Vaughan Williams, Tavener & MacMillan: Choral Works CD

The Abbey Choir has released a new CD of choral works by Ralph Vaughan Williams, Sir James MacMillan and Sir John Tavener.

The CD is the Choir’s last with former Organist and Master of the Choristers, James O’Donnell, and has been released on the Hyperion label.

It features pieces with strong connections to the Abbey, including Vaughan Williams’s O taste and see, composed for the Coronation of HM Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, Tavener’s Song for Athene, sung at the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1997 and MacMillan’s Who shall separate us?, commissioned for the late Queen’s State Funeral last year.

There are also premiere recordings of MacMillan’s What man is he that feareth the Lord?, commissioned by the Lord Burghley 500 Foundation in 2020, and Mass of St Edward the Confessor, which is dedicated to the Abbey Choir School.

Track listing:

• 1. Kyrie


• 2. Gloria


• 3. Credo


• 4. Sanctus


• 5. Benedictus


• 6. Agnus Dei 


• 7. O taste and see


• 8. What man is he that feareth the Lord? 


• 9. Kyrie 


• 10. Gloria 


• 11. Sanctus & Benedictus 


• 12. Agnus Dei 


• 13. A special appeal I would like to make a special appeal


• 14. Who shall separate us?


• 15. Magnificat My soul doth magnify the Lord


• 16. Nunc dimittis Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace


• 17. Song for Athene Alleluia. May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest

• Label: Hyperion


• Recording details: Various dates


• Westminster Abbey, London, United Kingdom


• Produced by Adrian Peacock


• Engineered by David Hinitt


• Release date: June 2023


• Total duration: 72 minutes 9 seconds


• Cover artwork: Central east window (2000, detail) by Alan Younger (1933-2004). Henry VII Lady Chapel, Westminster Abbey / © Dean and Chapter of Westminster