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DCD34370
£19.99
Benjamin Nicholas and the Choir of Merton College, Oxford mark the fiftieth anniversary of Benjamin Britten’s death with a programme built round his celebrated Christmas masterpieces, A boy was born (in which they are joined by the college’s girls’ choir) and A Ceremony of Carols, tracing his remarkable development from the precocious schoolboy composer of A Hymn to the Virgin to one of the defining musical voices of twentieth-century Britain.
Their performances illuminate Britten’s extraordinary gift for writing for young singers alongside his instinctive understanding of the English choral tradition, bringing out the qualities of a composer whose technical brilliance is matched by emotional immediacy in music that is enduringly rewarding for performers and listeners alike.
'This is a splendid disc and a very fine anniversary tribute to Britten. The standard of performance is consistent with what we’ve come to expect from Benjamin Nicholas and the Choir of Merton College; in other words, the singing is of the highest quality. The adroitly chosen programme presents many challenges but this gifted and well-trained choir surmount them with seeming ease. ,
Producer/engineer Paul Baxter must be very familiar by now with Merton College Chapel as a recording venue. That experience shows here in a recording of excellent fidelity. As usual, Delphian’s documentation is first class.'
Read the full review here.
'In December it will be the 50th anniversary of the death of Benjamin Britten, surely the foremost influential figure in 20th century British music. There will be other tributes, but the Choir of Merton College Oxford have stolen a march with a charming new album focusing on his Christmas masterpieces. The release shines a light on the schoolboy composer (the inventive purity of A Hymn to the Virgin); on the searching and extensive complexities of his student years (A Boy was Born); but also on the early maturity witnessed in such uniquely imaginative gems as A Ceremony of Carols (with harpist Cecily Beer), the deceptively simple A Shepherd’s Caroland the joyously off-kilter Festival Te Deum (with organist François Cloete, who also performs solo the austere Prelude & Fugue on a Theme of Vittoria). Benjamin Nicholas directs choral performances that capture both the purity and profound lucidity of Britten’s music.'
★★★★
Release Date: 6 November 2026
Recorded on 30 June, 1 July 2025 & 25 March 2026 in the Chapel of Merton College, Oxford
Producer/Engineer: Paul Baxter
24-bit digital editing: Jack Davis
24-bit digital mixing & mastering: Paul Baxter
Cover photography: Howard Coster, Benjamin Britten, 1930s. © National Portrait Gallery, London
Design: John Christ
Booklet editor: Henry Howard
Session photography: Will Coates-Gibson/ Foxbrush
Collections: All Releases, Choir of Merton College Oxford & Benjamin Nicholas, Choral, Forthcoming
Category: Benjamin Britten, Benjamin Nicholas, Choir, Choir of Merton College, Choral
