The Choir of St John’s College, Cambridge has selected some of\nthe best-known choral works of Samuel Sebastian Wesley for\ninclusion on this disc, interspersing them with one of his organ\nworks as well as a psalm chant by his father, Samuel Wesley.

\n

Samuel Sebastian Wesley was one of the most controversial\ncharacters in nineteenth-century English music, earning a\nreputation for inherent stubbornness, a highly critical mindset\n(particularly in relation to the church), and a unique pioneering\nspirit. All of which were character traits which became\ninstrumental in the creation of the wholly new styles of church\nmusic, and the renewal of church practices, for which he became\nknown.

\n

The wilderness and the solitary place (c. 1832) is one such\nwork, described by the conservative critic R.J.S. Stevens as ‘a\nclever thing. But it is not cathedral music’. This early work comes\nacross as a compressed oratorio, or an operatic scena, with the\novert emotions and huge range of textures on display unlike\nanything that had ever been heard in English church music before.\nIn contrast, the mature Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace (c.\n1850) shows the distance that Wesley had travelled since his\nearlier works on this disc. It is a model of simplicity and\nrestraint, with a devotional close very much in the manner of\nOrlando Gibbons or William Byrd.

\n

The Choir of St John’s College, Cambridge is one of the finest\ncollegiate choirs in the world, known and loved by millions for its\nrecordings, broadcasts, and concert tours. For several decades it\nhas performed around the world, including the US, Canada, Brazil,\nSouth Africa, Japan, Australia, and of course Europe. It is also\nthe only British choir to webcast services weekly throughout the\nyear at www.sjcchoir.co.uk.

\n\n