Reviewed by Steven Whitehead

The album subtitle explains the ethos of this collection: “Music commissioned for St Matthew's Church, Northampton.” As such, it is testimony to Canon Walter Hussey’s vision of the Church of England as patron of the arts. Hussey was vicar of St Matthew's from 1937 to 1955 and every year he tried to commission a new work for St Matthew's festival. So here we have just some of the many choral pieces that owe their genesis to Canon Hussey. In addition to the title track by Gerald Finzi we get Britten’s “Rejoice In The Lamb” and Lennox Berkeley’s “Festival Anthem”. These three pieces last over three quarters of an hour between them. To conclude we get five carols by Richard Rodney Bennett and Kenneth Leighton’s joyous arrangement of “Let All The World In Every Corner Sing”. If you have any interest in British 20th century choral music this is indispensable. For the unconvinced this is still a very good collection.

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