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Track(s) taken from CDA68350

Behold now, praise the Lord

composer
Matthew Martin (b1976)
November 2015; SATB + organ; commissioned by Help Musicians UK; first performed on 18 November 2015 by the combined choirs of Westminster Abbey, Westminster Cathedral and St Paul's Cathedral under Andrew Carwood; in memoriam John Scott
author of text
Bible
Psalm 134

Westminster Abbey Choir, James O'Donnell (conductor), Peter Holder (organ)
Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available
CD-Quality:
Studio Master:
CD-Quality:
Studio Master:
Recording details: December 2020
Westminster Abbey, London, United Kingdom
Produced by Adrian Peacock
Engineered by David Hinitt
Release date: February 2022
Total duration: 4 minutes 12 seconds

Cover artwork: Virgin and Child (1970/1). Sister Concordia Scott (1924-2014)
Chapel of Our Lady of Pew, Westminster Abbey / Copyright © Dean and Chapter of Westminster
 

Reviews

‘Despite the dire predictions of certain doom-mongers, the quality of British liturgical choral music commissioned in the past few years has continued to be of the highest quality and the greatest interest. This glorious new album, recorded in 2020, features 11 newish works, superlatively performed and recorded in stunning detail … under James O’Donnell’s inspired direction, the Abbey’s choristers throw themselves wholeheartedly into this demanding repertory, in performances that will surely dispel any lingering Covid blues’ (Gramophone)

‘This excellent collection of contemporary British choral works is a breath of fresh air, offering a gladly unstuffy vision of church music for the 21st century … beautifully performed and skilfully recorded, this is an altogether rewarding listen that inspires reflection and devotion’ (BBC Music Magazine)» More

‘Jonathan Dove’s Vast ocean of light makes a superb opener for the recording—the idea of luminescence and spaciousness in Phineas Fletcher’s text so effectively evoked—and it has a thunderous conclusion as well: Matthew Martin’s Behold now, praise the Lord, written in memory of organist John Scott, with an organ part he’d surely have loved, ending with a massive outburst of sound played with the forearm. It’s all been wonderfully captured in the building; all the space and dynamic range you could wish for’ (BBC Record Review)

‘These are beautifully poised and fluent performances, lovingly shaped by James O’Donnell and exquisitely captured by the Hyperion recording engineers. Highest praise, however, must go to Peter Holder, whose handling of the often extensive and always highly virtuoso organ accompaniments, is utterly, breathtakingly, marvellous’ (MusicWeb International)» More

‘This is a very fine disc indeed. The choir is on top form throughout; clearly James O’Donnell has prepared them thoroughly for the assignment and then conducted them superbly. Peter Holder’s organ playing is marvellous throughout. The recording is excellent. The seasoned team of producer Adrian Peacock and engineer David Hinitt have captured the performances thrillingly, with the Abbey’s organ heard in all its splendour but never overwhelming the singers … besides giving further proof of the excellence of the music-making at Westminster Abbey, this disc also confirms that terrific music is being written for the liturgy in the opening decades of the twenty-first century. That in itself is a cause for celebration’ (MusicWeb International)» More
The fiery, clamorous Behold now, praise the Lord, completed in Oxford in November 2015 (and bearing the dedication ‘In memoriam John Scott’, whose premature and tragic death was announced in August of that year), was commissioned by Help Musicians UK for the charity’s Celebration of Music 2015, and was first performed at St Paul’s Cathedral under Andrew Carwood on 18 November that year with the combined choirs of St Paul’s, Westminster Abbey and Westminster Cathedral. A striking feature of the work’s tripartite design is the more serene central section (‘Ye that by night stand in the house of the Lord’). This is enclosed by outer sections characterized by irregular metres; the constantly active organ part reaches its own zenith in the solo flourishes of the coda, replete with concluding ‘forearm clusters’ and a dynamic of ffff.

from notes by Jeremy Dibble © 2022

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