Herald AV Publications

HAVPCD352 – THROUGH THE DAY

	Disk Title	THROUGH THE DAY
		Guildford Cathedral Choir
	Soloists	Guildford Cathedral Choir
	Choir	Guildford Cathedral Choir
	Conductor	Katherine Dienes-Williams & David Davies
	Location	Guildford Cathedral
	Date Recorded	August 2009
	Audio Tracks	16

‘Through the day’ represents some of the music sung at Guildford Cathedral by the Cathedral Choirs – favourite anthems which reflect different seasons of the liturgical year, from different eras of musical history, written for many diverse occasions. We also offer a canticle from the Book of Common Prayer, from the order of service for Evening Prayer: George Dyson’s exuberant setting of the Magnificat in D major. Perhaps you will find one of your favourites here, or perhaps you too will ascend the hill and enter through the doors to hear this music in context.

We look forward to welcoming you to Guildford Cathedral and hope you enjoy this music.This recording begins with Sir Hubert Parry’s I was glad, a firm favourite with choirs and listeners alike. Parry’s depiction of words from Psalm 122 is both arresting and lyrical, its central focus being the elegantly crafted O pray for the peace of Jerusalem. A psalm long associated with the coronation rites of the English monarchy, this particular setting was offered by Parry for the coronation of Edward VII in 1902. The famous accretion Vivat rex or Vivat regina is here omitted.

Philip Moore succeeded Barry Rose as Organist and Master of the Choristers at Guildford Cathedral in 1974, and both works of his on this recording come from his Guildford days. Through the day was written for the 1978 Guildford Diocesan Choirs’ Festival, a beautifully shaped polyrhythmic composition structured upon an attractive dialogue between the upper and lower voices. All wisdom cometh from the Lord (track 10) was written in 1980, taking as its text parts of the wisdom writings of Ecclesiasticus together with verses of Psalm 119. The boy choristers of Guildford Cathedral Choir attend Lanesborough School, and it was in celebration of the school’s 50th anniversary that this anthem was composed, the choice of texts being thus particularly apposite. Moore’s compositional style juxtaposes splendour and rhythmic fun with serene linear writing, maintaining at the same time formal integrity in the overall structure of the work.

Katherine Dienes-Williams, MA, BMus, FRCO, Hon. ARSCM, Hon. GCM was appointed Organist and Master of the Choristers at Guildford Cathedral in January 2008. Born and educated in Wellington, New Zealand, Katherine was Organ Scholar at Wellington Cathedral from 1988 – 1990 and Assistant Organist there in 1991, before moving to the UK to take up the post of Organ Scholar at Winchester Cathedral and Assistant Organist at Winchester College. She has held posts at Liverpool Metropolitan and Norwich Cathedrals, as well as the post of Director of Music at St. Mary’s Collegiate Church in Warwick. She holds a Master of Arts in Music and Liturgy from Leeds University.

Katherine tutors regularly for both the Royal College of Organists and the Royal School of Church Music both in the UK and the USA. During the past sixteen years, she has given organ recitals in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Germany, U.S.A., Bermuda, Hungary, the Netherlands, Australia and Singapore. She has performed as organ soloist with both the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and the Hallé. She is also active as a composer, having received commissions both in the UK and the USA.

Katherine features both as organist and choral conductor on several recordings. She is in demand as a choral workshop leader in the UK, the USA and other European countries. Other interests include languages (her BA is in French and German), travel, reading and swimming. She is a Knight of the Grand Order of Vitéz and a Knight of the Order of St. Ladislau (Hungary). Katherine is married to Patrick Williams, Librarian to the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London. Katherine and Patrick have a daughter, Hannah.

David Davies, MA MMus FRCO ARCM is Sub Organist and Director of Guildford Cathedral Girls’ Choir. Educated at Eton College, Magdalen College, Oxford (where he was Organ Scholar) and Yale University, he has been an Adjunct Lecturer in Music at the University of Surrey, and is Music Adviser to the Diocese of Guildford. He is Conductor of the Surrey Festival Choir, formed by Ralph Vaughan Williams, and is active as a recitalist and composer. In September 2009 he leaves Guildford to pursue a research degree in Boston, Massachusetts, and will perform cycles of the complete organ works of J S Bach internationally in 2010.