A Year at Tewkesbury | Regent Records REGCD474

A Year at Tewkesbury

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Label: Regent Records

Cat No: REGCD474

Format: CD

Number of Discs: 1

Genre: Vocal/Choral

Release Date: 18th March 2016

Contents

About

In the eighth release in Regent's “A Year at” series we visit the Abbey Church in Tewkesbury, dedicated to St Mary the Virgin. Appropriately, the programme includes music for the major Marian feasts, as well as other main feasts of the church’s year.

Additionally, the choir commissions a new work annually and three recent works, from David Bednall, Grayston Ives, and Matthew Martin, are included here. Two are receiving their first recording.

The Schola Cantorum’s raison d’etre is to sing Evensong during the week throughout school term time. This tradition at Tewkesbury was revived forty years ago in 1974 when the Choir of the Abbey School sang its first service of Choral Evensong. Since the Abbey School closed in 2006, the choristers have been educated at Dean Close Preparatory School in Cheltenham. Ever since, the sixteen boy choristers and the lay clerks have continued their daily offering of worship in the peaceful surroundings of the Abbey. In recent years the Schola Cantorum has appeared on a number of highly-regarded recordings.

Simon Bell was appointed as Director of the Tewkesbury Abbey Schola Cantorum in 2012. He was previously at Winchester Cathedral where he held the position of Assistant Director of Music.

‘Tewkesbury Abbey is more than fortunate to have such an excellent choir as this — as it in turn is to have such an excellent musician as Bell as its director. A fine recording of uncommon musical interest.’ - International Record Review, December 2014

‘Among the crop of Christmas discs that have made their way to the C&O offices since our 2014 round-up, some deserve especial mention. The unforced yet muscular sound of the men and boys' Schola Cantorum of Tewkesbury Abbey features on Christmas from Tewkesbury (Regent REGCD 440), where traditional carols weave around more recent additions… all delivered with poise.’ - Choir & Organ, November/December 2015

Track listing:
1. Advent: People, look East – Christopher Steel (1938–91)
2. Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary: There is no rose – Bob Chilcott† (b.1955)
3. Christmas: Alleluya, a new work is come on hand – David Bednall†‡ (b.1979)
4. Epiphany: O leave your sheep – French traditional, arr Kenneth Leighton (1929–88)
5. Candlemas: Nunc dimittis in B flat – Charles Wood (1866–1926)
6. Ash Wednesday: In ieiunio et fletu – Thomas Tallis (c.1505–85)
7. Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary: Tota pulchra es Maria – Anton Bruckner (1824–96)
8. Maundy Thursday: Ubi caritas – Grayston Ives‡ (b.1948)
9. Easter: Sing ye to the Lord – Edward Bairstow (1874–1946)
10. Ascension: Antiphon – William Walton (1902–83)
11. Pentecost: Gracious Spirit – Sebastian Forbes (b.1941)
12. Trinity: Give unto the Lord – Edward Elgar (1857–1934)
13. Corpus Christi: I sat down under his shadow – Edward Bairstow
14. Birth of St John the Baptist: Benedictus in C – Charles Villiers Stanford (1852–1924)
15. Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary: I sing of a maiden – Matthew Martin (b.1976)
16. St Michael and All Angels: Alleluia. I heard a voice – Thomas Weelkes (?1576–1623)
17. All Souls: Funeral Ikos – John Tavener (1944–2013)
18. Christ the King: Laudate Dominum – Matthew Martin‡
† first recording, ‡ commissioned by the choir

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