Following their critically acclaimed ‘Psalms’ album, St John’s College, Cambridge and Andrew Nethsingha present a selection of Magnificat & Nunc Dimittis recordings from January and July 2022. Much of the third volume in their series of Evening Canticles focuses on music in a twenty-year period, from 1945 to 1965. Philip Moore’s Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis were commissioned especially for St John’s College, Cambridge.
EDITORS CHOICE “Musical jam all the way…programming that makes each disc a satisfying listening sequence…The choir inflect works spanning a world changing few decades, from the First World War to the 1960s, with distinct personality while maintaining a core sound that’s always free and full, refreshingly natural… I can’t think of a greater or more apt epitaph to the music director’s time at St Johns” – Gramophone
“The contrasting works…give the choir the chance to display their warm sound and versatility. They do, wholeheartedly” – The Observer
“What a wonderful performance. The dynamics, the contrast, the utter confidence in the singing. Philip Moore’s St John’s service is a highly effective contrast, more intimate. And Bryan Kelly in c, is the flamboyant ending—syncopated jazzy, powerfully celebratory. Excellent solos, boys in great fettle, acoustic, well captured; it’s a fine series this is. Anyone who has ever sung or loved this kind of Anglican church music should be impatient for more” – BBC Radio 3 Record Review
★★★★★ “Another excellent disc in this fine series…The performances throughout are outstandingly impressive, beautifully balanced and always entirely suited to the nature of each setting…The superb acoustic of St John’s College, Cambridge suits this wide ranging collection of musical styles to a T; Chris Hazell;s production values, and the engineering skills of Simon Eadon and Dave Rowell capture the essence of this fine music-making admirably. The result is what has come to be known as ‘state-of-the-art’…A treasurable disc in many ways” – The Organ
“Spellbinding…Another triumph for Nethsingha and St John’s” – Classical Explorer
“[Kenneth Leighton] A deeply spiritual atmosphere is created at the words ‘For behold from henceforth’… The final phrase, ‘as he promised to our forefathers’, is truly magical…[The album, A] remarkable and striking work…documentation of truly outstanding quality” – Musicweb International
“Andrew Nethsingha…gives masterful readings of the works and offers a very measured interpretation with tension, introspection and the true human need to communicate” – Sonograma
“Nethsingha brings a marvellous sweep to the Magnificat, with well-judged tempi and thrilling support from organ scholar George Herbert. The trebles are exceptionally good and raise the roof in the final bars…this disc is a worthy successor to volume 2 in the series….The CD comes with excellent booklet notes, including a forward by the Revd. Lucy Winkett and an illuminating essay on Howells by Andrew Reid. Images of handwritten manuscripts provide rare glimpses into the compositional processes, and add scholarly value to this highly collectable disc” – Opera Today
“A most interesting disc…Another triumph for Nethsingha and St John’s” – Classical Explorer
“This is yet another very fine album from Andrew Nethsingha and the Choir of St John’s College, Cambridge. Throughout the programme the performances are consistently fine; they are clearly the work of a choir that has not only been thoroughly trained in the music but which also has a deep collective understanding of the texts they are singing. George Herbert plays the often challenging organ parts with skill and flair…The recorded sound is equally distinguished…This is a rather special disc.” – Musicweb International