Ian Venables: Requiem, Herbert Howells: Anthems for Choir & Orchestra Choir of Merton College, Oxford & Benjamin Nicholas

• Herbert Howells (1892 - 1983): Four Anthems:
• 1Howells: Four Anthems: I. O pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Orchestrated by Jonathan Clinch)06:54
• 2Four Anthems: III. Like as the hart desireth the waterbrooks (Orchestrated by Howard Eckdahl)06:27
• Herbert Howells: Three Motets for Choir and Organ:
• 3Howells: Three Motets for Choir and Organ: II. The House of the Mind09:14
• Ian Venables (b. 1955): Requiem, Op. 48:
• 4Venables: Requiem, Op. 48: I. Introit (Requiem aeternam)05:37
• Requiem, Op. 48:
• 5Requiem, Op. 48: II. Kyrie03:20
• 6Venables: Requiem, Op. 48: III. Offertorium06:13
• 7Requiem, Op. 48: IV. Pie Jesu03:17
• 8Venables: Requiem, Op. 48: V. Sanctus04:32
• 9Venables: Requiem, Op. 48: VI. Agnus Dei03:13
• 10Requiem, Op. 48: VII. Libera me08:12
• 11Venables: Requiem, Op. 48: VIII. Lux aeterna04:40
• 12Venables: God be merciful, Op. 5106:24
• 13Venables: Rhapsody 'In memoriam Herbert Howells' Op. 25 (For Solo Organ)09:19
• Total Runtime01:17:22

Info for Ian Venables: Requiem, Herbert Howells: Anthems for Choir & Orchestra

Conductor Benjamin Nicholas draws parallels between the familiar English choral sound of Howells and that of contemporary composer Ian Venables. Venables’ Requiem has already been warmly received by critics in a 2020 recording with just organ accompaniment. Now, Nicholas and his Merton College choir present it in an orchestrated version made specially for this recording. The Howells items here are also premiere recordings: new instrumental accompaniments to two of his Four Anthems, in arrangements by Howells scholars Howard Eckdahl and Jonathan Clinch, illuminate and intensify his rich choral writing like back-lighting on a stained-glass window, and they are complemented by the first recording of Howells’ original orchestration of The House of the Mind – a chance to hear one of his major underperformed works, introspective yet dramatic.

"Ian Venables’s Requiem was well-received at its 2019 premiere, as was the recording which quickly followed [Gloucester Cathedral Choir, SOMMCD 0618]. Originally conceived for choir and organ, the Requiem is here presented in new clothes: an orchestral version tailored specially for this CD which adds further colour and texture to the piece. One is reminded of the example of Duruflé’s Requiem and its different versions, even more so when Venables’s composition employs modal harmony and modally inflected melody like Duruflé. By turns moving and consoling to the living, Venables’s Requiem here receives a superb rendition from Benjamin Nicholas and his Oxford forces, ever responsive to the composer’s emotional trajectory through the liturgical text. Nicholas also shows his mettle as an organist in Venables’s Rhapsody. The Howells anthems, also appearing in orchestral guise, brings these works into fresh perspective. Throughout, the mixed voices of the Merton College Choir sing their hearts out for Nicholas, well balanced, well-tuned and well-drilled. A thoroughly admirable release." (Philip Reed, rhinegold.co.uk)

Choir of Merton College Oxford
Oxford Contemporary Sinfonia
Benjamin Nicholas, conductor, organ

Benjamin Nicholas
is Reed Rubin Organist & Director of Music at Merton College, Oxford and Principal Conductor of The Oxford Bach Choir. As a conductor, he has appeared with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, City of London Sinfonia, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London Mozart Players, The BBC Singers and The Holst Singers in works such as Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius, Vaughan Williams’ Sea Symphony, Holst’s Savitri and Duruflé’s Requiem.

During Benjamin’s time at Merton, the annual Passiontide at Merton festival has been established, the Dobson Organ has been installed, and the College Girls’ Choir has been founded. He was elected a Bodley Fellow of Merton in 2018.

Benjamin Nicholas has been involved in the commissioning of a great many works, and conducted the premieres of Charlotte Bray’s Bach Re-imagined in Southwark Cathedral with the City of London Sinfonia, Howard Goodall’s Veni Sancte Spiritusin Westminster Abbey and numerous choral works by Kerry Andrew, Birtwistle, Chilcott, Dove, Jackson, Martin, Muhly, Tabakova, Weir and Wilby in Tewkesbury and Oxford.

Benjamin was a chorister at Norwich Cathedral before holding organ scholarships at Chichester Cathedral, Lincoln College, Oxford and St Paul’s Cathedral. After a period as Director of Music of St Luke’s Church, Chelsea, he was Director of Tewkesbury Abbey Schola Cantorum and Director of Choral Music at Dean Close School. From 2011-2016 he served the Edington Music Festival, firstly as conductor of the Schola and then as Festival Director.

The Choir of Merton College
consists of 30 undergraduate and graduate students at Oxford University reading for degrees in a variety of subjects. The choir's primary duty is singing at regular services in the famous 13th-century Chapel.

Since the establishment of Merton’s Choral Foundation in 2008, the choir has gained an international reputation for offering the best of choral music through tours, recordings and broadcasts. In 2020, the choir won the award for best choral album at the BBC Music Magazine Awards for its recording of Gabriel Jackson’s The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ. The choir’s discography on the Delphian Label has seen numerous five star reviews and many recordings have been named ‘Editor’s Choice’ by Gramophone magazine.

The choir has appeared at The Three Choirs Festival and the Cheltenham Music Festival, and recent London appearances include the concert series at St John’s Smith Square, Cadogan Hall and The Temple Church. The choir is regularly heard in concert with orchestra, and recent collaborations have seen the choir perform with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (Elgar’s The Apostles), Instruments of Time and Truth (Bach’s St Matthew Passion) and Oxford Baroque (Bach’s Mass in B minor). The choir’s annual festival, Passiontide at Merton, has an established place in Oxford’s musical calendar, and has led to exciting collaborations with such groups as The Cardinall’s Musick and The Marian Consort.

Merton College Choir regularly tours overseas, and has recently visited the USA, Hong Kong and Singapore, France, Italy and Sweden. In 2017, the choir sang the first Anglican Service in St Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City, which was broadcast on BBC Radio 3.

The choir’s commitment to contemporary music has seen numerous composers write for the choir. In recent years the choir has premiered works by Kerry Andrew, Birtwistle, Chilcott, Dove, Ešenvalds, Kendall, MacMillan, McDowall, Rutter, Tabakova and Weir. In July 2021, the choir gave the world premiere of a new work by Daniel Kidane.

Booklet for Ian Venables: Requiem, Herbert Howells: Anthems for Choir & Orchestra