellowship of the prophets praise thee.
The noble army of martyrs praise thee. The Holy Church throughout all the world doth knowledge thee;
the Father of an infinite majesty: thine honourable, true and only Son; also the Holy Ghost the comforter.
Thou art the King of Glory, O Christ:
Thou art the everlasting Son of the Father. When thou tookest upon thee to deliver man:
thou didst not abhor the Virgin’s womb. When thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death;
thou didst open the Kingdom of Heaven to all believers.
Thou sittest at the right hand of God in the glory of the Father.
We believe that thou shalt come to be our judge.
We therefore pray thee help thy servant: whom thou hast redeemed with thy precious blood. Make them to be numbered with thy saints, in glory everlasting.
O Lord, save thy people, and bless thine heritage: govern them and lift them up for ever. Day by day we magnify thee: and we worship thy name ever world without end.
Vouchsafe, O Lord, to keep us this day without sin:
O Lord have mercy upon us, have mercy upon us.
O Lord, let thy mercy lighten upon us: as our trust is in thee,
O Lord, in thee have I trusted: let me never be confounded.
8 Jubilate Deo (Service in D minor)
O be joyful in the Lord all ye lands: serve the Lord with gladness and come before his presence with a song. Be ye sure that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us and not we ourselves, we are his people and the sheep of his pasture. O go your way into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him and speak good of his name. For the Lord is gracious, his mercy is everlasting: And his truth endureth from generation to generation.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be: world without end. Amen.
Psalm 100
10 O praise God in his holiness
O praise God in his holiness: praise him in the firmament of his power. Praise him in his noble acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness.
Praise him in the sound of the trumpet: praise him upon the lute and harp. Praise him in the cymbals and dances: praise him upon the strings and pipe. Praise him upon the well-tun’d cymbals: praise him upon the loud cymbals. Let everything that hath breath: praise the Lord. Halleluia.
Psalm 150
11 Blessed is he that considereth the poor and needy
Blessed is he that considereth the poor and needy: the Lord shall deliver him in the time of trouble. The Lord comfort him, when he lieth sick upon his bed: make thou all his bed in his sickness. Lord be merciful unto me: heal my soul for I have sinned against thee. All mine enemies whisper together against me, but be thou merciful unto me, O Lord: raise thou me up again and I shall reward them. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel: world without end. Amen.
Psalm 41 vv. 1, 3, 4, 7, 10
12 Magnificat (Service in E flat)
My soul doth magnify the Lord: and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For he hath regarded: the lowliness of his handmaiden.
For behold, from henceforth: all generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath magnified me: and holy is his name. And his mercy is on them that fear him: throughout all generations. He hath shewed strength with his arm: he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seat: and hath exalted the humble and meek.
He hath filled the hungry with good things: and the rich he hath sent empty away. He remembering his mercy hath holpen his servant Israel: as he promised to our forefathers, Abraham and his seed, for ever. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be: world without end. Amen.
Luke 1 vv. 46-55
13 Nunc dimittis (Service in E flat)
Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace: according to thy word. For mine eyes have seen: thy salvation, Which thou hast prepared: before the face of all people;
To be a light to lighten the Gentiles: and to be the glory of thy people Israel.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be: world without end. Amen.
Luke 2 vv. 29-32
14 The ways of Sion do mourn
The ways of Sion do mourn, because none come to her solemn feasts.
All her gates are desolate: her priests sigh, her virgins are afflicted, and she is in bitterness.
For these things I weep; mine eye runneth down with water, Her adversaries are the chief, her enemies prosper; for the Lord hath afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions. See, O see, O Lord, and consider; for I am become vile. Is it nothing to you, all you that pass by? Behold and see if there be any sorrow like my sorrow.
The Lord hath trodden under foot all my mighty men in the midst of me: he hath called an assembly against me to crush my young men, the Lord hath trodden under foot the virgin, the daughter of Judah.
For these things I weep; mine eye runneth down with water, because the comforter that should relieve my soul is far from me.
Lamentations 1 vv. 4-5, 11-12, 15-16
15 Awake, put on thy strength, O Sion
Awake, put on thy strength, O Sion, put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, thou holy city.
Shake thyself from the dust. Loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Sion. How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that brings good tidings of peace, that publisheth salvation, that saith unto Sion, thy God reigneth!
Break forth into joy. Halleluiah. Sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem. For the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem, the Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the sight of all nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. Break forth into joy. Halleluiah. Isaiah 52 vv. 1-2, 7-10
Have pity upon me, O ye my friends
Have pity upon me, O ye my friends. For the hand of God hath touched me. Why do you persecute me as God, and are not satisfied with my flesh?
O that my words were written, O that they were printed in a book.
O that they were graven with an iron pen, in lead or in stone forever.
For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and he shall stand the last day on the earth. And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet shall I see God in my flesh.
Job 19 vv. 21-26
19 Open me the gates of righteousness
Open me the gates of righteousness: that I may go into them, and give thanks unto the Lord.
This is the gate of the Lord: the righteous shall enter into it.
I will thank thee, for thou hast heard me: and art become my salvation. The same stone which the builders refused: is become the headstone in the corner. This is the Lord’s doing: and it is marvellous in our eyes.
This is the day which the Lord hath made: we will rejoice and be glad in it.
Help me know, O Lord:
O Lord, send us now prosperity.
Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord:
we have wished you good luck, ye that are of the house of the Lord.
God is the Lord who hath shewed us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, yea even unto the horns of the altar.
Thou art my God, and I will thank thee: thou art my God, and I will praise thee.
O give thanks unto the Lord for he is gracious: and his mercy endureth for ever.
Psalm 118 vv. 19-29
Caius College Choir is one of Britain’s leading collegiate choirs. Gonville and Caius College was founded in 1348 but the musical tradition stems from the late nineteenth century, when the well-known composer of church music Charles Wood became Organist. The choir in Wood’s day contained boy trebles; it is now a mixed undergraduate ensemble and is directed by Geoffrey Webber.
The Choir sings Chapel services during the University term and has a busy schedule of additional activities including concerts, recordings and broadcasts. It travels abroad extensively, performing at a variety of venues ranging from major concert halls to universities, cathedrals and churches in Europe, America and beyond, often in connection with other professional ensembles such as Opera Northern Ireland and the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra of San Francisco. The Choir also gives a number of concerts in the UK each year, appearing in venues such as St John’s, Smith Square and at the Spitalfields Festival in London, and many other venues around the country.
Live radio broadcasts on BBC Radio 3 and 4 form a regular feature of the Choir’s schedule. Broadcasts of Choral Evensong have been notably adventurous in content and have ranged from baroque anthems performed with period instruments to Russian and Greek Orthodox music, South African music, and music composed especially for the Choir by
leading British composers such as James MacMillan. The Choir has also appeared on television programmes on BBC1, BBC2, Channel 4 and on several foreign networks.
The Choir’s recordings have tended to specialise in the rediscovery of forgotten choral repertories, often including previously unpublished music from within the English choral tradition and beyond. A series of highly acclaimed releases has included music by English composers Samuel Wesley, William Child, Edmund Rubbra, Patrick Hadley and Rebecca Clarke, and by continental composers Joseph Rheinberger, Giacomo Puccini and Leonardo Leo and Charles Gounod. The Choir has also recorded two reconstructions – the Latin Mass in E Flat by Janácek and the St Mark Passion by J. S. Bach – three programmes of Swiss choral music (in conjunction with the National Library of Zürich), two volumes of the complete anthems of Charles Wood and a disc of music by John Sanders. A DVD of music by Francis Poulenc featuring the Choirs of St John’s, Clare and Caius Colleges has been also been released, and other collaborations include a recording of music by John Rutter with the choir of King’s College, Cambridge and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. The Choir’s most recent releases include All the ends of the earth, More sweet to hear – organs and voices of Tudor England and, with Delphian, a disc of the sacred music of William Turner (DCD34028).
http://www.cai.cam.ac.uk choir@cai.cam.ac.uk
Geoffrey Webber began his musical education as a chorister at Salisbury Cathedral, and, after being Music Scholar at The King’s School, Worcester, he was elected to an Organ Scholarship at New College, Oxford, in 1977. Whilst at Oxford his academic tutors and organ teachers included Edward Higginbottom, John Caldwell, James Dalton, Nicholas Danby and Gillian Weir. After graduating with a first-class degree he remained in Oxford to pursue research into German church music of the seventeenth century, combining this with activities as an organist and conductor.
Geoffrey served as Acting Organist at both New College and Magdalen College, and was appointed as Assisting Organist at Magdalen College in 1982 and University Organist and Director of Music at the
University Church in 1984. During this time he also became Director of the Edington Festival, a festival of music within the liturgy at Edington, Wiltshire. Following the completion of his doctorate in 1989 Geoffrey was appointed Precentor and Director of Music at Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge, and he now also serves as an Affiliated Lecturer in the Faculty of Music, dividing his time between conducting, organ playing, lecturing, teaching, editing and research projects. He is a committee member for the Royal College of Organists and the Church Music Society, and his publications include North German Church Music in the Age of Buxtehude (OUP, 1996) and, as co-editor, the Cambridge Companion to the Organ (CUP, 1998) and The Restoration Anthem (CMS/OUP, 2003/7).
Thomas Hewitt Jones studied at the Royal College of Music Junior Department and at Dulwich College before becoming Organ Scholar at Caius College, and his organ teachers have included Martin Baker and Ann Elise Smoot (director of the St Giles Junior Organ Conservatoire). Thomas has played the Saint-Saëns Organ Symphony with Sir Simon Rattle and the National Youth Orchestra at the BBC Proms, and he has given many recitals in the UK at venues including Gloucester, Winchester and Chester Cathedrals. Thomas is also a composer of contemporary classical music; he has studied composition with Paul Patterson, David McBride, Timothy Blinko and Avril Anderson, and his works have been heard in public concerts all over the country, as well as on BBC Radio and television. Thomas has worked with ensembles such as the Britten Sinfonia, Sounds Positive, and members of the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, and he is a former Senior Winner of the BBC Proms / Guardian Young Composer Competition.
David Ballantyne started his musical education on the Isle of Man, studying the organ at King William’s College, where he was the Janie Cannell Organ Scholar. As well as participating in various music courses in the UK and in France, David has taken part in masterclasses with numerous eminent organists, such as Peter Hurford, Catherine Ennis and David Goode. He has given several recitals in the UK, most recently at The Queen’s College Oxford. Reading History at Caius, David currently studies the organ with David Sanger.
Thomas Hewitt Jones David BallantyneThe Choir of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
Sopranos
Rachel Bagnall (5, 7, 8)
Jenna Cooper (11, 17)
Cerian Holland (7, 8)
Nina Kanter (7)
Clare Lloyd (1, 3, 10, 11, 14, 19)
Tempe Nell (7, 8)
Helen Roche (7)
Emma Walshe (1, 5, 12, 13, 17, 19)
Altos
Cara Lewis
Fiona Mackay (7, 8, 10, 12, 13, 15, 17)
Lizzie Maughan
Richard Northcott
May Robertson (1, 7)
Tenors
Aidan Coburn (3, 7, 11, 15)
Matthew Knight
Charles Ogilvie
Laurence Panter
Andrew Taylor (7, 8, 12, 13)
Basses
Thomas Faulkner (1, 10, 14, 19)
John Kelly
Hugh Miall (7, 15, 17)
Timothy Scott (3, 7, 12, 13)
Ed Willis (8, 12)
(Solo items in parentheses)
Wilfrid Holland Organ Scholar
Thomas Hewitt Jones (tracks 1, 3, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 15, 19)
Junior Organ Scholar
David Ballantyne (tracks 5, 10, 11, 17)
William Turner: Sacred Choral Music
The Choir of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
Yorkshire Baroque Soloists (Peter Seymour, director)
Geoffrey Webber, conductor (DCD34028)
It is easy to forget that our great English choral tradition was once silenced by Act of Parliament. The Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660 subsequently ushered in one of the finest periods in English music, though the road to recovery for church music was a slow and difficult one. Turner, then a precocious nine year-old, went on to become one of the best known composers and singers of his day. This premiere recording presents a cross-section of Turner’s sacred music, ranging from small-scale liturgical works to one of his grandest creations, the Te Deum and Jubilate in D.
‘… fine additions to the choral canon, vibrantly performed’
– Gramophone, October 2007
Tomás Luis de Victoria: Second Vespers of the Feast of the
Annunciation
The Exon Singers
Matthew Owens, conductor (DCD34025)
The Spanish master of the golden age of polyphony, Tomás Luis de Victoria, left an astoundingly beautiful legacy of antiphonal sacred music devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Realised for the very first time here by The Exon Singers is a Vespers for the Annunciation, bringing together these works of Marian devotion in a glorious and revelatory celebration.
‘Victoria with verve – vigorously recommended’
– International Record Review, November 2004
O How Glorious is the Kingdom
The Choir of St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle
Timothy Byram-Wigfield, conductor
Roger Judd, organ (DCD34048)
The Choir of St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, offers a sumptuous programme of jewels from the anthem tradition whose repertoire spans five centuries. Under the luminous direction of Timothy Byram-Wigfield, and in the luxurious resonance of St George’s Chapel, the choir resounds with exhilarating energy, at once arresting and awe-inspiring.
‘The Queen’s own choir is in rude health’
– Gramophone, September 2007
Song of Songs
Laudibus
Mike Brewer, conductor (DCD34042)
The Song of Songs stands apart from its biblical surroundings as one of the supreme love poems of world literature, a celebration of erotic love in the form of a dialogue between a bridegroom and his bride, invoking all the senses, the fragrance of wine, blossom, fruits and spices. Ranging widely over five centuries, from the relative asperity of Dunstaple to the lush exoticism of Daniel-Lesur, this cherry-picked assortment of sweetmeats is given exultant life by Mike Brewer and Laudibus.
‘… inspired and impressive’
– The Scotsman, July 2007
