Herald AV Publications

HAVPCD380 – Twelve Astrological preludes for piano

Roderick Elms studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London and he appears in concerts and recordings with most of Britain’s major orchestras both as a principal keyboard player and as a soloist. He has broadcast regularly for the BBC since the late seventies on Radio 3 as well as for Radio 2’s Friday Night is Music Night. For several years he was London pianist to the eminent cellist Mstislav Rostropovich. His solo recordings include, with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO), the Warsaw Concerto (a Classic FM favourite) the Spellbound Concerto and da Falla’s Nights in the Gardens of Spain.

Other recordings include Frank Martin’s Ballade for Piano and Orchestra with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and music of Spolianski and Charles Williams (including The Dream of Olwen) with the BBC Concert Orchestra. Film scores on which he has performed include Aliens, Dangerous Liaisons and the epic The Lord of the Rings trilogy. A career highlight came in 2009 when he was invited to be guest celeste soloist for the BBC’s CBeebies programme ZingZillas – much to the amusement of his young son! As an organist, he has recorded an extensive list for EMI and Chandos which includes all the major oratorios of Elgar and the award-winning recording of Britten’s War Requiem with the London Symphony Orchestra. An album of organ music by Percy Whitlock was released by Herald in 2010.

Moody Moves started life in 2005 when I wrote the movement Funky Fugato as a short encore for members of the Aurora Ensemble – in that particular recital just oboe, clarinet, bassoon and piano. I revisited the piece early in 2011 with the intention of expanding it for the whole ensemble and the consequence of that dabbling was a full-length concert piece of six movements for piano and wind quintet. The opening movement, Amorous Antiphon, starts in a fantasia-like style featuring all the instruments and leads directly to Precocious Prelude – a lively syncopated allegro based on a minimalist figure heard at the outset. I had originally been thinking of this movement as the basis of a second concert piece for piano-duet and orchestra but the opening wind figure seemed to lend itself to a more wind-based piece.

Retro Romance begins with a sweeping horn solo which is developed by all the instruments in turn before a central section featuring the cor anglais. Funky Fugato is in a quasi-contrapuntal style in which the instruments imitate each other at various intervals and in a plethora of time signatures and syncopated rhythms.

HAVPCD375 – Adoremus in Aeternam

A historical survey of music specifically written for the organ from the 16th century through to the present day for use in the Mass and at Benediction. The sequence displays great variety, and progresses from a rousing Introduction by Boely, through Kyries, Gloria, Epistle, Offertory, Sanctus, Benedictus, Elevation of the Host, Agnus Dei (a glorious largescale setting by the incomparable J S Bach), Communion, Procession of the Blessed Sacrament, Adoration, Benediction (the music specially composed for use in Worksop Priory Church), to the final triumphant setting by Gigout of Let us adore for ever the Most Holy Sacrament, complete with cymbelstern. Other composers include Scheidemann, Couperin, Byrd, Grunberger, Titelouze, Messiaen, Tournemire, Zipoli, Overbury, Gigault, Banchieri, Vaughan Williams, Boellmann, Bermudo, and Aguilera. There is splendour, intensity of devotion, beauty, solemnity, anguish, delight, and joy – the whole range, in fact, of spiritual responses to the Sacred Mysteries.

Worksop Priory This great Church and Priory were founded by Sir William De Lovetot, a local landowner living at Worksop Manor, in the year 1103. A Parish Church existed on the site before the Monastery. The Priory was for the Order of St Augustine and dedicated to St Cuthbert. Sandstone was used from a quarry at Steetly, a few miles away on the Derbyshire border. It was completed in 1170 (the year of the Martydom of Thomas a Becket) during the reign of King Henry II. In 1140 King Stephen visited the Priory and dedicated the name of St Mary additionally to that of St Cuthbert.

Two crusades went from the Priory – the third crusade with King Richard I Coeurdelion – and also the fifth crusade. The Nave, windows, roof and doors (oak from the nearby Sherwood Forest) are in the magnificent early Norman Romanesque style. In November 1538 King Henry VIII began confiscating all Monasteries in England. It is interesting to note that King Henry VIII became Patron of the Priory in 1544. The Lady Chapel architecture is early English Lancet Perpendicular and the contrast between the main body of Church and the Lady Chapel is very evident. The Lady Chapel is unique in being a double War Memorial which was constructed by Lady Maud Furnival in memory of her husband Lord Gerard Furnival who was killed in the Crusades. Little remains of the monastic buildings today, but the present Church and its Gatehouse occupy part of the site that was once a very large and powerful Monastery, and has also played a great part in the history of England.

HAVPCD379 – Advent Procession

In Chichester Cathedral the Church’s year has, for many years, started with an Advent Processionrather than an Advent Carol Service. This liturgical pilgrimage round the cathedral is an outward sign of an inward spiritual journey in which we all are invited to share at different levels.First, there is a movement from darkness to light. The procession begins in darkness with the Lay Vicars singing the plainsong hymn: ‘Creator of the stars of night’. Then candles are lit and the cathedral is gradually illuminated more and more until Luke’s account of the Annunciation to Mary and the singing of the Magnificat announces the coming light of Christ mirrored in Benjamin Britten’s setting of Hymn to the Virgin: ‘Darkest night, and comes the day Salutis’.

It is a reminder that, by the grace of Christ, every Christian is called, in the words of the Advent Collect, to ‘cast away the works of darkness and put on the armour of light’.

Secondly, the predominant liturgical movement in the Advent Procession is from west to east because from the second century onwards turning east has been associated with looking for the coming Kingdom of God. This central theme is reinforced by using the words of the Advent Antiphons and the prophecies of the Old Testament to move us from eager longing to the realised hope of the coming King. So, at this point in the service, the choir sing anthems based on Old Testament texts or concepts: William Byrd’s ‘Laetentur coeli’, Otto Goldschmidt’s ‘A Tender Shoot’, E.W. Naylor’s ‘Vox Dicentis’ and Thomas Weelkes’ ‘Hosanna to the Son of David’.

Finally, the Procession culminates in a movement from penitence to praise, from judgement to justification. Musically this section begins with the wonderful setting of the Advent Prose by Richard Lloyd – ‘Be not very angry, O Lord, neither remember our iniquity for ever’ – and moves to the peace of the coming Kingdom in Paul Manz’s exquisite setting of words based on the Book of Revelation…

HAVPCD374 – Most Blessed and Glorious Lady
(To be released in March 2012)

A recording made with the Aid to the Church In Need to help Christians who suffer persecution or oppression for their faith.

The liturgical character of life at Lviv’s Seminary of the Holy Spirit encourages the formation of cantor groups in each seminary class, and each of these in turn leads the liturgical singing in the seminary’s chapel. These groups are composed of seminarians who have a good knowledge of the Church Typikon as well as of liturgical music. These groups are the bearers of the musical traditions of our seminary. However, there has always been a need for a small seminary choir that would be able to perform Church music professionally and set the tone for the life of the seminary community. This group could also represent the seminary in artistic, cultural and religious circles. As a result, every few years, a group of fellow seminarians gathered for this very purpose, but they never formed a permanent choir.

There had long been the idea of creating a stable group; however, it was only in 2006 that it was brought to life. At this time the octet began its work in a new format and in October 2008 it took the name “Theophoros” (from the Greek “God bearer”). Its major task is to work on the best examples of liturgical music, which then come to life in the seminary’s liturgical services. The octet’s particular heritage is a combination of some famous and some unknown compositions of sacred music, which differ in character and genres. Most of these pieces have been included on this album.

HAVPCD373 – Festival of Faith
(To be released in March 2012)

A recording made with the Aid to the Church In Need to help Christians who suffer persecution or oppression for their faith.

In 2008, the Seminary of the Holy Spirit in Lviv, Ukraine, celebrated the 225th anniversary of its foundation. To mark this occasion, several events took place over the course of the year that were designed to honour all those who, throughout the years of the seminary’s existence, zealously worked on the formation of priestly vocations. One of these events was the Festival of the Choirs of Greek Catholic Seminaries that took place on 6th December 2008 at the seminary in Lviv. The festival’s aim was to invite other seminaries to the celebration in order to experience the happiness of the jubilee together.

The festival of seminary choirs was a place for the seminary communities to meet and communicate, providing an opportunity to get to know one another better and share their accomplishments in the realm of choral music.

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.

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.