British-born composer Lydia Kakabadse has a multicultural heritage (Greek/Austrian mother and Russian/Georgian father). This heritage shines through in her choral music, ostensibly in the core Western church tradition but highly influenced by the modes of ancient Greece and middle-eastern music including Orthodox chant, both Greek and Russian. A selection of her chamber works was released by Naxos in 2011. She has received much praise – “mastering counterpoint perfectly’ (Jazz and Tzaz), “beautifully orchestrated” (MusicWeb). This collection of sacred choral works includes many standard liturgical texts some of which are set in the context of a dramatic mini-cantata, which Kakabadse calls a ‘Concert Requiem Mass’, based on a story she wrote. Other works are suitable for liturgical use.

The works are performed by former members of the acclaimed Clare College Choir, all of whom have graduated and many now professional singers; in the Spectre work, they are accompanied by a fine soloist and instrumental ensemble, and the conductor is Graham Ross, whose work is attracting much attention and who records regularly for Harmonia Mundi.