Books & Music

'How refreshing, to read a book about music written for a music lover and not a musicologist. In clear, lucid, entertaining prose, Jane Glover makes those of us who lack musical literacy better understand and appreciate Handel's divinity.' - Donna Leon,...

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...

The story of the orphan Oliver, who runs away from the workhouse only to be taken in by a den of thieves, shocked readers when it was first published. Dickens's tale of childhood innocence beset by evil depicts the dark criminal underworld of a London...

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 collection is an introduction to the great wealth of First World War poetry. The sequence of poems is random - making it ideal for dipping into - and drawn from a number of sources, mixing both well-known and less familiar poetry. The work of 21...

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...

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...

This fresh and inspiring look at the meaning of discipleship covers the essentials of the Christian life, including: faith, hope and love; forgiveness; holiness; social action; life in the Spirit. Written by one of our greatest living theologians, this...

A beloved classic and undisputed masterpiece, Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre explores class, society, love and religion through the eyes of one of fiction's most unique and memorable female protagonists. This beautiful Macmillan Collector's...

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

Churches are all around us. Their steeples remain landmarks in our towns, villages and cities, even as their influence and authority has waned. They contain art and architectural wonders - one huge gallery scattered, like a handful of jewels, across...

The first performance of Handel’s 'Messiah' in Dublin in 1742 is now legendary. Gentlemen were asked to leave their swords at home and ladies to come without hoops in their skirts in order to fit more people into the audience. Why then, did this now...