The Choir of Christ Church Cathedral Oxford & Stephen Darlington
Description
The Gate of Glory, the fifth volume in the critically acclaimed exploration of music from the Eton Choirbook by The Choir of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford and director Stephen Darlington, includes the world premiere recording of Walter Lambe's Gaude flore virginali, and a striking range of styles from harmony and counterpoint to elegance and simplicity.
The men and boys of The Choir of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford and director Stephen Darlington continue their exploration of the Eton Choirbook, the extraordinarily vast and diverse collection of English sacred music from the early Renaissance, with a fifth volume in their critically acclaimed series. As with previous volumes, The Gate of Glory includes a world premiere recording - Walter Lambe's Gaude flore virginali - alongside works by Hugo Kellyk, Robert Fayrfax, Robert Hacomplaynt and John Browne, the preëminent composer of the Eton Choirbook. The diversity of styles on this album is particularly striking, ranging from the astonishing balance of harmony and counterpoint in Browne's O regina mundi, to the elegance and simplicity of Fayrfax's setting of the Magnificat. This is liturgical music which truly gives the listener a glimpse of the mystery of the eternal.
Critical Acclaim for The Choir of Christ Church Cathedral:
'Five more masterpieces fromt hsi rich source of pre-Reformation sacred music, beautifully sung...it's the rich male-voice compositions - Walter Lambe's Gaude flore virginali and John Browne's O regina mundi clara - that hit the sweetest spots.' --The Sunday Times, November, 2017 (on The Gate of Glory, AV2376)
'A disc to send the spirits soaring. Glorious beyond words.' – Gramophone, Best of 2009 (on More Divine Than Human, AV2167)
'The performances here are undoubtedly among the best.' - BBC Music Magazine (on Choirs of Angels, AV2184)
'Stunningly effective singing...insightful and precise direction by Stephen Darlington...a ground-breaking achievement' - Early Music Review (on Courts of Heaven, AV2314)
'The strongest of the set so far...dare we hope for a Vol 5?' - Gramophone, Editor's Choice (on The Sun Most Radiant, AV2359)
Tracklisting
Danbi Um; Juho Pohjonen
Christopher Tyler Nickel, Sarah Jackson
Choir of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford
Bruce Wolosoff
Charles Owen
Proteus Ensemble; Stephen Shellard
Benjamin Hochman
Apollo's Fire; Jeannette Sorrell
The Choir of Christ Church Cathedral Oxford & Stephen Darlington
The Choir of Christ Church Cathedral Oxford & Stephen Darlington
The Choir of Christ Church Cathedral Oxford & Stephen Darlington
The Choir of Christ Church Cathedral Oxford & Stephen Darlington
The Choir Of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford & Stephen Darlington
