In 1974, Howells was commissioned to write the anthem
Exultate Deo for the enthronement service of the new Bishop of Lincoln, the Right Reverend Simon Wilton Phipps. It was first sung on that occasion on 18 January 1975 in Lincoln Cathedral. The text is a cento, compiled from various different sources, in this case verses drawn from a number of different psalms. It is a setting of exultant praise, as befits the occasion for which it was written.
from notes by Paul Andrews © 2011
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