Alpha & O: Music for Advent & Christmas - RES10268

Alpha & O: Music for Advent & Christmas

£12.99
Total playing time [54:29]

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The Choirs of St Catharine's College, Cambridge
Edward Wickham (conductor)

The two choirs of St Catharine’s College, Cambridge return to Resonus Classics to collaborate once more on a new recording of contemporary works for Advent and Christmas.

Featuring many world premiere recordings, the programme includes works written specially for the two college choirs including Diana Burrell’s exuberant carol, Green groweth the holly; Christopher Fox’s major new setting of the O Anitphons, interspersed with the original plainchant, and Jeremy Thurlow’s Magnificat for upper voices, organ and tape, that blazes with the intensity of a new vision of the world.

Album Booklet (PDF)

About the Artists: The Choirs of St Catharine's College, Cambridge; Edward Wickham

Tracklist

Judith Weir (b.1954)
1. My Guardian Angel

Hannah Kendall (b. 1984)
2. Nativity

Joanna Forbes L’Estrange
3. Advent ‘O’ Carol

Paul Chihara (b.1938)
4. Magnificat

Diana Burrell (b.1948)
5. Green groweth the holly

Plainchant
6. O Sapientia

Christopher Fox (b. 1955)
O Antiphons
7. Alpha and O

Plainchant
8. O Adonai

Christopher Fox
O Antiphons
9. In a Flame of Fire

Plainchant
10. O radix Jesse

Christopher Fox
O Antiphons
11. Our Grace

Plainchant
12. O clavis David

Christopher Fox
O Antiphons
13. Open the Gate

Plainchant
14. O Oriens

Christopher Fox
O Antiphons
15. Morning Star

Plainchant
16. O Rex gentium

Christopher Fox
O Antiphons
17. A Cornerstone

Plainchant
18. O Emmanuel

Christopher Fox
O Antiphons
19. Trust Above All

Jeremy Thurlow
20. Magnificat

“

'The well-drilled combination of mixed and girls’ choirs makes a winning, ethereal combination.'

- The Guardian

Each of Fox’s seven antiphons is preceded by the relevant Gregorian chant, setting the harmonic daring of Fox’s harmonic language in sharp juxtaposition [...] Edward Wickham’s astute direction secures generally convincing results.
BBC Music Magazine

'The well-drilled combination of mixed and girls’ choirs makes a winning, ethereal combination.'
The Guardian

'St Catharine’s Choir rises to the challenge of all the music on both these albums, and they make it perfectly accessible even to someone as chary about contemporary music as me. None of the music can have been easy to learn, but the female voices and the Girls’ Choir in particular make it sound easy.'
MusicWeb International

'A lovely fresh sequence of seasonal music is presented here with real clarity by the chapel choir and girls choir of St Catherine’s. The blend of contemporary settings with plainchant gives a great sense of balance and also of the continuing tradition of devotional choral music.'
Lark Reviews

Credits
© 2020 Resonus Limited
Ⓟ 2020 Resonus Limited
Catalogue No. RES10268
Producer, engineer & editor: Adam Binks
EAN: 5060262792933
Cover photograph: The Annunciation (c.1440–1445) by Fra Angelico, Convent of San Marco, Florence (istockphoto.com)
Release date: 25 September 2020