Westminster Abbey Choir
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Dove, Weir & Martin (M): Choral works
RecommendedPeter Holder (organ), Westminster Abbey Choir, James O’Donnell
This excellent collection of contemporary British choral works is a breath of fresh air, offering a gladly unstuffy vision of church music for the 21st century...Beautifully performed and skilfully... —
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 4th February 2022
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Ludford: Missa Videte miraculum & Ave Maria, ancilla Trinitatis
Westminster Abbey Choir, James O'Donnell
James O’Donnell and the Westminster singers really understand this music and make a fine case for Ludford being a true (if neglected) master of polyphony. The disc kicks off with some serene,... —
Awards:
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Gramophone Awards, 2018, Shortlisted - Early Music
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Bairstow, Harris & Stanford: Choral Works
Peter Holder (organ)
Westminster Abbey Choir, James O'Donnell
The unison singing of the trebles in Stanford’s A Song of Wisdom is exquisite, while the full choir relishes both the drama and the wistful beauty of famous anthems such as Bairstow’s Blessed... —
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…the Westminster Abbey Choir delivers its organ-accompanied programme with beautiful tonal colour and blend. —
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Parry: I was glad & other choral works
Daniel Cook (organ), Jonathan Brown (bass), Alexander Kyle (treble), David Martin (countertenor), Mark Dobell (tenor), Robert Macdonald (bass)
Westminster Abbey Choir, Onyx Brass, James O'Donnell
O'Donnell's performance of I was glad is hugely expansive and majestic...I'm not sure there isn't an element of overkill...Still, it's difficult to resist the spine-tingling monumentalism of... —
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The Feast of St Michael and All Angels at Westminster Abbey (Michaelmas)
Robert Quinney (organ)
The Choir of Westminster Abbey, James O’Donnell
The choir, atmospherically recorded in the Abbey itself, sings this demanding repertoire with its customary zeal and a well-blended sound, and the performances are directed with the panache... —
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Where words and music most happily merge - for instance in Gibbons's Hosanna to the Son of David - the director and his vocalists exude confidence, animating melodic lines gracefully to reach... —
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Music for Remembrance
Roderick Williams (baritone), Christine Rice (mezzo-soprano)
Westminster Abbey Choir & Britten Sinfonia, James O’Donnell
This is an exquisite performance of the Durufle Requiem...The playing of the Britten Sinfonia is superb, Robert Quinney's fluid, immensely colourful organ-playing a joy to behold and Roderick... —
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Parry: Songs of Farewell & works by Stanford, Gray & Wood
George Purves (treble), Westminster Abbey Choir, James O’Donnell
The ensemble rides that acoustic knowingly, using its echo and harbouring its resonance, but the anatomy of its sound is as distinctive as it is lopsided: trebles capable of pinpoint accuracy,... —
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The Agnus Dei by Tarik O’Regan, an ethereal and exquisitely worked setting, is worthy to stand alongside O taste and see, the communion anthem composed by Vaughan Williams for the 1953 coronation. —
Awards:
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2023, Shortlisted - Technical Achievement
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Winner 2023, Technical Achievement
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