I was glad when they said unto me
Hear my words, ye people
Blest pair of Sirens
Music, when soft voices die
Songs of farewell
Jerusalem (arr. Edward Elgar, transcribed for organ by Joseph Wicks)

Being an organist and former choir director myself, I can attest to the fact that Jerusalem by Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry (1848-1918) is one of the most uplifting choral works ever written. Oddly enough, Parry despised organized religion and almost never set foot inside a church, and yet his choral and 'liturgical' music has always had the power to bestir cathedral congregates. And here, performed in its choir and organ arrangement, and perfectly nuanced by organist Julian Collings on the large English Romantic organ at the Church of St Michael, Cornhill, in the City of London, it certainly well projects its powerful intent, on a stirring poem by William Blake (1757-1827).

As well, the disc opens with an utterly powerful rendition of I was glad when they said unto me with a devastatingly climactic ending. The Hear my words, ye people which follows includes two solo parts for soprano (Ruth Provost) and bass (Martin Oxenham) who both expressively convey the Handelian influence of their individual parts, once again expertly accompanied with sonically apt registration by organist Julian Collings. In Songs of farewell which opens with My soul, there is a country, fully a cappella, you can indeed feel the size and scope of the vocal forces, which include the singers who were former members of the Chapel Choir combined with the present choir, all perfectly harmonious and dynamically balanced, something fully revealed in the peacefully soft ending of Lord, let me know mine end. Pure choral nirvana. The sound of this massive choir was captured from just the right distance to capture every nuance and convey a realistic sense of the size, acoustics and scope of the building.

In the booklet notes, recording producer and engineer Gary Cole describes it best: "The logistics of finding a suitable venue for making the recording - easily accessible for alumni from across the country, large enough to accommodate the number of singers, with a suitably rich acoustic, and a large English Romantic organ which could do justice to the accompanied anthems, led us to the Church of St Michael, Cornhill, in the City of London. This recording is released as a celebration of the work of the Chapel Choir of Christ's College, Cambridge, and Professor David Rowland, who marks forty years as Director of Music at Christ's College in 2024."