Stephen Cleobury has enjoyed many happy collaborations on CDs for Decca, EMI and the BBC.
In 2012 a new CD label was launched at King's. Stephen said:
"I am delighted that this new development will allow the Choir to spread its wings in terms of recordings, which have been such an integral part of our life going back so many years. We will be able to record more adventurous repertoire as well as bringing a fresh look at some of the most important pieces from the choral literature."
In 2012 a new CD label was launched at King's. Stephen said:
"I am delighted that this new development will allow the Choir to spread its wings in terms of recordings, which have been such an integral part of our life going back so many years. We will be able to record more adventurous repertoire as well as bringing a fresh look at some of the most important pieces from the choral literature."
2018 marks the 100th anniversary of A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, the service that takes place every year on Christmas Eve in King's College Chapel. It is broadcast each year around the world on BBC radio and other national radio stations. In celebration of the anniversary of this iconic service, King's has today released on its own label a special two-part album featuring a mix of brand-new performances and historical recordings not heard since the original BBC broadcasts.
The first part of this landmark album tells the story of the service’s long history, featuring Directors of Music David Willcocks, Philip Ledger and Stephen Cleobury in recordings spanning from 1958 to 2017. A selection of traditional favourites are accompanied by world premiere performances of contemporary carols, commissioned by the College from leading contemporary composers, including Judith Weir, Arvo Pärt and Thomas Adès. The second part of the album features brand-new recordings by today’s choir, including Tavener's The Lamb, We Three Kings, and O Holy Night alongside works by James Whitbourne, Francis Jackson and Richard Elfyn Jones.
The first part of this landmark album tells the story of the service’s long history, featuring Directors of Music David Willcocks, Philip Ledger and Stephen Cleobury in recordings spanning from 1958 to 2017. A selection of traditional favourites are accompanied by world premiere performances of contemporary carols, commissioned by the College from leading contemporary composers, including Judith Weir, Arvo Pärt and Thomas Adès. The second part of the album features brand-new recordings by today’s choir, including Tavener's The Lamb, We Three Kings, and O Holy Night alongside works by James Whitbourne, Francis Jackson and Richard Elfyn Jones.
Byrd Motets
A vibrant selection of unaccompanied motets from throughout the liturgical year by one of England's finest renaissance composers.
A vibrant selection of unaccompanied motets from throughout the liturgical year by one of England's finest renaissance composers.
Second Farewell to Cambridge: Xu Zhimo poem set to music on new album
On the Backs of King’s College, by the bridge, there is a memorial stone in white marble commemorating an alumnus of the College, renowned Chinese poet Xu Zhimo. Moving to the UK in 1921, Zhimo spent a year studying at King’s, where he fell in love not only with the romantic poetry of English poets like John Keats, but also with Cambridge itself.
His poem, 再别康橋 (variously translated as Second Farewell to Cambridge), is arguably his most famous poem, and is now a compulsory text on Chinese literature syllabuses, learnt by millions of schoolchildren across the country every year. The poem paints an idyllic portrait of King’s and the River Cam, and serves as a reminder of Xu Zhimo's fondness for his time in Cambridge.
While the poem has been set to music many times before, King’s has commissioned the first musical setting of the text by a mainstream classical composer. The new piece, by renowned English composer John Rutter, has been written and recorded in celebration of the near 100-year link between King’s College and Xu Zhimo, and has been released on 26 January 2018 on a new album on the King's College Record Label.
The album, featuring a selection of recordings from across the King's Label, includes another brand-new recording of 茉莉花 (the Jasmine Flower Song) in a new arrangement by King's Director of Music Stephen Cleobury, performed by King's College Choir. Also on the hybrid-SACD release are selections of festive carols and extracts from the Mozart Requiem in never-before-heard surround-sound recordings from King's College Chapel
The CD can be ordered from kingscollegerecordings.com and is available at release on Apple Music, iTunes, Netease and Baidu Music.
On the Backs of King’s College, by the bridge, there is a memorial stone in white marble commemorating an alumnus of the College, renowned Chinese poet Xu Zhimo. Moving to the UK in 1921, Zhimo spent a year studying at King’s, where he fell in love not only with the romantic poetry of English poets like John Keats, but also with Cambridge itself.
His poem, 再别康橋 (variously translated as Second Farewell to Cambridge), is arguably his most famous poem, and is now a compulsory text on Chinese literature syllabuses, learnt by millions of schoolchildren across the country every year. The poem paints an idyllic portrait of King’s and the River Cam, and serves as a reminder of Xu Zhimo's fondness for his time in Cambridge.
While the poem has been set to music many times before, King’s has commissioned the first musical setting of the text by a mainstream classical composer. The new piece, by renowned English composer John Rutter, has been written and recorded in celebration of the near 100-year link between King’s College and Xu Zhimo, and has been released on 26 January 2018 on a new album on the King's College Record Label.
The album, featuring a selection of recordings from across the King's Label, includes another brand-new recording of 茉莉花 (the Jasmine Flower Song) in a new arrangement by King's Director of Music Stephen Cleobury, performed by King's College Choir. Also on the hybrid-SACD release are selections of festive carols and extracts from the Mozart Requiem in never-before-heard surround-sound recordings from King's College Chapel
The CD can be ordered from kingscollegerecordings.com and is available at release on Apple Music, iTunes, Netease and Baidu Music.
Dona nobis pacem & Chichester Psalms
Written in 1965, Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, with its brass, harps and exquisite solo for boy treble, provides an exhilarating invocation of the composer’s hopes for brotherhood and peace, sentiments mirrored by Vaughan Williams impassioned Dona nobis pacem. The world-renowned King’s College Choir of Cambridge is joined by Britten Sinfonia for performances of both works, conducted by Stephen Cleobury.
Written in 1965, Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, with its brass, harps and exquisite solo for boy treble, provides an exhilarating invocation of the composer’s hopes for brotherhood and peace, sentiments mirrored by Vaughan Williams impassioned Dona nobis pacem. The world-renowned King’s College Choir of Cambridge is joined by Britten Sinfonia for performances of both works, conducted by Stephen Cleobury.
The King of Instruments
“Stephen Cleobury’s programme demonstrates the organ’s all-round capabilities, the
surround-sound recording giving a richer flavour of the chapel’s resonant acoustics.”
BBC Music Magazine **** / *****
“For anyone who loves the organ, or who loves the sound of King’s, this disc is
pretty much essential.” Simon Thompson, Musicweb International
"This is an indispensable release for lovers of organ music." Cross Rhythms
"To celebrate the refurbishment of the Harrison & Harrison organ at King’s, Cambridge, the
College’s Musical Director presents a captivating sequence centred on Bach. Six of his chorale
preludes are highly absorbing, not least because Cleobury finds a different registration for
each. Franck’s Pièce héroïque mines a deep shaft of basso sonority that contrasts with the
prevailing textural delicacy, and indeed deliciousness, of the Bach and a Mendelssohn sonata.
The effect is magnificent."
Paul Driver, Sunday Times
“Stephen Cleobury’s programme demonstrates the organ’s all-round capabilities, the
surround-sound recording giving a richer flavour of the chapel’s resonant acoustics.”
BBC Music Magazine **** / *****
“For anyone who loves the organ, or who loves the sound of King’s, this disc is
pretty much essential.” Simon Thompson, Musicweb International
"This is an indispensable release for lovers of organ music." Cross Rhythms
"To celebrate the refurbishment of the Harrison & Harrison organ at King’s, Cambridge, the
College’s Musical Director presents a captivating sequence centred on Bach. Six of his chorale
preludes are highly absorbing, not least because Cleobury finds a different registration for
each. Franck’s Pièce héroïque mines a deep shaft of basso sonority that contrasts with the
prevailing textural delicacy, and indeed deliciousness, of the Bach and a Mendelssohn sonata.
The effect is magnificent."
Paul Driver, Sunday Times
Live Recording of Bach St John Passion
"The line-up of soloists for this recording could hardly be improved upon…The countless
admirers of King's College Choir will be delighted with this recording that is in every respect
worthy to stand among the finest versions of this much recorded Passion." HRAudio.net
‘The King’s Choir’s impact is immediate. I want this for the solo line up, and for the sound of
the boys on top; on such good form.’ Andrew McGregor, BBC Radio 3 Record Review
"The line-up of soloists for this recording could hardly be improved upon…The countless
admirers of King's College Choir will be delighted with this recording that is in every respect
worthy to stand among the finest versions of this much recorded Passion." HRAudio.net
‘The King’s Choir’s impact is immediate. I want this for the solo line up, and for the sound of
the boys on top; on such good form.’ Andrew McGregor, BBC Radio 3 Record Review
Carols From King’s 60th Anniversary Edition DVD
"Every single piece is rendered magnificently by this ensemble that has performed under the direction of Cleobury for more than thirty years. The choir’s pristine intonation, penetrating rhythmic accuracy, and exquisite unified vowels unite for a beautiful yet robust choral tone. Outstanding solo contributions further elucidate Cleobury’s high level of expectation. ... In short, if you are seeking another exciting resource for traditional holy day programming, this DVD is highly recommended." Choral Journal vol.57 no. 5 (USA)
"Every single piece is rendered magnificently by this ensemble that has performed under the direction of Cleobury for more than thirty years. The choir’s pristine intonation, penetrating rhythmic accuracy, and exquisite unified vowels unite for a beautiful yet robust choral tone. Outstanding solo contributions further elucidate Cleobury’s high level of expectation. ... In short, if you are seeking another exciting resource for traditional holy day programming, this DVD is highly recommended." Choral Journal vol.57 no. 5 (USA)
Choir recording of Duruflé Requiem
Following its critically acclaimed 2014 recording of Fauré’s Requiem, the Choir records another of the great French requiems.King’s College’s recent recording of the Fauré Requiem was the best-selling core classical album of 2014. For this new recording featuring another great French Requiem, the Choir is reunited with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment to perform Maurice Duruflé’s 1947 Requiem, in the composer’s own version for soprano, choir, organ and small orchestra. The album is completed with the Messe Cum Jubilo for male voices and the Four Motets, mirroring Fauré’s Messe Basse for boys on the earlier album to which this is very much a partner.
The most famous of the Four Motets is Ubi Caritas (‘Where charity and love are, God is there’), a staple of the Choir’s Easter repertoire and was sung at 10 Downing Street when the Choir attended the Prime Minister’s Easter Reception in 2013. The Choir is joined by Patricia Bardon – youngest ever winner of the Cardiff Singer of the World Competition – for the Pie Jesu of the Requiem, with the other solo sections sung by the Choral Scholars of the Choir in accordance with Duruflé’s instructions. Former Choral Scholar Ashley Riches returns to the Choir as soloist in the Messe Cum Jubilo.
***** "The choir and the King’s organ are beautifully caught in the famously generous chapel acoustics, tender and lyrical one moment, splendid and grand the next. Cleobury’s shaping of the climax of the Sanctus is perfectly judged. Each of the Four Motets on Gregorian melodies (1960) is a perfect miniature to which Cleobury devotes as much care as he does to the Requiem." Classical Music Magazine November 2016
"You’ll get a real sense of the drama, the dynamic range of the recording, the colour and that famous acoustic, and the baleful period trumpets." BBC Radio 3 Record Review
"Duruflé’s ingratiating Requiem is here granted a very sympathetic performance, with Stephen Cleobury balancing his choral forces with great acumen." Classical CD Choice
Following its critically acclaimed 2014 recording of Fauré’s Requiem, the Choir records another of the great French requiems.King’s College’s recent recording of the Fauré Requiem was the best-selling core classical album of 2014. For this new recording featuring another great French Requiem, the Choir is reunited with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment to perform Maurice Duruflé’s 1947 Requiem, in the composer’s own version for soprano, choir, organ and small orchestra. The album is completed with the Messe Cum Jubilo for male voices and the Four Motets, mirroring Fauré’s Messe Basse for boys on the earlier album to which this is very much a partner.
The most famous of the Four Motets is Ubi Caritas (‘Where charity and love are, God is there’), a staple of the Choir’s Easter repertoire and was sung at 10 Downing Street when the Choir attended the Prime Minister’s Easter Reception in 2013. The Choir is joined by Patricia Bardon – youngest ever winner of the Cardiff Singer of the World Competition – for the Pie Jesu of the Requiem, with the other solo sections sung by the Choral Scholars of the Choir in accordance with Duruflé’s instructions. Former Choral Scholar Ashley Riches returns to the Choir as soloist in the Messe Cum Jubilo.
***** "The choir and the King’s organ are beautifully caught in the famously generous chapel acoustics, tender and lyrical one moment, splendid and grand the next. Cleobury’s shaping of the climax of the Sanctus is perfectly judged. Each of the Four Motets on Gregorian melodies (1960) is a perfect miniature to which Cleobury devotes as much care as he does to the Requiem." Classical Music Magazine November 2016
"You’ll get a real sense of the drama, the dynamic range of the recording, the colour and that famous acoustic, and the baleful period trumpets." BBC Radio 3 Record Review
"Duruflé’s ingratiating Requiem is here granted a very sympathetic performance, with Stephen Cleobury balancing his choral forces with great acumen." Classical CD Choice
Hymns from King's
Hymns from King's features twenty new arrangements of popular hymns by Stephen Cleobury. The hymns cover the church year, including Christmas and Easter, and Stephen has provided many new accompaniments and descants. The recording is available as a CD in the King's College online shop or for digital download from iTunes.
Formidable tunes from across the liturgical year in engaging arrangements by choirmaster Stephen Cleobury. The choir's diction and tuning are excellent. **** BBC Music Magazine
"You are unlikely ever to hear these – or any – hymns sung so perfectly elsewhere. Every word is delivered with impeccable clarity, every vowel deliciously enunciated, every consonant precisely and unfussily placed. Musical phrases are not allowed to interrupt the flow of the words – that familiar end of line break in mid-sentence is nowhere to be found here – and musical lines are nurtured with infinite care. There is no excess of colour or emotion – the words are allowed to speak (or rather sing) for themselves – and what variety there is comes in the arrangements themselves not in the singing, which is, to a fault, unpretentious." Marc Rochester, MusicWeb International
Hymns from King's features twenty new arrangements of popular hymns by Stephen Cleobury. The hymns cover the church year, including Christmas and Easter, and Stephen has provided many new accompaniments and descants. The recording is available as a CD in the King's College online shop or for digital download from iTunes.
Formidable tunes from across the liturgical year in engaging arrangements by choirmaster Stephen Cleobury. The choir's diction and tuning are excellent. **** BBC Music Magazine
"You are unlikely ever to hear these – or any – hymns sung so perfectly elsewhere. Every word is delivered with impeccable clarity, every vowel deliciously enunciated, every consonant precisely and unfussily placed. Musical phrases are not allowed to interrupt the flow of the words – that familiar end of line break in mid-sentence is nowhere to be found here – and musical lines are nurtured with infinite care. There is no excess of colour or emotion – the words are allowed to speak (or rather sing) for themselves – and what variety there is comes in the arrangements themselves not in the singing, which is, to a fault, unpretentious." Marc Rochester, MusicWeb International
This new album of music by 16th century Italian composer Giovanni Gabrieli, 1615: Gabrieli in Venice, is the latest release on the College's own label and is the first classical album ever in the new Dolby Atmos surround sound format. This technology allows overhead sound to be included in the recording, reproducing the acoustics of the Chapel with unprecedented realism. The disc is part of the '15' series of concerts marking the 500th anniversary of the completion of King's Chapel in 1515. The disc includes Gabrieli's great motet for double choir, In ecclesiis, and the rarely heard Litaniae of the Blessed Virgin Mary. King's College Choir is joined by His Majestys Sagbutts and Cornetts on this recording.
"Enjoyable from end to end." Andrew McGregor, CD Review, BBC Radio 3
"The effect is to reproduce the fine acoustics of the chapel, with the gloriously rich and pungent brass of His Majestys Sagbutts & Cornetts enveloping the pristine choir in enhanced surround sound. It’s like taking a gondola on the Cam." Stephen Pritchard, The Guardian, 8 November 2015
**** "King’s has used the latest Dolby Atmos technology to mix and release this disc. The effect is to reproduce the fine acoustics of the chapel, with the gloriously rich and pungent brass of His Majestys Sagbutts & Cornetts enveloping the pristine choir in enhanced surround sound. It’s like taking a gondola on the Cam." The Guardian
"Enjoyable from end to end." Andrew McGregor, CD Review, BBC Radio 3
"The effect is to reproduce the fine acoustics of the chapel, with the gloriously rich and pungent brass of His Majestys Sagbutts & Cornetts enveloping the pristine choir in enhanced surround sound. It’s like taking a gondola on the Cam." Stephen Pritchard, The Guardian, 8 November 2015
**** "King’s has used the latest Dolby Atmos technology to mix and release this disc. The effect is to reproduce the fine acoustics of the chapel, with the gloriously rich and pungent brass of His Majestys Sagbutts & Cornetts enveloping the pristine choir in enhanced surround sound. It’s like taking a gondola on the Cam." The Guardian
This collection of virtuosic works is the first organ release on the College’s own label. The album brings together the first ever surround sound recordings of the great Harrison & Harrison organ in the Chapel of King’s College. The recording begins with Liszt’s dark-hued Fantasie und Fuge über den choral “Ad nos, ad salutarem undam”, a 30 minute piece in three sections which is based on a theme from Act 1 of Meyerbeer’s grand opera Le Prophète.
Julius Reubke’s magnificent Organ Sonata on the 94th Psalm explores the theme of judgement. Considered one of the pinnacles of Romantic repertoire, and thought to have been inspired by Liszt’s Fantasie und Fuge über den choral, this piece is a test of both the organ’s versatility and the
player’s pedal technique.
The album concludes with Mendelssohn’s Organ Sonata No. 6 in D minor. Based on Bach’s chorale Vater unser im Himmelreich, this piece demonstrates Mendelssohn’s consummate mastery of organ textures.
"These are outstanding performances by a great musician and the King's Harrison & Harrison is a magnificent instrument." Gramophone Magazine August 2015
**** "Notwithstanding the brilliance of execution and the well-rehearsed and insightful registration planning of the big outer works, in many ways it’s Cleobury’s Mendelssohn – the filling in the cake – which shows off the rich, deep mahogany colours of this most noble of English organs to best advantage. Fans of the organ and its devoted custodian will not want to be without this splendid recording." Choir and Organ November 2015
Julius Reubke’s magnificent Organ Sonata on the 94th Psalm explores the theme of judgement. Considered one of the pinnacles of Romantic repertoire, and thought to have been inspired by Liszt’s Fantasie und Fuge über den choral, this piece is a test of both the organ’s versatility and the
player’s pedal technique.
The album concludes with Mendelssohn’s Organ Sonata No. 6 in D minor. Based on Bach’s chorale Vater unser im Himmelreich, this piece demonstrates Mendelssohn’s consummate mastery of organ textures.
"These are outstanding performances by a great musician and the King's Harrison & Harrison is a magnificent instrument." Gramophone Magazine August 2015
**** "Notwithstanding the brilliance of execution and the well-rehearsed and insightful registration planning of the big outer works, in many ways it’s Cleobury’s Mendelssohn – the filling in the cake – which shows off the rich, deep mahogany colours of this most noble of English organs to best advantage. Fans of the organ and its devoted custodian will not want to be without this splendid recording." Choir and Organ November 2015
The latest choir disc on the King's College Choir label is an album of live music: ‘Evensong Live 2015’. The album draws from the Chapel’s weekly webcasts. The recordings were made during services using a state-of-the-art recording system concealed in the roof, vestry and organ loft, with microphones suspended discreetly above the choir stalls.
The nearly 80 minutes of music provide a cross section of some of the daily music making that happens at King’s capturing the atmosphere and acoustic of the Chapel. It also serves as a snapshot of the Choir at a specific moment in time, and presents Evensong as a living and breathing part of both the College and national heritage.
The nearly 80 minutes of music provide a cross section of some of the daily music making that happens at King’s capturing the atmosphere and acoustic of the Chapel. It also serves as a snapshot of the Choir at a specific moment in time, and presents Evensong as a living and breathing part of both the College and national heritage.
The Choir has recently released Easter from King’s, a DVD of an Easter service held in the Chapel. The service was broadcast last year by the BBC, and formed a cornerstone of its Easter programming.
The recording features seasonal hymns and readings alongside choral favourites, including Allegri’s Miserere, the Lacrimosa from Mozart’sRequiem, the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah and César Franck’s Panis Angelicus.
The recording features seasonal hymns and readings alongside choral favourites, including Allegri’s Miserere, the Lacrimosa from Mozart’sRequiem, the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah and César Franck’s Panis Angelicus.
King’s College Choir's first album of 2015 was a recording of anthems based on hymns from the Anglican choral tradition. It is the first album to explore anthems from this tradition.
Highlights include Parry’s epic Hear my words, ye people, Ireland’s Vexilla Regis, and organ preludes on traditional hymns by Parry and Edwards. It also includes Alison Balsom playing the trumpet on Lord, Thou hast been our refuge by Vaughan Williams.
Highlights include Parry’s epic Hear my words, ye people, Ireland’s Vexilla Regis, and organ preludes on traditional hymns by Parry and Edwards. It also includes Alison Balsom playing the trumpet on Lord, Thou hast been our refuge by Vaughan Williams.
The Choir's 2014 recording of Fauré's Requiem became Recording of the Month in the BBC Music magazine. The reviewer Roger Nichols called it a 'serene and scholarly version' of the Requiem that is 'quite outstanding in its beauty, balance and sensitivity'.
"Not only is it beautifully sung and played but the recorded sound on the choir’s own label is remarkable… It is completely beautiful and, in its sheer scale and immediacy, has a different feel from the benchmark recording by the same choir under David Willcocks… The ‘Pie Jesu’ is as close to perfection as one could hope to hear…"
International Record Review, November 2014
"Not only is it beautifully sung and played but the recorded sound on the choir’s own label is remarkable… It is completely beautiful and, in its sheer scale and immediacy, has a different feel from the benchmark recording by the same choir under David Willcocks… The ‘Pie Jesu’ is as close to perfection as one could hope to hear…"
International Record Review, November 2014
