Born one year after the death of Purcell, Maurice Greene is one of the most attractive of the minor English composers. A contemporary of Bach and Handel, it is his inheritance of a distinctively English style, with Purcell as a strong element in it, that gives his work its special flavour. The Purcellian character is apparent in Lord, let me know mine end, which opens this recording. Then, in The King shall rejoice, which immediately brings Handel to mind, we find a composer who is very much his own man, with a gift for melody and counterpoint. He has the good taste to know the value of simplicity, but he is also capable of dramatic effect, as at the entry of the full choir in God is our hope and strength.

Maurice Greene
1     Lord let me know mine end
       Nicholas Witcomb, Guy Head - treble

2     The King shall rejoice
       Fergus McLusky - alto; Daniel Norman - tenor; Michael Morton - bass; Stephen Taylor - alto; Mark Milhofer - tenor; Timothy West - bass

3     How long wilt thou forget me, O Lord?
       Nicholas Witcomb, Jerome Finnis - treble

4     Voluntary No 1 in G major
       Gary Cooper - organ

5     God is our hope and strength
       Philip Hallchurch, Guy Head - treble; Fergus McLusky, Duncan Saunderson - alto; Toby Spence - tenor; Michael Morton, Richard Lea - bass

6     Have mercy upon me, O God
       Stephen Taylor, Duncan Saunderson, Ashley Stafford - alto

7     Voluntary No 11 in B minor
       Gary Cooper - organ

8     Let God arise
       Duncan Saunderson - alto; Daniel Norman - tenor; Michael Morton - bass; Stephen Taylor alto; Mark Milhofer - tenor; Michael Morton - bass

9     O clap your hands together

10   Thou visitest the earth (excerpt from Thou, O God, art praised in Sion)
       Toby Spence - tenor

Total Playing time: 69'41''   DDD
Recorded in the Chapel of New College Oxford, 15-16 April 1991
Released 1991
CRD 3510
Also available on CRD 5009 (5CD box set)

"New College Choir sings well throughout. Tone, phrasing, articulation are all admirable, and there is some creditable solo work, especially by the tenor in Thou visitest the earth."

The Gramophone