The Cambridge Singers - Lighten Our Darkness

Published Thursday 5th October 2006
The Cambridge Singers - Lighten Our Darkness
The Cambridge Singers - Lighten Our Darkness

STYLE: Choral
RATING 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8
OUR PRODUCT CODE: 20769-
LABEL: Collegium COLCD131
FORMAT: CD Album
ITEMS: 1
RRP: £13.99

Reviewed by Steven Whitehead

The service of Compline is the last of the seven daily services observed in monastic communities, taking place immediately before bedtime. This CD gathers together 18 of the many lovely a cappella choral motets, mainly from the Renaissance period, which were written to adorn the evening worship of the church. Composers featured include William Byrd, Orlando de Lassus, John Sheppard and others. In some traditions it became the custom to include a Motet of the Virgin Mary within Compline. Here we have four examples by de Victoria and a beautiful Ave Maria by Rachmaninov. The Cambridge Singers, directed by John Rutter, sing as well as ever and the clear and cool acoustic of the Lady Chapel at Ely Cathedral make it the perfect setting for Compline. In addition there is a 22 minute bonus disc in which the Office of Compline, sung in English with its traditional chants, is given in its entirety with John Harte as Reader and Simon Wall as Precentor. This makes this an interesting audio aid for those of us who do not come from a tradition that conducts worship in this way and by using both discs it is possible to compile your own Compline for private use at home.

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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