Reviewed by Steven Whitehead

To coin a phrase, not a lot of people know that Great Britain's modern Houses of Parliament conceal a lost royal foundation: the chapel of St Stephen, begun by Edward I and raised into a college by his grandson Edward III. The foundation maintained an outstanding musical tradition for two centuries before the college was dissolved in 1548, when the building became the first permanent meeting place of the House of Commons. This recording, from Delphian's tried and trusted Cambridge choir, reflects the music life of the college in its final years under Henry VIII, and reconstructs both the wide range of singing practices in the great chapels and cathedrals and the hitherto largely unexplored place of organ music in the pre-Reformation period. The St Teilo organ used on this recording was built by Goetze & Gwynn in the style of an early 16th-century English organ, while organist Magnus Williamson has brought back to life the skills in improvisation necessary to fill in the gaps in our understanding of the pre-Reformation organ repertoire. The music reflects the chapel's dedication to St Stephen, and the disc also features three items from the Caius Choirbook, a handsomely illuminated manuscript, commissioned by a canon at St Stephen's, which now resides in Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge. The main composer featured is Nicholas Ludford (c. 1485 - c. 1557) but two better known names are William Cornysh who contributes a Magnificat and John Sheppard who gives us a hymn, "Sancti Dei Pretiose". Nothing here reaches the heights of Byrd or Tallis but we can hear the musical foundations on which they were to build. Whether you prefer to look back to chant and plainsong or forward to Tudor polyphony you will find much of interest to enjoy on this well presented and well performed collection.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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