Herald AV Publications

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HAVPCD369 – Choral Music from Coventry Cathedral

Alistair Reid began his musical career as a treble at St Mark’s Church, Surbiton, Surrey and began playing the organ at the age of 13. In 1994, he became Organ Scholar of Hertford College, Oxford, where he conducted various choirs and orchestras, including the Oxford Chamber Choir. After graduating from the University of Oxford, he crossed the Atlantic to become Organ Scholar at Christ Church, Greenwich, Connecticut, while continuing his studies with Gerre Hancock at St Thomas Church, Fifth Avenue, New York City.

COVENTRY CATHEDRAL CHOIR The boy choristers of Coventry Cathedral are drawn from schools around the city and they sing two services in the Cathedral each week. After a period of decline in numbers, the choirs has recently undergone a resurgence of recruitment and sponsorship. Having originally been drawn from one independent school in the city, the boy choristers are now drawn from the city at large, with at least fifteen schools represented. A complete reworking of the choir’s rehearsal schedule was undertaken in 2007-2010 and the choir is now back on course fulfilling its original roles of singing choral services in Coventry and performing as an international ambassador ensemble of reconciliation with, amongst others, centres of the Cross of Nails worldwide.

HAVPCD370 – Follow the Star

This latest CD release by the choir of Wakefield Cathedral seeks to bring to public attention some of the lesser known and unusual compositions and arrangements of the Christmas repertoire, whilst including favourite melodies every listener will enjoy. The tracks take the form of a journey through Advent to the birth of Christ, ending with the visit of the Magi at the Epiphany.

Many of the tracks are composed or arranged by contemporary composers, including ‘O leave your sheep’ by Wakefield old chorister, Kenneth Leighton. Perhaps of particular interest is the treble voices arrangement of “People look East” by Paul Trepte, and the Spanish Carol ‘Riu riu chiu’ by Mateo Flecha. Mack Wilberg’s playful arrangement of ‘Ding dong merrily on high’ has gained in popularity since it was performed during Carols from Kings in 2009, but has rarely been recorded.

The CD displays well the independent top lines of boy and girl choristers, gloriously bringing them together for some tracks, and there is also the opportunity to hear two contrasting organ works,“Epiphanie” by Gaston Litaize being particularly little known. Throughout the disc however, the organists manage to extract many of the outstanding and varied colours from the Cathedral’s Compton organ.

This recording marks the first collaboration on CD of the new music department in Wakefield Cathedral, Simon Earl and Thomas Moore having been appointed to their respective positions in January 2011.

HAVPCD368 – Catholic Collection III

The Douai Abbey Singers, the lay-choir of the Abbey, have been an established part of the life of the Abbey since 1990. Benedictine monasteries have a long tradition of associated lay choirs. In the Middle Ages the function of the lay singers was often in association with services in the Lady Chapel or other chapels or chantries. Today at Douai the function of the choir is to assist and enhance the liturgy of the Abbey. The singers, who are predominantly amateur, have a schedule of some eighteen or twenty Sunday Masses and other feasts each year. They meet to rehearse for an hour and a quarter before each service. In Advent and Lent the singers perform larger-scale works in association with the monks, who give spoken reflections on the texts of the music.

Dr. John Rowntree was born in Scarborough, in the North Riding of Yorkshire, studied and worked as a civil engineer, later moving into music and undertaking post-graduate study in the universities of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Southampton. He later held lectureships in the University of Reading and King Alfred’s College, now The University of Winchester. He has written extensively in the field of liturgical music and the historic and contemporary organ and is well known, both in Britain and internationally, for his work as an organ adviser and consultant, He has been involved in choral music as a singer and conductor since his schooldays in Oxford. Since 1990 he has been Director of the Douai Abbey Singers, Organist at Douai Abbey and also Director of Music of St. Mary’s, the parish church of the Abbey.

Terence Charlston (Organ) is widely acknowledged for his engaging and expressive performances and he has been described as one of Britain’s leading early keyboard players. His enviably broad career ranges from solo and chamber musician, choral and orchestral director, to teacher and academic researcher. Born in Blackpool, Lancashire, he was drawn from an early age to the sound and repertoire of old instruments, especially the harpsichord, which he first experienced through recordings and BBC Radio 3 broadcasts. He took degrees in Oxford and London in organ, harpsichord and musicology.

As a harpsichord and organ soloist, he has toured worldwide, performing with many of the leading period and modern instrument groups and soloists, and his repertoire spans from the 16th century to the present day, reflecting his passionate interest in keyboard music of all types and styles. He can be heard on over 50 commercial CDs on harpsichord, organ, virginals, clavichord and fortepiano. His pioneering work as an educator is having a wide influence on the younger generation of performers. He founded the Department of Historical Performance at the Royal Academy of Music in 1995 and in September 2007 he was invited to join the staff of the Royal College of Music, London as professor of harpsichord and is International Visiting Tutor in harpsichord at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester.

HAVPCD367 – Take this moment

Take this moment This recording is the sixth collection of music taken from services celebrated by the Arundel & Brighton Diocesan Pilgrimage to Lourdes. The choice of music reflects the nature of those on pilgrimage, diverse in age and needs and all on their personal journey of faith. Parish musicians, schools, prayer groups and others may also find it a useful resource. It was recorded by musicians from the Arundel & Brighton Diocesan Pilgrimage.

The other recordings in the series are ‘Turn to me’, ‘O God I seek you’, ‘Kindle a flame’, ‘Let nothing trouble you’ and ‘As the deer longs’.

HAVPCD365 – Richard Pantcheff

Richard Pantcheff is internationally-renowned as a composer of the highest quality contemporary music. His output is predominantly for voices and instruments, and comprises numerous choral works, a song cycle, Sonatas, a Requiem, part songs, and a large number of works for Organ. His work is performed across the globe.

He commenced his musical career as Head Chorister of Ripon Cathedral, at the time of the Cathedral’s 1300th anniversary celebrations. During his time as a music scholar at Senior School, he corresponded frequently with Benjamin Britten, who acted as a mentor to him. He went on to read Music at Christ Church, Oxford, studying composition under Simon Preston and Francis Grier.

Richard Pantcheff’s compositions have been commissioned, performed, published, and distributed all over the world. They are frequently broadcast on national radio and TV stations, most recently across the US, the UK, Norway, Germany, the Caribbean, Canada, and South Africa. His music has received much critical acclaim, and been performed at many of the world’s best-known music festivals.

HAVPCD366 – English Fayre

This recording takes the listener on a tour of late nineteenth and twentieth century English organ music, as befits the instrument found in Winchester Cathedral. The programme opens with the first of the two cornerstones of the organ repertoire featured on this recording, Willan’s Introduction, Passacaglia and Fugue in E flat minor.

Healey Willan (1880-1968) was born in England, and after beginning his career in London, emigrated to Toronto in 1913. The Introduction Passacaglia & Fugue was written three years later, and was dedicated to Sir Walter Alcock the then organist of Salisbury Cathedral. Clearly written with the Salisbury Father Willis organ in mind, the mysterious nature of the opening four bars is rudely interrupted by the dramatic fantasia, that forms the Introduction.

HAVPCD364 – The Organ of Chichester Cathedral

This eclectic musical experience is evident in his organ music, which also demonstrates a technical ability acquired from his composition lessons with Ralph Vaughan Williams. The Allegretto and Scherzo share a whimsical humour; the Andante tranquillo has a wistful, Elgarian quality and Folk Tune a haunting melody which is heard three times with different registrations. Paean is a Greek title for a choral hymn of praise to Apollo, but has come to denote an exulting musical piece. It is a ‘Tuba tune’ and was written for his then fiancée Edna May Kingdon.

HAVPCD363 – Bryd to Blow

The opening pieces, by William Byrd, are performed on what would have been the full extent of the available stops of a large organ of the period. The opening Fancy is performed on a solo Open Diapason, the main foundation stop on the large organ. The opening section has a choral quality, with voices introduced one at a time. The second section opens with fanfare-like chords, and gradually lines break away and become more flamboyant, building to a grand final cadence. For Salvator Mundi the hymn melody is heard in long notes between two embellished lines, and for the final grand Fantasia the full scale of the large organ is employed.

HAVPCD362 – Personent Hodie
(Due for Release in November 2010)

Forward by – The Abbot of Ealing
There are few professional Catholic Church Choirs in London; even fewer have boy choristers, but only one serves a monastic community: in this case, the monastery of St Benedict at Ealing in West London. For a century the Abbey Choir has been deepening and enhancing the worship and prayer of those who come to St Benedict’s. I am very proud of our musical tradition here at Ealing, and I warmly support and encourage the valuable work that has been done by the Abbey Choir in this recording to support Aid to the Church in Need. The Christmas message, which is so beautifully sung in this CD, reminds us of the call to peace and reconciliation in our world. This is the mission of the Church and the special work of Aid to the Church in Need in its support for persecuted and oppressed Christians around the world. All involved in this valuable work have my appreciation, encouragement and prayers.
Rt. Revd. Martin Shipperlee, OSB

Christopher Eastwood began his musical studies as a chorister at Westminster Cathedral, under the direction of James O’Donnell. In addition to the Cathedral’s daily services, Christopher also sang for concerts and television and radio broadcasts as well as numerous recordings.

Christopher read music at Lincoln College, Oxford, where he was the Senior Organ Scholar with responsibility for the choir and the music in the college chapel. In 2001 Christopher toured with the college choir to the North of England and then to Venice in 2003. During this period he also directed the choir in a recording of music by the Wesley family, which was released in 2003 to favourable reviews. During his time at Oxford, Christopher maintained an active interest in singing, especially with the early music group, Magdala, directed by David Skinner, and on recordings of the music of Orlando Gibbons, and the soundtrack for the BBC’s Blue Planet series with Magdalen College Choir.