Burgon: Choral Music

The thirteen works recorded here range from the contemplative of the Nunc dimittis to the ceremonial of an anthem such as At the round earth’s imagined corners where the familiar Donne text receives a thoroughly fresh interpretation. This is music reaching out to a modern desire for immediate accessibility masking consummate artistry: ‘I can’t believe it’s not Rutter’, perhaps …

Television credits for Geoffrey Burgon include the music for Brideshead Revisited and the pop chart-topping Nunc dimittis (recorded here) which introduced the BBC’s John le Carré adaptation Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy in 1979.

But commercial success should not prevent us from recognizing, and appreciating, a depth of invention and mastery of formal conception which might just as well be described as being firmly rooted in the classical tradition, and particularly that of the Anglican Church.

CDH55421  72 minutes 26 seconds
ALBUM OF THE WEEK - THE INDEPENDENT
‘Geoffrey Burgon … has found a niche in contemporary English choral music because he wants to communicate, to write music that people want to hear … this immensely appealing music is superbl ...
‘The girls and men of Wells Cathedral directed by Matthew Owens give a riveting performance enhanced by the playing of David Bednall and Alan Thomas … in the popular field Burgon presses all the ...
‘The music is gratefully written for voices, expertly performed, and warmly recorded’ (BBC Music Magazine)