Reviewed by Steven Whitehead

One of the crown jewels of English choral singing is the Three Choirs Festival held at one of the cathedrals of Gloucester, Hereford or Worcester. Musically, Edward Elgar has been seen as the dominant composer but, for this selection, Donald Hunt, the Director of Worcester Cathedral Choir, has chosen to emphasise the work of Ralph Vaughan Williams and five others who have worked in a similar vein. The major work here is the "Mass In G Minor" that Vaughan Williams wrote in 1922 for Gustav Holst and his Whitsuntide Singers. Also featured is Vaughan Williams' motet "Lord, Thou Hast Been Our Refuge" written in 1921 and borrowing, in part, the hymn tune St Anne. The other songs, all of which are given fine performances by the Choir accompanied by organist Adrian Partington, are Gerald Finzi's "God Is Gone Up", "Like As The Hart" and "Magnificat (St Paul's)", both by Herbert Howells, Herbert Sumison's "In Exile", Hunt's "God Be Gracious", and a "Nunc Dimitus" by Holst. So a pleasing mix of old favourites and some lesser-known pieces that makes for a very satisfying collection.

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