The Feast of St. Edward, King and Confessor, at Westminster Abbey


Robert Quinney - organ

The Choir of Westminster Abbey
James O'Donnell - conductor


Recorded in Westminster Abbey on 6, 7, 14, 15 February 2006

Composers: Anonymous, William Smith, William Crotch, Charles Villiers Stanford, Henry Purcell, Jonathan Harvey, Anton Bruckner, William Morley, Philip Moore, Jeanne Demessieux


This new recording from Westminster Abbey presents Matins, Eucharist and Evensong as they might be heard on the Feast of St Edward (13 October). The Saint, whose death in 1066 sparked the Norman Conquest, remains buried in the Abbey to this day and his shrine is a point of global pilgrimage.
The Service of Matins is centred around the Morning Canticles from Stanford’s epic Service in C, Op 115, while Evensong takes is cue from Purcell’s masterful Evening Service in G minor, Z231. The Evensong anthem is the first recording of The King and the Robin, composed for the millennial celebrations of St Edward’s birth in 1005 with music by Philip Moore and words by the Poet Laureate, Andrew Motion.
The Eucharist setting is Jonathan Harvey’s adventurous Missa brevis, composed for the Abbey in 1995 and here receiving its first recording. This striking, but assuredly liturgical, work combines shouted text and chaotic choral passages into a whole of unusual impact.


--- Matins ---

01. Laudes Regiae plainsong
02. The Preces William Smith
03. Psalm 132 William Crotch
04. Te Deum ‘Service in C major’, Op 115 Sir Charles Stanford
05. Benedictus ‘Service in C major’, Op 115 Sir Charles Stanford
06. The Responses William Smith & Robert Stone(s)
07. O God, thou art my God, Z35 Henry Purcell


--- Eucharist ---

Missa brevis Jonathan Harvey
08. Kyrie
09. Gloria
10. Sanctus & Benedictus
11. Agnus Dei
12. Os iusti meditabitur Anton Bruckner


--- Evensong ---

13. Psalm 99 William Morley
14. Magnificat ‘Evening Service in G minor’, Z231 Henry Purcell
15. Nunc dimittis ‘Evening Service in G minor’, Z231 Henry Purcell
16. The King and the Robin Philip Moore
17. Te Deum, Op 11 Jeanne Demessieux

Total Time: 75'57