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FACES IN THE MIST
Choral music by Richard Peat
The Chapel Choir of Selwyn College, Cambridge
The Girl Choristers of Ely CathedraL
Description
This is the first recording dedicated to the choral works of Richard Peat, with a varied collection of sacred and secular pieces written during the last twenty years.
Richard has a highly developed facility in composition and a unique voice. He has successfully submitted works to the John Armitage Memorial’s anonymous annual Call for Music six times, many of which can be heard on this recording. This makes him the most performed composer in over twenty years of the Call for Music.
Richard Peat’s first publicly performed work, Tenebrae, was premièred by the Britten Sinfonia at the Sounds New festival in 1997 while he was still at school. In 2008 Richard studied with Sir Peter Maxwell Davies on the Advanced Composition course at the Dartington International Summer School; he was selected again in 2021 to study with Nico Muhly. His music has been performed all over the world and broadcast on BBC Radio 3. He has received awards from the John Armitage Memorial, Oxford festival of the Arts, the Isolda Composition Foundation, the Arts and Humanities Research Council, London New Wind Festival and Glasgow University.
Track List
All these things†
13:40I Nativity
2:57II Lullaby
0:35 III Dance
2:14IV Lullaby
0:59 V Farewell
4:48 VI Lullaby
2:07Sanctorum Cantuarienses*
13:15I Ritual: Responsum est
4:40 II Drama: Turbulent Priest
2:12 III Dream: Why did God?
6:23Corpus Christi Carol†
4:47Winter Landscape†
8:32Watching the Dark*
10:28I Prelude
1:28 II Suicide in the trenches
2:04 III Bach and the sentry
2:51 IV Does it matter?
2:30 V Postlude
1:35Faces in the mist†
10:00I A deep-sworn vow
2:28 II Vanished
0:40 III Melody, O melody
2:39 IV Mourning
0:25 V The remorseful day
3:48Tread softly*
11:41I Never seek to tell thy love
3:08 II Fair, kind, and true
3:54 III The Rescue
1:04IV Tread softly
3:35I am not there†
3:21Total playing time: 75:50
Production credits
Recorded in Ely Cathedral on 10/11 January and 7/8 February 2020 by kind permission of the Dean and Chapter
Recording producer: Gary Cole
Assistant engineer: Andy Gammon
Sample audio extracts
Reviews
‘The music is beautifully written, basically tonal with dissonant moments, uses the voices and instruments in creative ways, and is deeply expressive of the texts.’ American Record Guide March/April 2023
‘Recorded in Ely Cathedral, the rich tonal and textural sounds created by two superb choirs, The Chapel Choir of Selwyn College, Cambridge, and the Girl Choristers of Ely Cathedral have a compelling warmth through Sarah MacDonald’s superb direction… Peat’s brilliant choral writing justly deserves an album to itself as he is a tremendous contemporary music communicator.’ Chimeo.com
‘There is much to admire in this showcase of the choral writing of Richard Peat… The performances by the young teams of singers, mainly a cappella, are committed and largely very effective, distinguished particularly by precise tuning…’ Choir and Organ December 2022
‘Peat’s distinctive compositional voice is exceptionally well-served here with excellent performances all round.’ Cathedral Music Magazine Spring 2023
‘…one cannot but be amazed at the way Peat manages to create striking and evocative music when writing for such a variety of different forces…’ Planet Hugill