Recordings > Sample Tracks
Below is a collection of sample tracks from a small range of our discography. Most are available to buy in our shop and include links which enable you to buy them directly from us if you would like to do so. As with all audio on this site, it is high fidelity: headphones or good speakers are recommended.
Nicholas Ludford, Agnus Dei
from Missa Benedicta & antiennes votives
The music of Nicholas Ludford has been discovered only relatively recently. This gramaphone award winning CD of a cappella music was recorded in the glorious acoustic of St Martin de Hoff on the outskirts of Sarrebourg, a perfect environment for this extraordinary 16th century music.
This CD is available in our online shop.
The music of Nicholas Ludford has been discovered only relatively recently. This gramaphone award winning CD of a cappella music was recorded in the glorious acoustic of St Martin de Hoff on the outskirts of Sarrebourg, a perfect environment for this extraordinary 16th century music.
This CD is available in our online shop.
Purcell, Rejoice in the Lord alway
from Henry Purcell, The Complete Anthems and Services - Volume 5
Released in 1993 on the Hyperion label.
Soloists include Nicholas Witcomb, Jerome Finnis, Philip Hallchurch, Mark Kennedy, Susan Gritton, James Bowman, Rogers Covey-Crump, Charles Daniels, Michael George and Robert Evans.
Choirs of New College Oxford and The King's Consort, and The King's Consort directed by Edward Higginbottom and Robert King.
Unfortunately this disc is not currently available in our online shop.
Released in 1993 on the Hyperion label.
Soloists include Nicholas Witcomb, Jerome Finnis, Philip Hallchurch, Mark Kennedy, Susan Gritton, James Bowman, Rogers Covey-Crump, Charles Daniels, Michael George and Robert Evans.
Choirs of New College Oxford and The King's Consort, and The King's Consort directed by Edward Higginbottom and Robert King.
Unfortunately this disc is not currently available in our online shop.
Palestrina, Nunc dimittis à 8
from Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Stabat Mater, Canticles and Motets
Palestrina’s motets do not enjoy the sort of coverage received by his Masses. They often appear alongside a Mass, but rarely are they allowed to stand on their own, as here. The music on this disc shows a side of the composer which is too often neglected in an over-emphasis on a single imitative Palestrina style: his great interest in sonority and balance.
This CD is available in our online shop.
Palestrina’s motets do not enjoy the sort of coverage received by his Masses. They often appear alongside a Mass, but rarely are they allowed to stand on their own, as here. The music on this disc shows a side of the composer which is too often neglected in an over-emphasis on a single imitative Palestrina style: his great interest in sonority and balance.
This CD is available in our online shop.
Haydn, Third Day (Chorus)
from Haydn, The Creation
The Creation may be embraced by all who love the natural world, of whatever persuasion: Creationist, Darwinian, or something in between. Haydn wrote the oratorio during the years 1796 and 1798. The libretto – a kaleidoscope of landscape, flora and fauna (including man) – was perfectly adapted to his imagination, as vivid in his mid-sixties as it had been in his twenties. In terms of time and place, the work stands at a turning point in European thought, where the Enlightenment gives way to Romanticism, and man’s understanding of and relationship with Nature becomes a preoccupation.
This CD is available in our online shop.
The Creation may be embraced by all who love the natural world, of whatever persuasion: Creationist, Darwinian, or something in between. Haydn wrote the oratorio during the years 1796 and 1798. The libretto – a kaleidoscope of landscape, flora and fauna (including man) – was perfectly adapted to his imagination, as vivid in his mid-sixties as it had been in his twenties. In terms of time and place, the work stands at a turning point in European thought, where the Enlightenment gives way to Romanticism, and man’s understanding of and relationship with Nature becomes a preoccupation.
This CD is available in our online shop.
Byrd, Domine secundum multitudinem
from William Byrd, Cantiones Sacrae (1589)
The nine motets on this disc from Byrd's Cantiones Sacrae of 1589 comprise about half of the music in publication. The Cantiones of 1589 are all for five voices and were issued in four partbooks, a separate book for each voice-part. The works do not follow any liturgical scheme; the words are freely chosen from a variety of sources. Only a few texts express praise and rejoicing; the majority are of a more sombre cast, speaking of sorrow and trouble and pleading for divine help.
This CD is available in our online shop.
The nine motets on this disc from Byrd's Cantiones Sacrae of 1589 comprise about half of the music in publication. The Cantiones of 1589 are all for five voices and were issued in four partbooks, a separate book for each voice-part. The works do not follow any liturgical scheme; the words are freely chosen from a variety of sources. Only a few texts express praise and rejoicing; the majority are of a more sombre cast, speaking of sorrow and trouble and pleading for divine help.
This CD is available in our online shop.
Jonathan Dove, Into thy hands
from MacMillan and his British contemporaries
"Volume 2 in this ‘Twentieth-Century Masters’ series is an all-British programme, spearheaded by two James MacMillan pieces ... both eliciting lean, clear-toned performances from Higginbottom’s choir. ... The choir’s performances in this second volume are of uniformly high quality."
BBC Music Magazine
This CD is available in our online shop.
"Volume 2 in this ‘Twentieth-Century Masters’ series is an all-British programme, spearheaded by two James MacMillan pieces ... both eliciting lean, clear-toned performances from Higginbottom’s choir. ... The choir’s performances in this second volume are of uniformly high quality."
BBC Music Magazine
This CD is available in our online shop.
Domenico Balsano, Venite omnes
from The Malta Manuscripts
The archives of Mdina Cathedral in Malta house a number of 12th- and 13th-century antiphonaries, a collection of over 150 printed works (many unique) by later French and Italian composers, and a large number of manuscripts by 17th-century Italian composers. Many of the manuscripts in the archive, works written expressly for Maltese performances, are the only extant copies. This recording reveals some of these neglected treasures to a wider audience for the first time.
This CD is available in our online shop.
The archives of Mdina Cathedral in Malta house a number of 12th- and 13th-century antiphonaries, a collection of over 150 printed works (many unique) by later French and Italian composers, and a large number of manuscripts by 17th-century Italian composers. Many of the manuscripts in the archive, works written expressly for Maltese performances, are the only extant copies. This recording reveals some of these neglected treasures to a wider audience for the first time.
This CD is available in our online shop.
John Rutter, What sweeter music
from Bluebird
Released in 2000 on the Decca label. Also includes works by Stanford, Handel, Grieg, Finzi, Bainton, Rossini and others.
Choir of New College Oxford directed by Edward Higginbottom
Unfortunately this disc is not currently available in our online shop.
Released in 2000 on the Decca label. Also includes works by Stanford, Handel, Grieg, Finzi, Bainton, Rossini and others.
Choir of New College Oxford directed by Edward Higginbottom
Unfortunately this disc is not currently available in our online shop.
Philippe de Monte, Miserere mei à 5
from Philippe de Monte, Mass 'Si ambulavero' & Motets
The Flemish composer Philippe de Monte was one of the most well-travelled composers of the Renaissance. Born in Mechelen, he served the Pinelli family in Naples before travelling to the court of Queen Mary in the retinue of her husband, King Philip V of Spain. He was subsequently appointed Kapellmeister to the Imperial Hapsburg Court and served Maximillian II in Vienna and Rudolph II in Prague. He contributed to most of the important vocal genres, including mass, motet, madrigal and chanson. This collection offers a perspective on de Monte at the height of his technical powers, showing his superb handling of vocal disposition, subtle word-painting and his flair for sophisticated canonic writing.
This CD is available in our online shop.
The Flemish composer Philippe de Monte was one of the most well-travelled composers of the Renaissance. Born in Mechelen, he served the Pinelli family in Naples before travelling to the court of Queen Mary in the retinue of her husband, King Philip V of Spain. He was subsequently appointed Kapellmeister to the Imperial Hapsburg Court and served Maximillian II in Vienna and Rudolph II in Prague. He contributed to most of the important vocal genres, including mass, motet, madrigal and chanson. This collection offers a perspective on de Monte at the height of his technical powers, showing his superb handling of vocal disposition, subtle word-painting and his flair for sophisticated canonic writing.
This CD is available in our online shop.
