Sacred Music

This collection of Music for Special Occasions brings together ten sacred choral works to enhance any occasion whether joyful, reflective or commemorative. Some best-loved pieces as well as new compos...

Composer's note: John Henry Newman's moving and profound sacred poem Lead, kindly light, amid the encircling gloom has cast a spell on me ever since I was a boy chorister in Oxford (UK) in the 1960s,...

Commissioned for the Choir of St Paul's Cathedral, this superb festive choral work brings together the traditional French melody of Veni, veni Emmanuel with the Advent Antiphon O Oriens . The relative...

It is a particularly effective anthem for Remembrance and Advent, but also for more general use throughout the liturgical year.

Anderson's Bell Mass , for double SATB choir, was written for performance at Westminster Abbey and commissioned by the Dean and Chapter of Westminster Abbey, as part of the 450th anniversary of the Ab...

St John's College Service (SATB) with organ accompaniment was commissioned by St John's College, Cambridge and was first performed by the Choir of St John's College in May 2012. This is energetic, exc...

Anthony Pitts' XL is a setting of Psalm 40 for 40 singers.(8 x SATBarB), which he describes as a companion piece for Tallis's masterpiece Spem in alium. This piece is from the Faber New Choral Works...

All the good you can is Howard Goodall's uplifting anthem, setting words by Charles Wesley. The music is both celebratory and reflective, ideal for church services and concerts alike. Written for SATB...

The Spring of the Water of Life is Howard Goodall's jubilant anthem for SATB voices and organ. The music sets the poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins and George Herbert (God's Grandeur and The Flower resp...

Commissioned by King's School, Bruton, to mark the school's 500th anniversary, King of glory, King of peace is Alexander L'Estrange's triumphant setting of the George Herbert poem (for SATB and organ)...

Composed for Wheaton College, Morten Lauridsen’s Ave Verum Corpus is written for choir and string orchestra (or organ) with finger cymbals. The traditional Latin text is expressed with intricate melod...

The grand motets of Michael-Richard de Lalande (1657-1726), principal Chapel Music Director for Louis XIV and Louis XV, marked the high point of sacred music under the ancien régime. De Profundis is t...

The Festival Anthem I saw the Lord (2012) is a setting of words from Isaiah Ch 6, some of which are perhaps better known in the context of the great Victorian anthem by John Stainer. This Trinitarian/...

This spirited setting of Ave Sancta Etheldreda exhibits the hallmarks of Matthew Martin's fresh and vibrant compositional style. Scored for SATB voices with minimal divisi, this festive work features...

Commissioned by the St Endellion Easter Festival and setting the Aurora lucis text, A Hymn of St Ambrose celebrates the resurrection of Christ. The vocal lines, which explore a range of textures and s...

Written for the Exon Singers' 2013 Festival, this setting of Te lucis ante terminum offers choirs an ideal introduction to the choral works of Matthew Martin. This work is suitable for use throughout...

The Chester Missa Brevis was written for the choir of Chester Cathedral in 2013 and is a tentative homage to Benjamin Britten in his centenary year. All the movements are thematically related and the...

It uses varied choral textures to paint the text, culminating in the bold, homophonic statement ' Omnis spiritus laudet Dominim! ' (All creatures praise the Lord), before an ecstatic Alleluia.

Nowell, sing we is a festive choral work for SATB and organ by composer Matthew Martin. Commissioned by The Chapter of York for the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols in York Minster, 22 and 24 Decem...

Written for the choir of New College, Oxford, Ut Unum Sint! (That they may be one) sets words from St John's gospel in which Christ prays that all may be one. This was the title of Pope John Paul II's...

Behold, now praise the Lord is a dramatic work, written for the combined choirs of St Paul's Cathedral, Westminster Abbey and Westminster Cathedral and was commissioned for the annual St Cecilia Servi...

Haec Dies (This is the day which the Lord hath made) is a lively and rhythmic piece. It was commissioned by the choir of Clare College, Cambridge and has recently been recorded by them on the Harmonia...

Alexander L'Estrange's New College Service (Magnificat & Nunc dimittis) is a tribute to Dr Edward Higginbottom, Director of Music and organist of the choir of New College, Oxford between 1976-2014. Fe...

From Psalm 27 comes a message of faith and hope. The musical writing is a bit challenging but well worth the effort. The flute adds a tremendous dimension, not typical of obbligatos. A classical fugal...

From Handel's Occasional Oratorio comes this stately classical anthem. A great anthem of power and praise, it works equally well in concert or church.