Choir of The Queens College, Oxford, Owen Rees - THE CROWN OF LIFE: Leighton, Clarke, Holst, Darke (2026) [Hi-Res]

Tracklist

01. A Hymn to the Trinity
02. O brother man
03. Missa Christi, Festival Mass: I. Kyrie
04. Missa Christi, Festival Mass: II. Gloria
05. Missa Christi, Festival Mass: III. Sanctus and Benedictus
06. Missa Christi, Festival Mass: IV. Agnus Dei
07. Crucifixus pro nobis, Op. 38: No. 4, Drop, drop, slow tears
08. Three Carols Op. 34: No. 1, This have I done for my true love
09. Nunc dimittis
10. Out of your sleep arise and wake
11. Ave Maria
12. Blessed is the man that endureth temptation
13. Ave Maria, Op. 9b
14. He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High
15. Be strong and of a good courage
16. Lord, who hast made us for thine own

The Crown of Life continues the Choir of The Queen’s College, Oxford’s exploration of overlooked treasures in twentieth-century English choral music under Owen Rees. At its centre is the first recording of Kenneth Leighton’s Missa Christi (1988), the composer’s final large-scale sacred work, commissioned by Christ Church Cathedral, Indianapolis. Alongside it are world premiere recordings of Harold Darke’s Blessed is the man that endureth temptation and Imogen Holst’s Out of your sleep arise and wake. Works by Rebecca Clarke and Gustav Holst complete the programme, offering a richly varied portrait of composers linked by study with Stanford and united in sacred expression.

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