The English Anthem, Vol 8

John Scott’s last recording with St Paul’s—he took up his appointment as Organist and Director of Music at St Thomas Church, Fifth Avenue, New York, in the autumn of 2004—brings us the eighth (but not necessarily final …) volume in the choir’s critically acclaimed English Anthems series. Throughout the project, the ‘bread-and-butter’ Victoriana of the rich Anglican repertory has been complemented by inspirational discoveries and commissions. This new disc presents anthems by Wesley, Bairstow, Stanford, Stainer, Goss and Parry alongside the sixteenth-century masterpiece Libera nos by John Sheppard (once thought to have been sacked by Magdalen College Oxford for stealing rival choirs’ choristers and hauling them back to the city in chains—the story turns out to concern a similarly named colleague) and new works by John Rutter, the Cathedral’s former organist Christopher Dearnley and John Scott himself. Also included is the startlingly original—immediately appealing—and prize-winning Praise by Dobrinka Tabakova, a work premiered at St Paul’s as part of the Queen’s Golden Jubilee celebrations.