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Track(s) taken from CDA67740

Festival Te Deum, Op 28

composer
William Mathias (1934-1992)
1964; commissioned for the choir of Manchester Cathedral on the occasion of the 1965 Cathedral Arts Festival; published 1965
author of text
Anonymous - liturgical
Book of Common Prayer

Wells Cathedral Choir, Matthew Owens (conductor), Jonathan Vaughn (organ)
Recording details: June 2008
Wells Cathedral, United Kingdom
Produced by Mark Brown
Engineered by Julian Millard
Release date: May 2009
Total duration: 7 minutes 13 seconds

Cover artwork: Lux in tenebris (1895). Evelyn De Morgan (1855-1919)
© The De Morgan Centre, London / Bridgeman Images
 

Reviews

‘This is one of those recordings that works its way into your spirit and enriches the soul … glorious, life-affirming and distinctive choral music in superbly polished performances’ (Gramophone)

‘This valuable anthology of Mathias's church music … the performance is marked by a palpable understanding of text and sustained concentration … excellent notes by Roderic Dunnett help enormously to 'place' both Mathias and his music’ (BBC Music Magazine)

‘Mathias fanciers who already have the Christ Church Cathedral Choir or Gloriae Dei Cantores CDs can add this newcomer without significant redundancy … conductor Matthew Owens obtains a creamily blended (but not bland) sound from his 34 singers … it is nice to hear a choral group pay as much attention to meaning and characterization as it does to sound per se. Organist Jonathan Vaughn doesn't overwhelm the choristers and is given a chance to bask in his own light in the Processional and Carillon’ (International Record Review)
Mathias’s resplendent Festival Te Deum Op 28 (first performed in 1965 by the Manchester Cathedral choir under Derrick Cantrill) and O be joyful in the Lord (Jubilate Deo) Op 90 No 2 (written in 1983 for the University of Texas choir) are not strictly related, yet—as the keys blend perfectly—how brilliantly they complement each other. There is a Brittenesque ease, assurance and skill at varying textures. In the Te Deum, the men’s voice-led canon at ‘O Lord, in thee have I trusted’ is especially masterly, while the organ part of the Jubilate shows us Mathias in display vein, at his most brilliant.

from notes by Roderic Dunnett © 2009

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