Robert Quinney, Choir of New College Oxford – New College: Commissions & Premieres (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 57:16 minutes | 2,23 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Linn Records
The New College Oxford Choir is one of the most important choral institutions in the world. The music composed for her during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries is therefore a fascinating historical journey in the evolution of musical styles and liturgical practices. This album, which follows a recording dedicated to the Renaissance composer John Sheppard (Gramophone Editor’s Choice), reviews New College’s commissions from the 1920s to the 2020s. It begins with the timeless Faire is the heaven by Sir William Harris, composed while he was organist at New College, and closes with a trio of recent commissions from contemporary English composers Caitlin Harrison, Deborah Pritchard and Toby Young. For Kenneth Leighton’s poignant cantata Crucifixus pro nobis, written in 1961, the choir is joined by the tenor Nicholas Pritchard, a former academic member of New College.
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Choir of New College Oxford & Robert Quinney – Sheppard: Media vita (2020)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 01:11:56 minutes | 2,78 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Linn Records
The Choir of New College Oxford, one of the most acclaimed British choral ensembles, makes its Linn debut with a recording of works by the English Renaissance composer John Sheppard. New College Choir was already 150 years old when Sheppard arrived in Oxford intent on contributing to the wealth of choral polyphony that defined the era. Media vita is his most celebrated work, almost symphonic in its proportions, in which he combines and elevates conventional Tudor musical devices to striking effect. Sheppard’s boundary-pushing polyphony requires the skill and precision of liturgical professionals, and in the hands of director Robert Quinney it is compelling. The programme is completed by several motets in which Sheppard sets text from the Old Testament; we are delighted that four of these motets are premiere recordings: A solis ortus cardine, Inclina Domine, Iudica me Deus and Confitebor tibi. This is another distinctive and stylish performance from this acclaimed choir, which marks the first in a new series of recordings for Linn Records.
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