Howells: Cello Concerto, An English Mass

Stephen Cleobury, a champion of Howells’ work, died soon after this album’s release. Originally issued to mark his retirement as director of music at King’s College, Cambridge, it embodies the essence of his work as conductor of one of the world’s most famous choirs, work sustained yet never smothered by tradition. Howells’ complicated relationship to religious faith registers in An English Mass, the yearning melodies and troubled emotions of which inspire an enthralling performance from the young choristers of King’s College, Cambridge. There’s no less intensity in the “Collegium Regale” Te Deum and Magnificat, written for King’s in the 1940s. Former King’s choirboy Guy Johnston is the compelling soloist in the Cello Concerto, left unfinished by Howells following the death of his young son in 1935 but completed posthumously almost 80 years later.