Weelkes: Sacred Choral Music

Thomas Weelkes (c.1575–1623): Sacred Choral Music Te w kesb ur y Ab b ey S c ho la Ca n t o r u m Be n j a m i n Ni c holas Carleton Ether in g to n or g a n

1

O Jonathan

[2:31]

12

O vos omnes*

[4:23]

2

Rejoice in the Lord

[1:33]

13

Lord, to Thee I make my moan

[2:23]

3

All people, clap your hands

[2:05]

14

Give ear, O Lord

[4:44]

4

Te Deum & Jubilate (‘Eighth’ Service) Te Deum laudamus* Jubilate

5

Oliver Gay & Aaron King trebles Stephen Taylor & Stephen Burrows altos Nicholas Scott tenor [track 4] Christopher Monk bass [track 4]

[8:49] [3:51]

15

6

O how amiable are thy dwellings

[3:29]

7

Christ rising again*

[6:12]

Oliver Gay & Aaron King trebles Stephen Taylor & Stephen Burrows altos

[4:23]

9

Laboravi in gemitu meo

[4:35]

Evening Canticles ‘in F fa ut’ (‘Third’ Service)* Magnificat [5:43] 11 Nunc dimittis [2:57] Oliver Gay treble Stephen Taylor alto

All editions Cathedral Press except for tracks 1, 9 & 13 (Stainer & Bell Ltd), tracks 2 & 3 (Novello & Co) and track 8 (Oxford University Press)

Hosanna to the Son of David

[2:06]

Total playing time

[59:52]

*premiere recording (new edition)

www.tewkesburyabbey.org.uk

When David heard

Benoit Andre & David Bath trebles Stephen Burrows, Stephen Taylor, Sebastian Field, Timothy Ingold altos Nicholas Scott & James Atherton tenors Christopher Monk bass

www.deanclose.org.uk

8

10

Recorded on 4-6 May 2008 in Dean Close School Chapel, Cheltenham Producer: Adam Binks Engineer: Beth Mackay 24-bit digital editing: Adam Binks Photography © Delphian Records Photograph editing: Raymond Parks Design: Drew Padrutt Booklet editor: John Fallas Delphian Records Ltd – Edinburgh – UK www.delphianrecords.co.uk With thanks to the Headmaster of Dean Close Preparatory School

Notes on the music Born in about 1575, Thomas Weelkes became organist of Winchester College in 1598 before being appointed Organist and informator choristarum at Chichester Cathedral, probably in 1602. He is remembered almost entirely for his sacred music and madrigals and is recognised as one of the leading English musicians of his generation alongside Orlando Gibbons and Thomas Tomkins.

conduct might perhaps have been seen simply as part of a more general laxness, Weelkes was eventually dismissed in 1617. It seems, nevertheless, that he continued to work at the Cathedral until his death in 1623, though on a reduced stipend – an indication that, despite his misdemeanours, the authorities continued to hold him in some regard.

Weelkes’s music for the Anglican liturgy Weelkes had already established his reputation comprises larger-scale works almost certainly as a composer in his twenties. His madrigal composed for the Chapel Royal and more publications of that time display a lively modest pieces for the ‘half choir’ at Chichester and distinctive imagination and increasing which, in Weelkes’s day, numbered just eight contrapuntal expertise, most notably in boys and eight laymen. His more ambitious full his Madrigals of 5 and 6 Parts of 1600. ‘As (a cappella) anthems include such masterful Vesta was from Latmos Hill descending’, a works as O Lord, arise into thy resting place distinguished contribution to The Triumphs and Hosanna to the Son of David and the of Oriana, followed a year later. His sacred sacred madrigal When David heard, while music was widely disseminated, an indication his outstanding verse anthems – settings for that he moved in London circles and that his soloists and chorus with an independent organ music was much admired. However, it seems part – include Christ rising again, Give ear, O that he never gained a coveted position as a Lord and Give the king thy judgements, O God. Gentleman of the Chapel Royal but instead was appointed a Gentleman Extraordinary Weelkes wrote as many as ten services. Five of the Chapel, perhaps because of concerns are on an ambitious scale, notably the verse about his personal conduct. setting ‘for trebles’, another ‘in medio chori’ incorporating a small group of singers apparently From 1609 onwards, and particularly from placed in the middle of the choir, and full 1613, the Chichester records catalogued a services for five and seven voices, the latter series of complaints against Weelkes alleging being of ‘great service’ proportions. It seems wanton behaviour, particularly absenteeism that the limited resources at Chichester did not and drunkenness. Such conduct was rife in inspire him to produce more than workmanlike the Cathedral at the time but, although his anthems but his three verse services evidently

written for Chichester indicate that he found this appearance in partbooks at Wimborne Minster, genre more appealing. just sixty or so miles west of Chichester, confirms Weelkes’s authorship; the Wimborne Two Latin motets, both included in the present books include a number of the composer’s recording, constitute a separate category of a Chichester works. cappella works. As part of his submission for a The evening canticles from Weelkes’s impressive BMus degree in 1602, Weelkes was required ‘Eighth’ Service for five-part choir have been to present a six-part work ‘modo hymnum coralem sex partium’, as the Registrar of New well established in the ‘cathedral’ repertory for College, Oxford noted, and it is quite likely that many years. The Service’s surviving organ part is one of these motets formed part of his degree unusually detailed, facilitating its reconstruction. supplication.

Like the evening canticles, the recently edited morning movements – ‘Te Deum laudamus’ and Like a number of his contemporaries, Weelkes ‘Jubilate Deo’ – strike a judicious balance between composed ‘sacred madrigals’ which, typically, homophonic and contrapuntal writing, while all four movements include at least one verse were vivid settings of sacred texts but section for four upper voices in close imitation, apparently not intended for liturgical use. O Jonathan was included in Thomas Myriell’s so providing further variety and interest. As with most of the composer’s services, the ‘Eighth’ well-known manuscript collection Tristitiae includes a head motif, here common to three Remedium (1616). It is likely that Myriell was of the movements (but not the Nunc Dimittis).

Precentor of Chichester Cathedral between 1613 and 1629, so Weelkes would have known The opening bars reflect another of Weelkes’s characteristics: a penchant for self-quotation, him well. The work, whose sighing opening bars recall the opening of the second part of his recalling, in this case, his five-part anthem ‘All people, clap your hands’, while the ‘Amen’ of the setting of ‘When David heard’, ends unusually exultant Jubilate Deo (as well as the Service’s on the dominant chord, like the Te Deum laudamus from his Fourth Service ‘for trebles’. Magnificat) echoes the closing bars of his full anthem O how amiable are thy dwellings.

The full anthem Rejoice in the Lord is a The latter, a setting of the opening verses compact setting of Psalm 33, vv. 1, 2 and 4. of Psalm 84, is a characteristic example of Cast in an uncharacteristically severe style, it Weelkes’s contrapuntal mastery. Its serene alternates between vigorous homophonic mood is achieved by the use of largely writing and rather predictable imitation. stepwise motifs, recalling Orlando Gibbons.

Although unattributed in most sources, its

The close resemblance between the anthem’s ‘Amen’ and that of the Jubilate Deo from the ‘Eighth’ Service has been noted above.

Such shared material between canticles and anthems, often formally paired, was by no means uncommon in Stuart times.

William Byrd (1543-1623) was the most highly regarded composer of his generation, Tomkins referring to him as ‘my ancient and much reverenced master’. Byrd’s colourful verse anthem based on the Easter text Christ rising again is a most important contribution to the development of the verse anthem. It was published in his ‘Songs of sundrie natures’ (1589) and was also widely circulated in liturgical partbooks. Composers of the next generation, including Tomkins and Weelkes, wrote settings of their own which reflect Byrd’s to varying degrees. Only an organ part survives for Weelkes’s anthem but even this confirms that it can be regarded as one of his very finest and most imaginative works, so meriting its reconstruction. The work includes many examples of word painting, particularly in the second section, while telling use is made of both rising sequences and close imitation between the soloists, notably the breathless treble duet at ‘to life’ which draws its inspiration from Byrd’s setting. Other characteristics typical of Weelkes include quasi-canonic writing and the deployment of a limited number of motifs to achieve continuity and integration. The concluding ‘Alleluia’

abounds in compact imitation and colourful false relations, features which recall his full anthem O Lord, arise into thy resting place.

The sacred madrigal When David heard, with words from 2 Samuel, is one of Weelkes’s most outstanding works. It is full of heartfelt, dramatic outbursts, its second part culminating in almost unbearable sobbing outbursts with just a trace of consolation as it ends in the tonic major key. A comparison with Tomkins’s equally outstanding setting is fascinating, Tomkins making his telling effect by more extended polyphony combined with chromaticism.

The penitential Latin motet Laboravi in gemitu meo takes its text from Psalm 6, v. 6. Weelkes apparently absorbed much of the polyphonic sacred style of the late sixteenth century from Thomas Morley (c.1557-1602), whose Italianate madrigals provided a similar influence.

Morley’s setting of the ‘Laboravi’ text served as a template for Weelkes in its musical ideas and scoring. Weelkes employs several motifs in each phrase of the text, the expansive approach creating an impressive, even mystical, work with especially telling dissonances at ‘lacrimis meis’.

The Third Service ‘in F fa ut’ comprises the two usual evening canticles – Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis – and is evidently a Chichester work. The title refers both to the third hexachord of the ancient hexachord system and to a developing sense of tonality

in the early seventeenth century. The present reconstruction, based on an organ part, incorporates a number of striking examples of word painting, notably at ‘He hath put down’ and ‘and hath exalted’, while its extended chorus writing and a dialogue between the trebles and lower voices both recall the Magnificat from his First Verse Service. Most unusually for a verse anthem or service of the period, both movements begin with a chorus, as in the composer’s Second Service as well as a handful of such works by his contemporaries.

full anthems. Each of its three sections opens with a dialogue between the trebles and the four lower voices, a device already heard in the ‘Third’ Service, before giving way to contrapuntal expansion with a particularly clear thematic relationship between the second and third sections. The short but effective closing ‘Amen’ is typical of the care Weelkes lavished on such settings, which sometimes extend to ten bars in both his services and anthems.

The text of Give ear, O Lord is from one of William Hunnis’s devotional late sixteenthcentury collections ‘An humble sute of a Until recently ‘Laboravi in gemitu meo’ was repentant sinner for mercie’ (1583); Hunnis thought to be Weelkes’s only Latin motet, but was Master of the Chapel Royal choristers the six-part O vos omnes can now be added between 1566 and 1597. Like ‘O Jonathan’, this to the canon. In 1989 the American scholar piece was included in Myriell’s manuscript Ross Duffin came across a set of partbooks, collection, providing a further indication that the assembled c.1620 and now housed in Case Western University, Cleveland, Ohio. The three two men probably knew each other well. One of Weelkes’s very best verse anthems, it is a books – Cantus, Tenor and Bassus – are from touching portrayal of the penitential text. The an original set of six. The motet, a setting of opening motif, used by the composer in several a penitential text from the Lamentations of of his services and anthems, can be seen as an Jeremiah, is laid out on a broad canvas. Like ‘Laboravi’, it deploys characteristically powerful act of homage to William Byrd, in this case the opening motif of his Second (Verse) Service. emotion while contrasting contrapuntal textures with declamatory writing at ‘Attendite’. The motif was also taken up by a number of Weelkes’s contemporaries, including Gibbons The close imitation in the closing section is one of the composer’s most distinctive and Tomkins. The cross-referencing of material in ‘Give ear’, particularly the reworking of each characteristics, as in ‘Christ rising again’. chorus section, is a particularly striking use of Lord, to Thee I make my moan, whose text is this unifying device. Its final version also occurs a contemporary version of Psalm 130, vv. 1-2, in the Nunc Dimittis of the composer’s Sixth is another of Weelkes’s more conventional Service at ‘which thou hast prepared’.

The festive text of the full anthem All people, clap your hands is adapted from Psalm 47.

Its structure is clear but imaginative: two homophonic passages, each followed by energetic counterpoint with much of the material being summarised in the ‘Amen’. The head motif which the work shares with the ‘Eighth’ Service has already been noted.

Weelkes’s vivid setting of Hosanna to the Son of David is one of the most powerful pieces of English sacred music of the Stuart period. A dramatic evocation of St Matthew’s account of Christ’s entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, it portrays a united, impassioned and welcoming crowd, contrasting with Gibbons’s familiar setting whose bustling counterpoint brings to mind scurrying individuals. A characteristic feature is the recalling of the opening declamatory ‘Hosanna’ both in the middle and again at the end of the work. The anthem reinforces, yet again, Weelkes’s stature as a composer whose technical accomplishment and lively imagination confirm his reputation as one of the most outstanding English composers of the seventeenth century. © 2008 Peter James Peter James pursued doctoral research into the verse anthem from Byrd to Tomkins, and has published articles and editions devoted to English cathedral music of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. He was a Vicar Choral at Lichfield Cathedral for five years, and VicePrincipal of the Royal Academy of Music for twelve years.

Texts and translations O Jonathan O Jonathan, woe is me for thee, my brother Jonathan: very kind hast thou been unto me; thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women.

To Thee cherubim and seraphim continually do cry: Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Sabaoth.

Heaven and earth are full of the majesty of Thy glory.

2 Samuel 1: 26 The glorious company of the Apostles praise Thee.

The goodly fellowship of the Prophets 2 Rejoice in the Lord praise Thee.

Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous: for it The noble army of Martyrs praise Thee. becometh well the just to be thankful.

The Holy Church thoroughout all the world Praise the Lord with harp: sing psalms unto Him. doth knowledge Thee, the Father of an For the Word of the Lord is true, and all His infinite majesty; Thine honourable, works are faithful. Amen. true and only Son; also the Holy Ghost, the Psalm 33: 1, 2 & 4 3 Comforter.

Thou art the King of Glory, O Christ.

3 All people, clap your hands Thou art the everlasting Son of the Father.

All people, clap your hands, sing loud unto the When Thou took’st upon Thee to deliver Man, Lord with a joyful voice.

Thou did’st not abhor the Virgin’s womb.

God is gone up with triumph, e’en the Lord When Thou had’st overcome the sharpness with the sound of the trumpet. of death, Thou did’st open the Kingdom of Praise the Lord with harp, sing unto Him with Heav’n to all believers. viol and instruments of music.

Thou sittest at the right hand of God in the Let us rejoice in the living God from this time glory of the Father, forth for evermore. Amen.

We believe that Thou shalt come to be our judge.

Psalm 47: 1, 5, ? (adapted) We therefore pray Thee help Thy servants whom Thou hast redeem’d with Thy Te Deum & Jubilate (‘Eighth’ Service) precious blood.

4 We praise Thee, O God. We knowledge Thee to Make them to be numbered with Thy Saints in be the Lord. glory everlasting.

All the earth doth worship Thee, O Lord, save Thy people and bless Thine the Father everlasting. inheritance.

To Thee all angels cry aloud: the heav’ns and all Govern them and lift them up for ever. the pow’rs therein.

Day by day we magnify Thee, and we worship 1

Thy name forever world without end.

Vouchsafe, O Lord, to keep us this day without sin.

O Lord, let Thy mercy lighten upon us as our trust is in Thee.

O Lord, in Thee have I trusted: let me never be confounded.

7

Christ rising again Christ rising again from the dead now dieth not.

Death from henceforth hath no pow’r upon him. For in that he died, he died but once to put away sin. But in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. And so likewise count yourselves dead unto sin, but living unto God in Christ Jesu our Lord.

5 O be joyful in the Lord, all ye lands: serve Christ is risen again, the first fruits of them that the Lord with gladness, and come before his sleep. For seeing that by man came death, by presence with a song. man also cometh the resurrection of the dead.

Be ye sure that the Lord he is God: it is he that For as in Adam all men do die, so by Christ all hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are men shall be restored to life. Alleluia. his people and the sheep of his pasture.

Romans 6: 9-11; 1 Corinthians 15: 20-22 O go your way into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and speak good of his Name.

8 When David heard For the Lord is gracious, his mercy is When David heard that Absalom was slain, everlasting: and his truth endureth from he went up to his chamber over the gate, and generation to generation. wept; and thus he said: O my son Absalom, Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to would God I had died for thee, O Absalom the Holy Ghost; my son. as it was in the beginning, and is now, and ever 2 Samuel 18: 33 shall be, world without end. Amen.

O how amiable are thy dwellings 9 Laboravi in gemitu meo O how amiable are thy dwellings, thou Lord Laboravi in gemitu meo; of hosts. per singulas noctes lavabo lectum meum; My soul hath a desire and longing to enter into lacrymis meis stratum meum rigabo. the courts of the Lord. My heart and my flesh I am weary of my groaning; rejoice in the living God. every night I wash my bed, O Lord God of hosts, blessed is the man that and water my couch with my tears. putteth his trust in thee. Amen.

6

Psalm 84: 1-2 & 13

Psalm 6: 6

Magnificat & Nunc dimittis (‘Third’ Service) My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spir’t rejoiceth in God my Saviour.

For he hath regarded the lowliness of his hand-maiden.

For behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.

For he that is mighty hath magnified me, and holy is his name.

And his mercy is on them that fear him thoroughout all generations.

He hath shewed strength with his arm, He hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble and meek.

He hath filled the hungry with good things and the rich he hath sent empty away.

He rememb’ring his mercy hath holpen his servant Israel, as he promised to our forefathers, Abraham and his seed for ever.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.

As it was in the beginning, and is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

13

10

Behold, at length, O Lord, my true repentant mind, which knocks with faith and hopes thereby Thy mercies great to find.

Lord, to Thee I make my moan Lord, to Thee I make my moan, When dangers me oppress; I call, I sigh, ’plain and groan, Trusting to find release.

Thy promise thus hath passed, from which I will not fly; who doth repent, trusting in Thee, shall taste of Thy mercy.

Hear now, O Lord, my request, For it is full due time, And let Thine ears aye be press’d Unto this prayer mine. Amen.

Mercy, good Lord, mercy. Amen.

Psalm 130: 1-2 (from Sternhold & Hopkins, The Whole Book of Psalms Collected into English Metre)

William Hunnis (d. 1597)

Hosanna to the Son of David Hosanna to the Son of David.

Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord. Hosanna.

Thou that sittest in the highest heavens.

Hosanna in excelsis Deo.

15 11

12

Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word.

For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all people.

To be a light to lighten the gentiles, and to be the glory of thy people Israel.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.

As it was in the beginning, and is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

O vos omnes O vos omnes, qui transitis per viam, attendite, et videte, si est dolor similis, sicut dolor meus.

Lamentations 1: 12

Oh all ye that pass by the way, attend and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow.

14

Give ear, O Lord Give ear, O Lord, to hear a sinner’s humble cry, and let my woeful plaints ascend above the starry sky.

To grace receive the soul that puts his trust in Thee, and mercy grant to purge my sins; mercy, good Lord, mercy.

My soul desires to drink from fountains of Thy grace.

To slake this thirst, O God, vouchsafe, turn not away Thy face.

But bow Thy tender ear with mercy when I cry, and pardon grant for all sins past.

Mercy, good Lord, mercy.

Matthew 21: 9

Tewkesbury Abbey Schola Cantorum Tewkesbury Abbey Schola Cantorum is the choir of men and boys which sings the weekday services in Tewkesbury Abbey. The choristers moved to Dean Close Preparatory School, Cheltenham in September 2006 after the closure of The Abbey School. Dean Close, the choir school for Tewkesbury Abbey, is a full member of The Choir Schools’ Association.

Over the last few years, the choir has been involved in a number of collaborations: Bach’s Mass in B minor with the Orchestra of St John, Mahler’s Third Symphony with Cheltenham Symphony Orchestra, Bach’s St Matthew Passion and Britten’s Spring Symphony with Cheltenham Bach Choir and Honegger’s Cantate de Noël with the BBC National Orchestra and Chorus of Wales. Since 2000 the choir has undertaken nine foreign tours, including two lengthy visits to the USA, four visits to France and trips to Italy and Germany. The choir has broadcast regularly from the Abbey, and in September 2006 broadcast Choral Evensong from St Michael’s Church Tenbury Wells, to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the foundation of St Michael’s College.

The choir has made numerous recordings on the Delphian, Guild, Naxos, Priory, Regent and Signum labels. The Three Kings (Delphian DCD34047) was released in November 2007 to great critical acclaim. The Church Times wrote: ‘I doubt whether there are many more admirable choirs outside Westminster, Oxford and Cambridge than the Tewkesbury Abbey Schola Cantorum. Nicholas’s choir give proof yet again of the qualities that place them firmly in the front rank: flair, acumen, versatility and poise.’ In December 2007 the choristers recorded Honegger’s Cantate de Noël on the Hyperion label.

The choir has also been active in commissioning new works and at Christmas 2007 gave the first performance of Bob Chilcott’s The night he was born. In September 2008 the choristers joined with the Choristers of Westminster Abbey to give the first performance of Gabriel Jackson’s The Land of Spices in Westminster Abbey as part of the Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference.

Benjamin Nicholas

Carleton Etherington

Benjamin Nicholas is Director of Choral Music at Dean Close School, in which capacity he directs the boys and men of Tewkesbury Abbey Schola Cantorum in the weekday services in Tewkesbury Abbey. His work with the Tewkesbury choir has included nine foreign tours, broadcasts and recordings on the Delphian, Guild, Priory, Regent and Signum labels. On the closure of The Abbey School, Tewkesbury, he played a crucial role in the choir’s successful move to Dean Close Preparatory School.

Carleton Etherington is the Organist and Director of Music at Tewkesbury Abbey, a post he has held since 1996. Educated at Chetham’s School of Music, Manchester and at The Royal Academy of Music, London, he has won many prizes for organ playing, most notably first prize at the 1992 Paisley International Organ Festival Competition and the 1993 Royal College of Organists’ Performer of the Year Competition held in London. Since then he has performed throughout the UK and in Germany, France, Australia and the USA.

In September 2008 Benjamin Nicholas became a member of Merton College, Oxford, where he has been invited to assist Peter Phillips with the creation of a new choral foundation; he works with the college’s new mixed choir on a regular basis. Nicholas first conducted in Merton College Chapel whilst Conductor of The Oxford Chamber Choir during his years as Organ Scholar at Lincoln College, Oxford. He was also Organ Scholar at St Paul’s Cathedral and then Director of Music at St Luke’s Church, Chelsea before his appointment, at the age of twenty-three, to his post in Tewkesbury.

Benjamin Nicholas has conducted a number of world premieres, including three operas by John Caldwell and church music by Grayston Ives, Gabriel Jackson, Howard Goodall, Bob Chilcott and Philip Wilby.

Amongst his many other musical activities, Carleton is Conductor of Pershore and Cirencester Choral Societies and teaches organ and piano at Dean Close School, Cheltenham.

Tewkesbury Abbey Schola Cantorum of Dean Close Preparatory School Trebles Benoit Andre David Bath Oliver Bullock George Eldridge Marcus Emmerson Andrew Gamman Oliver Gay Salem Jaffar Aaron King Dominic McClaran Joe Morford Harry Rees Charles Waddington Giles Williams Robert Wilks Altos Jeremy Kenyon Ian Harrold Derek Acock Guy Lewis Sebastian Field Tim Ingold

Tenors Nicholas Scott Christopher Hand Alexander Eadon James Atherton Basses Nicholas Perfect Christopher Monk Freddie Coltart Andrew Marshall Director Benjamin Nicholas Organist Carleton Etherington Organ Scholar Alexander Eadon

Choral music on Delphian The Three Kings: Music for Christmas from Tewkesbury Abbey Tewkesbury Abbey Schola Cantorum Benjamin Nicholas director, Carleton Etherington organ (DCD34047) In the vast, echoing space of their medieval home the boys and men of Tewkesbury Abbey Schola Cantorum celebrate the awe and mystery of Christmas, ushering in the birth of the Christ-child with a sequence of carols from the last two centuries that combines familiar names with offerings from some of today’s foremost composers.

‘I doubt whether there are many more admirable choirs outside Westminster, Oxford and Cambridge than the Tewkesbury Abbey Schola Cantorum. On their new Christmas disc, […] Nicholas’s choir give proof yet again of the qualities that place them firmly in the front rank: flair, acumen, versatility and poise.’

– Church Times, December 2007 ‘Rarely can the choir have sounded on better form than they do here’ – Organists’ Review, December 2007 Die Vögel unter dem Himmel Heinrich Schütz: Sacred Choral Music National Youth Choir of Great Britain / Mike Brewer John Kitchen solo organ (DCD34043) The massed voices of the 140-strong National Youth Choir revel in the magnificence of Schütz’s soaring lines, complemented by John Kitchen’s solo contributions on the powerful Rieger organ of St Giles’ Cathedral, Edinburgh. Revered by his contemporaries as the ‘Orpheus of our time’, Schütz would never have heard his music performed by forces such as these and on such a scale – surely he would have been a strong advocate of this astounding aural experience.

‘An amazing sense of choral discipline … combined with a genuinely exultant joy’ – Goldberg Magazine, *****

DCD34070