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DCD34351-CD
£19.99
The Choir of Merton College reunites with Britten Sinfonia to explore some much-loved Anglican repertoire in its full orchestral splendour.
Stanford in A, as it was originally heard in 1880, reveals its symphonic side, not least in the masterful and eloquently scored Nunc dimittis. Anthems by Elgar and Bairstow gain new life in their original scoring, while others, originally for organ, are given added dimensions by their composers’ orchestrations.
Walton’s The Twelvematches W.H. Auden’s striking and dramatic poetry with typically dynamic vocal and instrumental writing; Ireland’s Greater love and Wesley’s mighty Ascribe unto the Lord bring to the anthem tradition a richness of harmony and orchestral colour to which Benjamin Nicholas’s combined forces do full-blooded justice.
'I loved Orchestral Anthems Vol.1– we’re not used to hearing this kind of choral music with orchestral arrangements, which is a real shame; [this recording] sheds new light on these pieces ... There’s an uplifting purity and nobility in these works which spoke to me – great dialogue between soloists , chorus and orchestra, and the clarity and purity of the singing is very impressive, and lovingly supported by the excellent Britten Sinfonia and Benjamin Nicholas … Greater Loveis a deeply sonorous performance, infused with a rich sense of nostalgia, which I love – these soaring melodic lines which, for me, enrich and uplift the soul … what a sumptuous sound. I find it very moving … [Delphian] has got the balance between choir and orchestra perfectly in this recording. It’s a beautifully put together album, which puts a totally different light on everything. I loved listening to this ... Walton’s The Twelvemakes a really splendid, vigorous ending to the whole thing.'
RECORD REVIEW - listen here
'Although not designated as ‘Vol. 2’, this CD is a follow-up to the highly successful 2022 disc of orchestral anthems which featured the same performers (review). Three composers – Bairstow, Elgar, and Vaughan Williams – are represented on both albums, but it’s good to welcome Ireland, Stanford, S. S. Wesley and Walton this time round ...Benjamin Nicholas opens the programme with a chorus from Elgar’s early oratorio, The Light of Life.It was an honour for the Worcester-born composer that the Three Choirs Festival should invite him to compose an oratorio for the 1896 Festival, which was to be held in his home city. (In those days each of the three cities involved in the Festival had much more autonomy than is nowadays the case.) The oratorio was small in scale compared to Elgar’s three subsequent compositions in the genre; he was told he should limit his score to a duration of about an hour. The Light of Lifeis far less frequently heard these days compared to the other three oratorios ...'
John Quinn - MusicWeb International
RECCOMMENDED - read his full review here
'What a tour de force of absolute beauty awaits the listener. Music that is inspiring, glorious, invigorating and most of all entrancing, to remind us that another life awaits us all when eyes are closed. Benjamin Nicholas keeps things flowing with mercurial precision and gracefulness, and the Britten Sinfonia's response is consistently intense and uplifting ...This is an exceptional recording of some superb compositions that are crying out to be heard more frequently - exhilarating stuff in pristine sound quality, eyecatching presentation and profusely detailed annotations. Strongly recommended.'
CLASSICAL MUSIC DAILY
read the full review here
'There's a lightness of touch to Nicholas's shaping of the Stanford A major Magnificat, while its accompanying Nunc Dimittis is fulsomely tender. So, too, is the Ireland, beautifully controlled, and gloriously effulgent ... By the clock, the most substantial work is Walton's The Twelve which acquired its multi- coloured orchestral respray to mark the Westminster Abbey 900th anniversary celebrations. Its opening is despatched with shimmering urgency; the choral answers to Part 2's solo interjections are silkily suave; and the conclusion's invitation to praise "with a merry noise" does not go unheeded as Waltonian jubilation sweeps all before it'
'Walton and Auden may not have been at their freshest when writing The Twelve for their alma mater, Oxford’s Christ Church: Merton here steal their colours splendidly, with Walton’s immediate bigging-up lifting the work into a different sphere. All are performed with magnificent richness of tone and perfect diction, with a natural blend and balance between chorus and orchestra. But it isn’t just patriotism that finds me revelling particularly in the glorious new colours that Vaughan Williams and Arnold Foster found in 1938 for the Prelude on ‘Rhosymedre’ of 1915. This perfect organ gem shines anew and is revealed again as an exquisitely crafted masterpiece from a singular tradition.'
Release Date: 30 May 2025
Catalogue No: DCD34351
Total playing time: 1:00:40
Recorded on 1-2 July 2024 in St Barnabas, Ealing
Producer: Paul Baxter
Engineer: Jack Davis
24-bit digital editing: Jack Davis
24-bit digital mastering: Paul Baxter
Design: Drew Padrutt
Booklet editor: Henry Howard
Session photography: William Coates-Gibson / foxbrush
Cover: Norwich, LNER poster by Frank Newbould, 1930s
/ British Vintage Posters
Delphian Records Ltd – Edinburgh – UK
TOP 10
PREVIEW
Stanford:Evening Service in A - Nunc Dimittis
The Choir of Merton College reunites with Britten Sinfonia to explore some much-loved Anglican repertoire in its full orchestral splendour.
