Hyperion Records | Stanford: Sacred Choral Music, Vol. 1

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CDA66964

Recording details: April 1997
Winchester Cathedral, United Kingdom
Produced by Mark Brown
Engineered by Antony Howell & Julian Millard
Release date: November 1997
Total duration: 76 minutes 1 seconds

'This record is most welcome, as is the prospect of more to come' (Gramophone)

'An excellent initial survey of Stanford's superb contribution to the sacred choral repertoire' (BBC Music Magazine)

'Hill and the Winchester Choir are superb. The choral tone is luscious, the discipline outstanding; the recording captures the sumptuous acoustics of the cathedral without blurring the musical details, and the performances are vivid and exciting yet carefully nuanced' (American Record Guide)

'Superb performances, supremely fine singing, magnificently directed. A delight for Stanford lovers' (Organists' Review)

Sir Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924)

Sacred Choral Music, Vol. 1

‘The Cambridge Years’ (1870-1892)

Winchester Cathedral Choir, David Hill (conductor)

LISTEN TO ALL EXTRACTS

		Service in B flat, Op 10
1		Evening Canticle 1: Magnificat [3'25] Stephen Farr (organ)
2		Evening Canticle 2: Nunc dimittis [3'34] Stephen Farr (organ)
3		The Lord is my shepherd [8'20] Stephen Farr (organ)
		Three Motets, Op 38
4		No 1: Justorum animae [3'10]
5		No 2: Caelos ascendit hodie [1'57]
6		No 3: Beati quorum via [3'42]
		Evening Service in A, Op 12
7		Canticle 1: Magnificat [6'08] Stephen Farr (organ)
8		Canticle 2: Nunc dimittis [5'28] Stephen Farr (organ)
		Two Anthems, Op 37
9		No 2: If thou shalt confess [4'25] Christopher Monks (organ)
		Service in F, Op 36
10		Evening Canticle 1: Magnificat [4'13] Stephen Farr (organ)
11		No 2: Nunc dimittis [3'12] Stephen Farr (organ)
		Two Anthems, Op 37
12		No 1: And I saw another angel [5'44] William Kendall (tenor), Christopher Monks (organ)
13		Pater noster [4'21]
		Evening Service in E flat
14		Canticle 1: Magnificat [4'58] Christopher Monks (organ)
15		Canticle 2: Nunc dimittis [4'05] Christopher Monks (organ)
		Service in B flat, Op 10
16		Morning Canticle 1: Jubilate [3'08] Stephen Farr (organ)
17		Morning Canticle 2: Te Deum [6'11] Stephen Farr (organ)

This is the first disc in an exciting new mini-series from Winchester Cathedral Choir which will provide a comprehensive survey of the sacred choral works by Stanford. Each recording will focus on a particular stage of the composer's life, and this first volume is dedicated to music composed during Stanford's years in Cambridge. He began as the Organ Scholar of Queen's College, but the time he was just twenty he was in the employ of Trinity where he revolutionized the music-making of the college. The Service in B flat of 1879 was Stanford's first major success, and remains one of his most enduring compositions. It features on this disc alongside the a cappella Three Motets, Op 38, familiar from concert and recital programmes as well as church services. The disc also includes two more curious items: the Service in F, Op 36, is one of Stanford's least well known works, while the Pater noster of 1874 is an unpublished piece which has been specially edited by Jeremy Dibble for this its first recording.

Other albums in this series