The church music of Victorian England has always retained a secure foothold, but the secular part-songs have not. Written to complement the Elizabethan madrigals which were then being rediscovered and performed, an unjustly neglected corner of the English vocal repertoire is revitalised by Rupert Gough and Royal Holloway Choir. Enjoy Robert Pearsall's haunting Lay a garland and stunning multi-part polyphony from Parry and Stanford in this beautiful recording.
Impeccably judged interpretations, executed with equal skill (Gramophone)
Beautifully sung. A most welcome release, which should win many converts to this repertoire (Choir & Organ)
The joy of this disc is that it ranges from the well-loved … through to works that will be unknown to most listeners, spanning all the while the full gamut of emotions (MusicWeb International)
As to the performances, they are quite superb. I must admit to knowing little about The Choir of Royal Holloway—a mix-voice collegiate choir that loses nothing by comparison with the better known choirs of Cambridge—and in Rupert Gough they have a conductor with a real feel for music of this type (Elgar Society)
Hyperion, April 2015
All Hallows', Gospel Oak
Producer: Adrian Peacock
Engineer: Adam Binks
Released: June 2016
