Various: From The Vaults Of W.Cathedral (Hyperion Audio CD)

A century ago, Richard Runciman Terry re-introduced the wonders of the Renaissance into liturgical polyphony and placed Westminster Cathedral Choir at the pinnacle of the art. Terry was a musical pioneer whose work as Master of Music at Westminster Cathedral between 1902 and 1924 is legendary. The musical roadmap that Richard Terry charted
for London’s new Roman Catholic cathedral remains largely unrevised today. Plainchant and Renaissance polyphony are the bedrock of Westminster Cathedral’s sung liturgy—early music is the root from which the cathedral’s musical endeavours have branched for over a century. Also, from Westminster Cathedral’s earliest years, alongside the
fascination with early vocal repertory, composers have been commissioned to contribute to the canon; when they have done so the choir’s antique musical diet has frequently been at the forefront of those composers’ imagination.

This disc is a homage to Terry’s work: a procession through a particularly rich section of the church’s year which perfectly illustrates the changing glories of the liturgy.

Praise for VICTORIA Missa Gaudeamus CDA67748
‘Close-up, full-throated and passionate’ (International Record Review)
‘An elaborate musical mosaic, the appeal of which owes much to the atmospheric
depths of the Westminster acoustic, beautifully captured on this recording’ (The Financial Times)
‘It makes a compelling whole, sung with rapt purity by the male voices of Westminster Cathedral choir’ (The Guardian)