Catalogue

Summary:

“This series now surpasses The Sixteen’s as the largest discographic survey ever devoted to the Eton Choirbook … The approach is more relaxed … Occasionally the contrapuntal details aren’t quite as clear but the overall sound is more involving in the fully scored passages, and I the reduced sections the interplay of voices Is beautifully handled” – Gramophone

“Five more masterpieces from this rich source of pre-Reformation sacred music, beautifully sung…it’s the rich male-voice compositions — Walter Lambe’s Gaude flore virginali and John Browne’s O regina mundi clara — that hit the sweetest spots” – The Sunday Times

The men and boys of The Choir of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford and director Stephen Darlington continue their exploration of the Eton Choirbook, the extraordinarily vast and diverse collection of English sacred music from the early Renaissance, with a fifth volume in their critically acclaimed series. As with previous volumes, The Gate of Glory includes a world premiere recording – Walter Lambe’s Gaude flore virginali – alongside works by Hugo Kellyk, Robert Fayrfax, Robert Hacomplaynt and John Browne, the preëminent composer of the Eton Choirbook. The diversity of styles on this album is particularly striking, ranging from the astonishing balance of harmony and counterpoint in Browne’s O regina mundi, to the elegance and simplicity of Fayrfax’s setting of the Magnificat. This is liturgical music which truly gives the listener a glimpse of the mystery of the eternal.

Tracklist:

HUGO KELLYK (fl. late 15th century)
1. Gaude flore virginali a 7 (SATTTBarB) (19.10)

JOHN BROWNE (fl. c. 1490 – 1500)
2. O regina mundi clara a 6 (TTTBarBarB) (15.58)

ROBERT FAYRFAX (1464–1521)
3. Magnificat ‘Regali’ a 5 (SATBarB) (18.30)

Walter Lambe (?1450/1 – after Michaelmas 1504)
4. Gaude flore virginali a 4 (TTBarB) (11.20) *

Robert Hacomplaynt (1455/6 – 1528) (14.26)
5. Salve regina a 5 (SATTB)

* world-premiere recording

Total duration: 79.26

Recorded 4–6 July 2017, Chapel of Merton College, Oxford
Producer: Jeremy Summerly
Balance engineer and editing: Simon Fox-Gál