Welcome to Hyperion Records, an independent British classical label devoted to presenting high-quality recordings of music of all styles and from all periods from the twelfth century to the twenty-first.

Hyperion offers both CDs, and downloads in a number of formats. The site is also available in several languages.

Please use the dropdown buttons to set your preferred options, or use the checkbox to accept the defaults.

Click cover art to view larger version
Track(s) taken from CDA66825

Jubilate in C

First line:
O be joyful in the Lord, all ye lands
composer
1961; for the choir of St George's, Windsor
author of text
Psalm 100

Holst Singers, Stephen Layton (conductor), David Goode (organ)
Recording details: October 1995
St Jude-on-the-Hill, Hampstead Garden Suburb, London, United Kingdom
Produced by Martin Compton
Engineered by Antony Howell
Release date: November 1995
Total duration: 2 minutes 29 seconds
 

Other recordings available for download

Westminster Abbey Choir, James O'Donnell (conductor), Robert Quinney (organ)
Huddersfield Choral Society, Aidan Oliver (conductor), Thomas Trotter (organ)
Jesus College Choir Cambridge, Mark Williams (conductor), Jordan Wong (organ)
St John's College Choir Cambridge, Andrew Nethsingha (conductor), Glen Dempsey (organ)

Reviews

‘Their commitment to what they are singing rings out with every note. A Boy was Born is imbued with more ravishing feeling than I would have thought possible’ (Organists' Review)

«Remarquable! Les Holst Singers se révèlent être de remarquables interprètes de leur cher répertoire national. Cette anthologie atteste du niveau vocal et musical de ce choeur (et donc de leur chef Stephen Layton)» (Diapason, France)

'Interpretaciones tan refrescantes como escrupulosas' (CD Compact, Spain)
In July 1934 Benjamin Britten, then twenty years old, composed a Te deum in C major for the choir of St Mark’s, North Audley Street, London. He followed it later the same year with a Jubilate in E flat, thereby completing the traditional pairing of Anglican canticles. However, the latter was never released—it was first published only after the composer’s death, in 1984—so, to most of his contemporaries, Britten’s C major Te deum seemed incomplete. Almost three decades later, at the request of the Duke of Edinburgh, Britten made good his ‘omission’, producing the Jubilate in C major heard here. Though composed for St George’s Chapel, Windsor, the canticle was first performed in Leeds Parish Church in October 1961. The sparseness of texture is typical of Britten’s later style. Voice parts are often in pairs—with hints of heterophony (divergent versions of the same melody), a feature of the eastern music Britten encountered during this period. Though the music’s tone is generally buoyant, some of the word-setting is reminiscent of Stravinsky’s ‘alienating’ practices, found most notably in the Symphony of Psalms. ‘Be thankful unto him’, for example, is set not as a hymn of praise, but in a whisper over a long organ chord. History doesn’t record the Duke’s reaction.

from notes by Martin Ennis © 2018

Other albums featuring this work

Anthem
Studio Master: SIGCD465Download onlyStudio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available
Byrd & Britten: Choral works
Studio Master: SIGCD481Download onlyStudio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available
Locus iste
Studio Master: SIGCD567Download onlyStudio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available
The Feast of St Michael and All Angels at Westminster Abbey
CDA67643
Waiting for content to load...
Waiting for content to load...