Orchestral Anthems: Elgar - Finzi - Dyson - Howells

Opening this superb collection of Anglican anthems with Edward Bairstow’s finely detailed orchestral arrangement of his Blessed city, heavenly Salem proves a stroke of programming genius. The piece, transformed here into a miniature music drama filled with bold imagery, is almost unrecognisable from the original version for choir and organ. Conductor Benjamin Nicholas ensures that his Merton College choristers, supported by sumptuous playing from Britten Sinfonia, connect with the sacred words of nine diverse works, collectively conveying a deep understanding of, and perhaps even genuine belief in, what they’re singing about. Choir and orchestra are on majestic form in Howells’s scintillating Behold, O God our defender, written for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, and have the measure of Finzi’s Lo, the full, final sacrifice, remarkable in its lyrical intensity.