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Matthew Martin stands among Britainâs leading composers for choir and organ. Performed by The Choir of Canterbury Cathedral under David Newsholme, with Jamie Rogers at the organ recently rebuilt by Harrison & Harrison, this programme reflects Martinâs close association with Canterbury.
The album spans the jubilant Psalm 150, first heard in Manchester, and the direct, concentrated writing of the Coventry Missa brevis, to the stillness of Ave verum and the dramatic narrative of When David heard. An Evensong sequence reveals Martinâs instinct for liturgical form, while the organ work concludes the collection with clarity and purpose.
Several pieces are recorded here for the first time, offering a focused survey of a distinctive contemporary voice.
In the years immediately leading up to the First World War the Royal College of Music in London welcomed three of the most brilliant young musicians of their generation as students: Eugene Goossens, Arthur Bliss, and Herbert Howells.
Close friends as they became, their musical personalities nevertheless evolved over the following years as notably distinct from one another. This disc brings something of their individual characteristics to the fore through a selection of their rarely performed solo songs, including four first recordings and three unpublished works.
The songs are performed by tenor James Geer and pianist Ronald Woodley in this continuation of their long-standing partnership.
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