Performer: Christ Church Cathedral Choir Oxford, Benjamin Sheen
Conductor: Steven Grahl
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Avie
Catalogue: AV2721
Release: 2024
Size: 1.13 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
01. Walton: Make we joy now in this fest
02. Poston: Jesus Christ the Apple Tree
03. Preston: There is No Rose
04. Swayne: Magnificat
05. Kennedy: A Spotless Rose
06. Walton: All this time
07. Weir: Drop down, ye heavens, from above (Arr. for Choir and Organ by David Maw)
08. trad.: I Saw Three Ships (Arr. for Choir and Organ by David Maw)
09. trad.: Away in a Manger (Arr. for Choir and Organ by David Maw)
10. Baker: Toccata-Gigue on the Sussex Carol
11. Maw: Lullay, lullay, litel child
12. Warlock: Benedicamus Domino
13. Kennedy: little tree
14. Kennedy: Epiphany
15. Gruber: Silent night! Holy night! (Arr. for Choir and Organ by Stephen Darlington)
16. Grahl: O nata lux
17. Weir: Illuminare, Jerusalem
18. Pott: Improvisation on Adeste, fidelis
19. Spiritual: Glory to the newborn King (Arr. for Choir and Organ by Robert L. Morris)
20. Warlock: Bethlehem Down
21. Frances-Hoad: Good Day, Sir Christemas!
The resounding refrains of The Choir of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford reverberate throughout A Lullaby Carol: Christmas from Christ Church, a rich tapestry of traditional and contemporary works celebrating the choir’s musical heritage, particularly from the 20th and 21st centuries. Highlights include the melodically and rhythmically rich “Make we joy now in this fest” and “All this time”, by Sir William Walton, one of Christ Church’s most famous alumni; John Rutter’s modern masterpiece “Hymn to the Creator of Light” and Simon Preston’s timeless “There is no rose”. There are also two settings by former Organists of Christ Church: Stephen Darlington’s arrangement of “Silent Night”, and his successor Steven Grahl’s setting of “O nata lux”.