Description
On 24thJuly 2026, Prima Facie releases the premiere recording of Andrew Downes' The Marshes of Glynn with Grammy-nominated American tenor Brenden Gunnell and Song of the Prairies with The Philharmonia Orchestra and Philharmonia Voices conducted by David Trippett. This release features two secular cantatas for choir and orchestra, setting 19th century American poets (Sidney Lanier, William Cullen Bryant), in praise of the beauty of nature, the prairies that bear witness to the rise and fall of civilisations, and the vastness of landscapes that encapsulate the story of America. Downes was preparing a cantata to mark the 1986 opening of the Adrian Boult Concert Hall at the Birmingham School of Music, and Lanier's substantial poem served as a rich source of inspiration for The Marshes of Glynn, his first major composition for voices and orchestra. Downes's 1988 cantata Song of the Prairies, which he wrote for an annual singing weekend at Shrewsbury Public School led by John Rutter, is a rare piece that sounds beholden, if not loyal, to minimalism. Downes' lyrical gift places him squarely in the Late Romantic English tradition as a successor to Howells, his teacher. Downes not only continued the choral tradition of his English forefathers but in his educational work he passed on the flame and paved the way for future generations to follow him.
