- EDITOR’S CHOICE
- 2007 · Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, David Hill
Herbert Howells
- Benjamin Nicholas, Merton Brass, Merton College Girl Choristers, The Lower Voices of Merton College, Oxford
Biography
Herbert Howells (1892-1983) was a British composer of music in a modally based, folk-inspired style known as "English pastoralist," like his more famous compatriot, Vaughan Williams. A student of Charles Villiers Stanford, Howells emerged early in the twentieth century as a skilled composer of orchestral and chamber works, including the Pastoral Rhapsody and a Concerto for strings. However, his reputation was securely established through his choral pieces, notably the Hymnus Paradisi and several anthems that are still frequently used in Anglican services. Living to the age of 90, Howells retained his professorship at the Royal College of Music to the end.