Reviews praise "impeccable" Caius Choir recording

  • 10 June 2016
  • 2 minutes

The latest recording from the Choir of Gonville & Caius has won outstanding reviews, with the Choir praised as "a group of exceptional artists".

Chorus vel Organa: Music from the Lost Palace of Westminster, released in May, resurrects music from the Chapel of St Stephen, the royal foundation dissolved when the palace building became the first permanent meeting-place of the House of Commons. This recording reflects the musical life of the college in its final years under Henry VIII, and reconstructs both the wide range of singing practices in the great chapels and cathedrals and the hitherto largely unexplored place of organ music in the pre-Reformation period.

BBC Radio 3's record review highlighted the "impeccable" recording, and praised the use of a reconstructed sixteenth century chamber organ in the recording.

Music and Vision said of the CD: "The performances consistently breathe an air of gracefulness and musical conviction to which the listener cannot fail to respond with warmth and enthusiasm".

The repertoire of music chosen reflects the chapel’s dedication to St Stephen, and the disc also features three items from the Caius Choirbook – a handsomely illuminated manuscript, once owned by a canon at St Stephen’s, which now resides in Gonville & Caius College.

For more information and a chance to listen to clips of the music and order a CD, visit the Choir's website.

 

Music & Vision

'The performances consistently breathe an air of gracefulness and musical conviction to which the listener cannot fail to respond with warmth and enthusiasm, and like everything else on this CD, the beauty of tone and musicality are indeed treasured elements; the fruits of true sensitivity from a group of exceptional artists. A riveting historical document, excitingly annotated and wonderfully recorded.' 

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