Royal Rhymes and Rounds

Celebrating the 2012 Diamond Jubilee, The King's Singers presented a selection of works from the past 500 years written in honour of the great monarchs of Britain. Starting with works for (and in some cases by) Henry VIII, the programme covers the Elizabethan Triumphs of Oriana by composers such as Gibbons, Mundy and Dowland; a very Victorian selection of dedicatory works by Elgar, Parry and Parratt; choral arrangements from the opera Gloriana by Benjamin Britten; and a new piece by Paul Drayton that comically pens A rough guide to the royal succession. Drayton is perhaps best known to fans of The King's Singers as the composer of their much-loved encore work Masterpiece.

SIGCD307  65 minutes 46 seconds
BBC Music Magazine
'Given that they've been around almost as long as Elizabeth II, a Jubilee album from the King's Singers is inevitable. Pristinely sung, if starchily interpreted, the selection comprises a predictable ...