The Magdalen College Choir has made a number of recordings over the years. Some of those made under the direction of the current Informator Choristarum, Mark Williams, and his predecessor, Daniel Hyde, are highlighted here.
All the CDs featured here can be purchased from the Home Bursary at Magdalen College (via renee.perritt@magd.ox.ac.uk) or though Blackwell’s, Presto Music or Amazon. Digital recordings can be found on sites including Spotify and Presto Music. Follow this link for more information.
Featuring 13 premiere recordings, With Eys Lift Up is a new collection of works written by American composer Nico Muhly for – and the majority commissioned by – the Choir of Magdalen College, Oxford. Comprising settings of the mass and canticles alongside anthems for Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Easter, Ascensiontide, Trinity Sunday and Remembrance, the collection sets a number of little-known texts, casting new light on familiar seasons of the church year.
Spanning 500 years from the exquisite simplicity of Thomas Tallis’ perfect miniature O nata lux through Britten’s jubilant Festival Te Deum to Cheryl Frances-Hoad’s majestic O come let us sing unto the lord, this album celebrates the hope and anticipation that comes with the beginning of a new day.
Arise my love perfectly complements Magdalen’s first album on CORO, Peace I leave with you, which celebrates music written for the end of the day.
Featuring timeless melodies from Guide me, O thou great redeemer (known to millions as ‘Bread of heaven’) to Abide with me, this stunning collection of some of the best-loved hymns of all time from The Choir of Magdalen College, Oxford, accompanied by the College’s magnificent Eule organ, offers a glimpse into the daily musical life of this celebrated choir.
Voices of Thunder features a range of spectacular choral pieces that showcase Magdalen College Chapel’s new Eule organ.
Following on from ‘Peace I leave with you’, this new album combines the sublime voices of The Choir of Magdalen College, Oxford, with the new and exciting sonorities of the Eule organ. The recording includes music from Joseph Haydn to Judith Weir, as well as Arvo Pärt’s atmospheric Beatitudes, Libby Larsen’s playful I will sing and raise a psalm, and Hubert Parry’s thunderous Blest Pair of Sirens.
The Eule organ was built by Herman Eule Orgelbau of Bautzen in Germany and is the first Eule organ of its kind to have been built in the UK for almost 100 years.
In their first recording for CORO The Choir of Magdalen College, Oxford, with director Mark Williams, explore the repertoire that has provided the bedrock of the college’s musical life for the last 500 years, all of which was written for the end of the day. Much music associated with evening time is naturally calm and soothing, and would satisfy those seeking transcendental beauty in the form of unchallenging ‘sound baths’, but this collection also seeks to challenge, contrasting contemporary settings with music from the 16th century. The album showcases works by composers from John Sheppard to Joanna Marsh, and features much-loved pieces such as Hubert Parry’s Lord, let me know mine end and John Tavener’s The Lord’s Prayer as well as new additions to the Evensong repertory such as Grayston Ives’ In pace and Piers Connor Kennedy’s O nata lux.
A disc which celebrates the long and famous May Morning tradition; on the first of may every year, the College Choir ascends the Great Tower in order to sing-in spring at 6AM in the presence of thousands of spectators; the occasion always features Benjamin Rogers’s Hymnus Eucharisticus and Thomas Morley’s Now is the Month of Maying, which are accompanied by other light-hearted secular pieces from Renaissance Madrigals to twentieth century show-tunes. This CD traces a wide variety of repertoire suitable for an early morning at altitude, featuring classics such as The Blue Bird as well as lesser-known works like James Whitbourn’s arrangement of The Lark in Clear Air.
Founded in 1480, the historic traditions and refined sound of the Choir of Magdalen College, Oxford, have proven fertile ground for generations of composers. From the richly inventive and expansive writing of John Sheppard to the mysticism and passion of James Whitbourn’s recent settings, this programme celebrates a unique and finely crafted legacy of choral music and sublime singing that flourishes in our time as much as it did in the 15th century.
In this first commercial recording under new Informator Choristarum Mark Williams, The Choir of Magdalen College, Oxford bring their beautiful sound to 14 glorious anthems composed by great composers associated with the city of Oxford. Featuring stunning a cappella work, as well as accompanied singing, the music transports us to the iconic spires of the city, pointing us towards the clouds with beautiful harmonies.
The acclaimed Magdalen College Choir celebrates the diversity of the twentieth-century English carol repertoire in a programme that combines well-loved standards and innovative choir favourites ranging in emotion from quiet contemplation to festive joy. The selection of carols and organ solos, led by director and organist Daniel Hyde, culminates in Ralph Vaughan Williams’s celebrated Fantasia on Christmas Carols with renowned baritone Roderick Williams in the solo part.
Matthew Martin’s fresh and vibrant style has established him as one of today’s leading sacred choral composers.
Here the renowned Choir of Magdalen College, Oxford perform a selection of his works, celebrating liturgical music in all its variety – from the reticent carol Dormi, Jesu! and the imposing St John’s College Service to settings of the Mass, motets and anthems, including the award-winning In the year that King Uzziah died.