A YEAR AT BIRMINGHAM
£14.50 £12.08 Ex vat
The Choir of Birmingham Cathedral
Ashley Wagner Organ*
David Hardie Director
Track List
The newest release in the collectable ‘A Year at..’ series takes us to the glorious baroque church of St Philip in the heart of Birmingham, which became the Cathedral of the new Birmingham Diocese in 1905. The Cathedral is renowned for its graceful Italianate architecture and the remarkable late nineteenth-century stained glass windows, many by Edward Burne-Jones.
In this first recording from Birmingham under musical director, David Hardie, we are taken on a musical journey through the church’s year from Advent to Christ the King.
Alongside the great festivals, Birmingham Cathedral, situated at the heart of Britain’s ‘Second City’, as well as celebrating the cultural and demographic diversity of this great city, has a special mission to support the vulnerable and marginalised in society. The recording features musical items performed during the year to recognise all aspects of its mission.
Advent
Rorate caeli – Humphrey Clucas
4:31Christmas
The holly and the ivy – June Nixon*
3:03In silent night – Mitchell B Southall
4:37Epiphany
There shall a star from Jacob come forth – Felix Mendelssohn*
5:13Candlemas
Nunc dimittis – Gustav Holst
3:24Racial Justice Sunday
Resignation – Florence Price
2:43Annunciation
Ave Maria – Ben Ponniah
4:01Lent and Passiontide
Ex ore innocentium – John Ireland* 3:32
Easter
Ye choirs of new Jerusalem – Charles Villiers Stanford*
5:01Ascension
Offertoire pour la fête de l’Ascension – Théodore Dubois Organ solo: David Hardie
7:12Pentecost
Come down, O Love divine – William Henry Harris*
4:11Trinity
Great Lord of Lords – Charles Wood
Corpus Christi
Panis angelicus – César Franck*
3:59Corpus Christi Carol – Judith Bingham*
4:05Harvest
Let the people praise thee, O God – William Mathias*
5:01Dedication Festival
Locus iste – Anton Bruckner
2:23All Saints
Give us the wings of faith – Ernest Bullock*
2:57All Souls
In paradisum – Philip Moore
2:29Safeguarding Sunday
A Child’s Prayer – James MacMillan
4:09Christ the King
Let all mortal flesh keep silence – Edward Cuthbert Bairstow
3:52Total playing time: 80:14
Production credits
Recorded on 6–9 February 2024 in Birmingham Cathedral
Executive producer: Gary Cole
Recording producer: George Richford
Recording engineer: Adaq Khan
Photographs copyright Birmingham Cathedral