OxRecs DIGITAL
Specialists in Classical Location Sound Recording
ANTHEM FOR EASTER DAY with QUESTIONS: A LULLABY CAROL OXCD-148
The Choir of King's College Cambridge conducted by Stephen Cleobury, Eton College Chapel Choir conducted by Tim Johnson
Music by David Goode, Words by Francis Warner.
Score and CD available from Colin Smythe Publishers.
1. Questions: A Lullaby Carol (Eton College Chapel Choir)
2. Anthem for Easter Day (The Choir of King's College, Cambridge), Henry Websdale (organ)
[audio sample below]
In 2019, Sir Stephen Cleobury retired after half a century of greatly distinguished service to church music. A little part of that, happily, involved conducting and recording the collection of anthems by Francis and myself - and so it seemed fitting to write one more piece for him before his retirement. This piece is the Anthem for Easter Day. As it happens, Easter remained unmarked in the collection, unless one counts the Anthem for Christ the King. Francis' text focused on a more personal, less overtly triumphant, quality to the Resurrection story, seen from the view of Mary Magdalen, and my setting tried to reflect that, from the somewhat sombre F minor opening of the first eight lines evoking shades of black and white to the anthem's gentle conclusion in colour and scents of that new spring dawn. (David Goode)
RSCM MARCH 2021: This is a luxury publication for a 10-page anthem, but it also includes a 12-page carol (Questions: a lullaby carol), a recording of the anthem and carol, many four-colour illustrations, essays by librettist and composer, biographies of everyone involved – 48 pages of outstanding production quality. For some the CD will be the draw, especially as the anthem is conducted by Stephen Cleobury in one of his final recordings with the choir of King’s College, Cambridge. OxRecs Digital have ensured the highest recording and manufacturing standards. The words, specially written by Francis Warner, are from the viewpoint of Mary Magdalene, ending ‘Just then the gardener spoke one word: my name.’ The music responds to every nuance of the text, moving from a dark-coloured opening to what the composer describes as a ‘gentle conclusion in colour and scents of that new spring dawn.’
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