Will Todd: Christ is the Morning Star  

  
Will Todd, born in 1970, is forging a strong reputation for himself as a composer who is equally at ease in opera, oratorio, church music and jazz. His style is instantly accessible and lastingly memorable. He spent his formative years steeped in both jazz and the English choral tradition so in his choral music he is able to juxtapose strong rhythmic drive and rich harmonies with exquisitely lyrical vocal lines. This glorious setting of paraphrased words by the Venerable Bede (a quotation from one of Bede's prayers which hangs on the east wall above his tomb in Durham Cathedral) was written for a wedding in 1995. Simple choral writing underpinned by a luminous organ part combine to create an anthem of beauty and radiance.