England My England - Choir of King's College, Cambridge

The UK official Classical Artist Chart No.1 best-seller! There is surely no more quintessentially English sound than that of the Choir of Kings College, Cambridge. Their unaccompanied voices are evocative of immemorial sandstone, of cool cloisters, evensong in church, chapel and cathedral, serene in the music of Shakespeares contemporaries Byrd and Gibbons, ethereal in Deliuss To be sung of a summer night on the water as their voices waft across the banks of the River Cam. No less iconic is the chapel that lends its unique acoustic to that sound. One of the glories of the English perpendicular style of architecture, the Chapel of Kings College, Cambridge was completed in 1547, a little over a century after the founding, by Henry VI, of Kings College itself. England, My England opens and closes with coronation music: Zadok the Priest, written by Handel for the crowning of King George II in 1727 and I was glad, composed by Parry in 1902 for that of King Edward VII. Both were so successful that they have been sung at every coronation since. Parrys processional anthem is heard here in its full panoply of extra brass and shouted Vivats, the choir providing the semi-chorus in the exquisite interlude O pray for the peace of Jerusalem. In between are motets both ancient and modern from the miniature If ye love me and the architectural splendour of the 40-part Spem in alium to William Harriss dramatic double-choir setting of Spensers Faire is the Heaven; well-known psalms sung to Anglican chant stand side-by-side with favourite hymns, notably All people that on earth do dwell, arranged by Vaughan Williams for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. As well as national rejoicing there is solemn remembrance. Come ye sons of art away is Purcells 1694 birthday ode for Queen Mary; Thou knowest, Lord part of the music he wrote for her funeral just nine months later; John Irelands Greater love hath no man is often heard on Remembrance Sunday; Sir John Taveners Song for Athene made a powerful impression at the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, while John Rutters small-scale, personal Requiem touched a wider public following the attacks of 11 September 2001. But Nimrod above all epitomises music of national remembrance. Here a choral setting of Nimrod, Lux aeterna, represents Englands Shakespeare of music, Edward Elgar. ________________________________________ More information: http://www.emiclassics.com ________________________________________ Buy from Amazon (USA): http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B002AS5IMU/emi-jazz-class-21/ref%3Dnosim ________________________________________ Buy from Amazon (UK): http://astore.amazon.co.uk/emi-jazz-class-21?_encoding=UTF8&node=57 ________________________________________ Buy from Amazon (FR): http://www.amazon.fr/exec/obidos/ASIN/B002AS5IMU/emi-jazz-class-21/ref%3Dnosim ________________________________________ Buy from Amazon (DE): http://www.amazon.de/exec/obidos/ASIN/B002AS5IMU/emi-jazz-class-21/ref%3Dnosim ________________________________________ http://www.emiclassics.com http://www.emiclassics.co.uk http://www.emiclassics.de http://www.angelrecords.com ________________________________________