Reviewed by Steven Whitehead

This is the first disc from St Davids since the appointment of Alexander Mason as director of music and on it he has chosen some of his favourite anthems to show us just what the choir can do. The result is a well sung collection with appropriate accompaniment from Simon Pearce on the organ, all of which suit the unusual format of the choir which has only girl trebles singing the top line. The selection is interesting, going back as far as Thomas Tallis with his "O Nata Lux" from 1575 and also including first recordings of works by David Briggs, Alexander L'Estrange and Alexander Mason himself. We open with Mason's "A Prayer Of St David" which has already been broadcast on Radio Four's Morning Worship in 2008 and is well worth hearing. We close with "The St Davids Service" by David Briggs which includes a splendid Magnificat. In between these two new pieces we have a good selection of "Favourite Anthems", to quote the CD's sub-title. Highlights for this reviewer are Stanford's "Evening Canticles In G" and the "Agnus Dei" from Karl Jenkins' 'The Armed Man - A Mass For Peace'. In all, this is a good selection of both ancient and modern all well sung with a crystal clear acoustic from within the cathedral. Incidentally, the "Blessed City" of the title is "Heavenly Salem", according to Edward Bairstow who wrote the anthem used as a title track. Those of us who know the little city of St Davids will not object to the description of "Blessed City" being appropriated for this charming place.

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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