The Choir of Magdalen College, Oxford
Recordings
Copies of all available choir recordings may be purchased from the college bursary.
Please email celia.brown@magd.ox.ac.uk for more information.
The Sweet and Merry Month
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 Bemnjamin Rogers's Hymnus Euchristicus and Thomas Morley's Now is the Month of Maying, which are accompanied by other lighthearted 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.
Sing, Precious Music
Sing, Precious Music: Five centuries of music from Magdalen. 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 Whitbourns 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.
The Pillar of the Cloud
The Choir's first CD under the direction of Mark Williams is a celebration of five centuries of Oxford anthems. Available here.
On Christmas Night
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.
Thomas Tomkins
Anthems & Canticles
“These gritty performances have a beauty all their own. And that earthy beauty I found thoroughly appealing." Ralph Graves WTJU
"…the choir produces a beautiful sound and the text can be clearly understood. Its members deliver good performances of the solo episodes. …Another interesting aspect is the use of historical pronunciation, something which is seldom practised in recordings of English anthems." Johan van Veen MusicWeb International.
Matthew Martin - Jubilate Deo
“It is a great privilege for me to have a disc of my music recorded by my old college choir. I was organ scholar of Magdalen from 1994-1997 and this was a formative musical experience for me and one for which I owe a great deal to the college. The playlist on this latest choir CD comprises mainly choral works that were written over the last three years and they vary in style from simple, fauxbourdon settings of plainchant to much more lengthy and dramatic pieces. The current college choir, under the direction of Informator Choristarum Daniel Hyde, is on absolutely top form; they negotiate effortlessly the most demanding of passages whilst bringing a lightness of touch and freshness to even the simplest melody. It is surely one of the finest and most cohesive ensembles of its type in the world and they certainly make the best possible case for my music.” - Matthew Martin
Buxtehude - Membra Jesu Nostri
"This Choir of particularly fine trebles." (The Observer 5*)
"There is rich splendour in the choral textures…, and this is one of the few versions in a vast discography that offers the alternative of boys’ voices on the upper parts." (Gramophone)
John Ward - Fantasies and Verse Anthems
"With excellent boy trebles singing the soprano solos and the sinuous viols of Phantasm supplying supple sonatas, the continental-sounding choir of Magdalen College, Oxford, give a vibrant, appealing performance under Daniel Hyde." (The Times 4*)