Special offer. Mathias: Choral Music - A May Magnificat; Learsongs; Riddles
Hugh Crook (organ), Shanna Hart (organ), Glen Dempsey (piano), Aïda Lahlou (piano), Marie-Noëlle Kendall (piano), David Ellis (bells, chimes), St. John's Voices, The Gentlemen of St. John's, Graham Walker
Awards:
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Gramophone Magazine, Critics' Choice 2020
Everything here is sung with freshness, security and rhythmic energy, and only at the biggest climaxes does one miss an ideal fullness of sound…the soloists [in Riddles] are from the main Choir...
Special offer. Mathias: Choral Music - A May Magnificat; Learsongs; Riddles
Hugh Crook (organ), Shanna Hart (organ), Glen Dempsey (piano), Aïda Lahlou (piano), Marie-Noëlle Kendall (piano), David Ellis (bells, chimes), St. John's Voices, The Gentlemen of St. John's, Graham Walker
Purchase product
Awards:
-
Gramophone Magazine, Critics' Choice 2020
Everything here is sung with freshness, security and rhythmic energy, and only at the biggest climaxes does one miss an ideal fullness of sound…the soloists [in Riddles] are from the main Choir...
About
William Mathias wrote some of the most imaginative, communicative and joyful choral music of the mid- to late 20th century. These qualities are perhaps most clearly represented in his substantial catalogue of works for choir and, in particular, his settings of sacred texts, notably the invigorating ‘A Babe is Born’ and the hauntingly beautiful Ave verum corpus, one of his last compositions. This selection also includes the both serious and entertaining sequence of Riddles and the rapt, ecstatic ‘A May Magnificat’.
Contents and tracklist
- Hugh Crook (organ)
- St. John's Voices
- Graham Walker
- Shanna Hart (organ)
- St. John's Voices
- Graham Walker
- Glen Dempsey (piano), Aïda Lahlou (piano)
- St. John's Voices
- Graham Walker
- Hugh Crook (organ)
- St. John's Voices
- Graham Walker
- Shanna Hart (organ)
- St. John's Voices
- Graham Walker
- Marie-Noëlle Kendall (piano), David Ellis (bells)
- St. John's Voices, The Gentlemen of St. John's
- Graham Walker
- David Ellis (chimes)
- St. John's Voices
- Graham Walker
Awards and reviews
-
Gramophone MagazineCritics' Choice 2020
April 2020
Everything here is sung with freshness, security and rhythmic energy, and only at the biggest climaxes does one miss an ideal fullness of sound…the soloists [in Riddles] are from the main Choir of St John’s which makes for a nice frisson between their easy refinement and the choir’s slightly less burnished tone.
March 2020
The whole programme is thoughtfully chosen, superbly executed, beautifully recorded – and, best of all, hugely enjoyable.
Jul/Aug 2020
Conductor Graham Walker has obviously drilled his choral forces to a tee; their ensemble, intonation, rhythm, and diction are impeccable, and they sing with evident spirit and enthusiasm. The recorded sound is excellent; Naxos provides booklet notes, but the texts are online at its website. This disc is an unexpected treat; enthusiastically recommended.
15th March 2020
Kudos to Naxos for reminding us of the variety of the Welsh composer William Mathias’s choral music with this selection...A May Magnificat, his beautiful setting of words by Gerard Manley Hopkins, is a radiant end to a programme incorporating his witty Riddles (1987) and Learsongs (1988), all sung by Walker’s youthful choristers.
February 2020
Buy or download this disc now; it’s kept me smiling for weeks. Mathias’s idiomatic choral writing makes for enchanted listening. This is music which cried out to be better known.
