Established in the 1670s, the Choir of St John’s College,\nCambridge is today one of the finest college choirs in the world,\nknown and loved by millions for its recordings and concert tours.\nOn this album, the Choir and St John’s Sinfonia, conducted by\nAndrew Nethsingha, perform works by Henry Purcell and Pelham\nHumfrey. They are joined by four soloists: Iestyn Davies, James\nGilchrist, David Stout, and Neal Davies.

\n

Humfrey was an English composer of the seventeenth century,\nknown mainly for his verse anthems. Being well travelled, he\nproduced works that in their vocal character show the influence of\nItalian music, and in the instrumental writing that of French\nmusic. That said, from these major foreign influences Humfrey\nforged a personal style that is uniquely English. Although as a\ncomposer he was generally forward-looking, his music also shows\nsub-elements of the English Golden Age of yesteryear. O Lord my\nGod, for instance, is influenced by John Dowland’s celebrated\nLachrimae Pavan of almost eighty years earlier.

\n

In contrast, the Magnificat and Nunc dimittis were composed\nsimply to be liturgically appropriate, with a text setting that is\nnaturalistic and direct. Humfrey died at the age of twenty-seven,\nbut even at this young age, he exerted a strong influence on his\npeers, including Henry Purcell, who as a young boy sang treble in\nHumfrey’s Chapel Royal Choir.

\n

The works by Purcell recorded here range from works written when\nthe composer was in his teenage years (Jehova, quam multi sunt\nhostes mei being a masterly example) to the crowning glory of the\nrecording, O sing unto the Lord, which Purcell wrote when he was in\nhis thirties, and compositionally on fire. At this stage of his\ncareer no other composer could touch him. Instruments and voices\nsing from the same hymn sheet, form and content are inseparable,\npast and present musical styles seamlessly intermingle, technique\nand virtuosity are indistinguishable from each other – and soloists\nand choir mesh together in a dazzling and life-affirming way.

\n\n