Recordings & Hymns

The Westminster Abbey Choir continues their exploration of the rich repertoire of the liturgy in its historical context in the Abbey with music for the Feast of the Ascension. Ascension Day is a particular moment of celebration within the annual round of...

Westminster Abbey Choir, James O'Donnell (conductor), Peter Holder (organ) Throughout its history the Church of England has performed the conspicuous role of musical patron, and while this role may have changed in emphasis across the generations, it has...

Westminster Abbey Choir, Onyx Brass and organist Daniel Cook raise the Abbey roof with this exhilarating new recording of music by Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry. Opening with the famous coronation anthem I was Glad, heard here in a brand new...

The Westminster Abbey Choir continues their exploration of the rich repertoire of the liturgy in its historical context in the Abbey with music for the Feast of St Michael and All Angels, 29 September. The texts for Michaelmas are uniquely dramatic and...

Fanfares and anthems commissioned by previous monarchs, together with classic hymn settings and marches, all combine to recall the Queen's Coronation service of 1953. The musical forces deployed on that occasion included a choir of over 400 and a large...

Three composers whose contributions to the Anglican choral tradition are rich in historical significance: much of this music is inseparably bound up with the national celebrations or commemorations appropriate to war, coronation and royal marriage. Sung...

This latest album from Westminster Abbey is a programme of memorial music composed in England and France in the shadow of two World Wars.The main feature is Duruflé’s Requiem, given an astoundingly beautiful performance here, enhanced by distinguished...

A trio of English composers perhaps better known for their creative output in other fields, yet who played a crucial role in the development of the Anglican choral tradition in the twentieth century. James O’Donnell and Westminster Abbey Choir present a...

This CD presents a sequence of music such as might be heard in the Abbey on Trinity Sunday. Trinity Sunday is the first Sunday after Pentecost.Opening with the Abbey bells summoning the faithful, we travel through the three principal services of the day...

James O’Donnell and Westminster Abbey Choir present Nicolas Ludford (c 1490 - 1557).Ninefold KyrieAlleluia. Ora pro nobisHacclara die turmaAve Maria, ancilla TrinitatisMissa Videte miraculum Running time 62 minutes

It is not known when or for whom William Byrd wrote his monumental ‘Great Service’, but we can be sure that he would approve of this new recording from Westminster Abbey.The ‘Great’ Service is here presented in its correct liturgical order (with the...

Elgar from the Abbey - what could be more fitting? From the regal opulence of Great is the Lord, first performed in Westminster Abbey in 1912, to the quiet devotion of the opus 2 Ave verum and Ave Maria, this varied programme is the perfect guide through...