The anonymous L'homme arm� tune was widely used in 15th- and 16th-century Europe as structural and melodic inspiration for composers to base their masses on. The reason for it's enduring appeal is not really understood, but it's catchy melody and evocative martial theme were clearly appreciated by composers from Dufay to Carissimi. de Profundis continues it's Morales Project with two very different but equally exquisite Masses on this melody, alongside his spectacular Magnificat secundi toni. De Profundis is a hand-picked vocal ensemble that performs continental Renaissance sacred music at the original low pitch, using the all-adult-male forces appropriate to the period. Conducted alternately by Robert Hollingworth and Eamonn Dougan, the group will release 10 albums on CORO over the next decade, completing their exploration of Morales' work.

In Monteverdi's Lament, the Erik Westberg Vocal Ensemble presents two contemporary works that reimagine poetry and music connected to the legacy of Claudio Monteverdi. Drawing on 17th-century sources, these compositions set historical and contemporary choir music in dialogue with interactive technologies and the hyperorgan-an instrument enhanced with digital control functions that allow performance beyond the traditional keyboard. The result is an exploration of the creative tension between past and present, echoing the spirit of innovation that shaped Monteverdi's music in the early 1600s. Carl Unander-Scharin's Lamento � pi� takes inspiration from Ottavio Rinuccini's libretto for the lost opera Arianna, originally set by Monteverdi in 1607. Created in collaboration with choreographer �sa Unander-Scharin, this 2023 work expands the expressive potential of the 17th-century text through a dynamic interplay of choreography, choir, and hyperorgan.

Ireneo Fuser was born in Carbonera (Treviso) on 12 November 1902. In 1925, he graduated in organ at the Liceo musicale �Benedetto Marcello� in Venice under the tuition of Oreste Ravanello and later specialized in Rome with Fernando Germani. In 1927, he graduated in piano at the Conservatory in Parma and, in 1935, in composition at the Conservatory in Florence. In 1928, he won the competition to succeed Ulisse Matthey as organist at the Sanctuary of Loreto, a position he did not hold, however. He undertook a brilliant concert career that was marked by a broad repertoire, refined recording skills, great virtuosity, and musical sensitivity that made him one of the most important Italian organists of his generation. From the 1940s onwards, he has given organ recitals for Swiss radio and RAI in live or recorded Sunday programmes in Rome and Turin, which have been on the broadcast schedules for more than twenty years. At the same time, he carried out teaching activities first at the Licei musicali in Venice and Pescara and then in Bologna, where he was established in 1939 as an organ teacher at the Institute that three years later would become the Conservatorio �G. B. Martini�. A firm believer in the phonic excellence of the ancient Italian organ, he shaped his activity with the noble aim of enhancing the glorious period of Italian musical art of the past; among his countless musicological works, the anthology �Classici italiani dell'organo� (1955) is still considered a reference work today.

With this album, we enter into the court of the Swedish Queen Christina (1626-1689), who distinguished herself with her passions for the arts and sciences, but also through her exceedingly extravagant court life. A few years before her spectacular abdication and return to Catholicism (1654), she had employed an Italian opera ensemble including the Roman singer Domenico Albrici and his 21-year-old son Vincenzo. The latter had already made a name for himself at home and, within a few years in Sweden, composed many excellent vocal works. Together with several instrumental pieces, these survive in the famous D�ben collection at Uppsala University. From around three dozen titles, Manfred Cordes has selected a beautifully melodious anthology, which has become an unmistakable hallmark of Weser Renaissance.

A Tree Is a Song presents first recordings of a collection of recent secular choral works by Cecilia McDowall, performed by The Rodolfus Choir under Ralph Allwood and Elinor Cooper. Written between 2012 and 2024, the programme sets texts by poets including Heather Lane, Se�n Street, Kate Wakeling, Sheila Bryer, Virginia Woolf, and Shakespeare. Several works feature obbligato cello played by Leo Popplewell. The pieces respond to a wide range of subjects, from nature and community to remembrance and the COVID-19 pandemic. Recorded in London in 2024, the album documents McDowall's distinctive approach to text setting, choral texture, and contemporary vocal writing.

Two multi-choir Masses from mid-17th-century Rome (one for Easter, the other based on Palestrina's motet for Pentecost) complete I Fagiolini's dazzling series exploring the 'Colossal Baroque' and paying tribute to the 'lost' music of Orazio Benevoli. Maestro of the Cappella Giulia at St Peter's, Rome, Benevoli's mastery of surround-sound is clear in these very different works. The sheer quality of his music shines through and, sung by a group at the height of it's powers, changes our view of 17th-century multi-choir music. All the Masses in I Fagiolini's Benevoli series are premiere recordings.

Rare Italian Madrigals Composers from the upper drawer number several well-known names (music quality increasing a lot over the century), among them principally Giaches de Wert (1535-1596), Carlo Gesualdo (1566-1613), Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643), and, not least, Luca Marenzio (1553-1599), to whom the present CD is entirely devoted. In his rather short lifespan, he managed to write about 500 madrigals between 1580 and 1599. In those two decades, his music developed immensely, reaching it's climax in the last ten years of his life. Though continuing to satisfy his great popular following with loads of small, lighthearted songs, Marenzio excelled also in writing ambitious madrigal cycles, of which two are recorded here: Baci soavi e cari (five 6-part madrigals describing several aspects of kissing) and, maybe his magnum opus, Capitolo - Se quel dolor (ten 6-part madrigals delving into one of the period's favourite subjects: melancholia).

One of the world's leading experts on Marcel Dupr�, Tobias Frank, joins forces with his ensemble Vox ad hoc to reveal a previously undiscovered facet of the French composer: vocal works for soloist or choir, with piano or organ accompaniment or purely a cappella. Until recently, these outstanding pieces had remained quietly overlooked in the archives of the Biblioth�que nationale de France.

In March 2026, M�tier presents a stunning album of choral music from Northumberland-based composer John Casken, inspired by the region's magnificent landscape and coastline, it's changing colours, history, and poetry. The recording features Joyful Company of Singers under the direction of Peter Broadbent and reflects two years of working alongside the composer. The album features evocative and powerful settings of poems by writers from 7th-century Northumbrian cowherder Caedmon to George Herbert, John Donne, Robert Burns, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Sylvia Townsend Warner, Northumbrian poet Katrina Porteous, and John Casken himself. The album contains many Northumbrian connections, especially in the works written for choirs in Durham and Northumberland, including the Choir of Durham Cathedral and Newcastle Cathedral, Northern Sinfonia Chorus, and the choir John Casken himself started - Coquetdale Chamber Choir. The works are grouped around timeless and deeply resonant themes, the headings drawn from within their texts: Northumberland's seascape and dialect are central to Uncertain Sea, the single work in 'Far from Land'. The focus of 'Sacred Shaper' is Christianity in early times, followed by an Easter sequence Stone and Thorn, and finally music of farewell, Fare thee weel. Stones also play a part, whether rolling on the seabed, in memorials of stone, "the stone rolled away from Christ's tomb," or as an allegory for virtues symbolised in the stone floor of a church. The choir takes up various roles - sometimes as the voice of a community, or as voices coming together to offer reflection, or simply to tell a story through the music. John Casken's painting for the cover of this recording includes the stones of Dunstanburgh Castle bordering the seas; in Katrina Porteous's words, "Black Dunstanburgh withstands / The waves, the years."

The Crown of Life continues the Choir of The Queen's College, Oxford's exploration of overlooked treasures in twentieth-century English choral music under Owen Rees. At it's centre is the first recording of Kenneth Leighton's Missa Christi (1988), the composer's final large-scale sacred work, commissioned by Christ Church Cathedral, Indianapolis. Alongside it are world premiere recordings of Harold Darke's Blessed Is the Man That Endureth Temptation and Imogen Holst's Out of Your Sleep Arise and Wake. Works by Rebecca Clarke and Gustav Holst complete the programme, offering a richly varied portrait of composers linked by study with Stanford and united in sacred expression.

Over the course of the last 15 years, David Lang and The Crossing, the Grammy-winning chamber choir conducted by Donald Nally, have crafted a body of work that stands apart from the rest for it's profound spiritual connection to our shared sense of humanity-through our stories, our myths, our beliefs, and our dreams. The sense of senses is a milestone that celebrates this connection, across time and space, to deliver a message that music can be a benevolent force for change if we only take the time to listen. "This album is a collection of works that capture the intimate side of The Crossing's relationship with David Lang," Nally explains. "Only two were written for us, yet the others reflect a shared world view, a common idea about sound and community, and a collective focus on our reason for singing. David's thoroughly considered thoughts on 'why we do this' have influenced The Crossing's perpetually reexamined thoughts on that question: how to communicate deep feelings, absent of ego."

Spain's Siglo de Oro, the Age of Gold, gave rise to some of the greatest sacred choral music of the Renaissance. Lead, Kindly Light is devoted to the music of two outstanding Spanish composers, exploring majestic works by Crist�bal de Morales, famed throughout Europe and in the New World, and the exquisite polyphony of Sebasti�n de Vivanco, whose intricately crafted counterpoint adorned services at the cathedrals of �vila and Salamanca during the late 1500s. Contrasting and complementing these 16th-century masterpieces are spellbinding settings of words by Saint John Henry Newman: Sir James MacMillan's Nothing in Vain for soloists and double choir, and the world premiere of Kerensa Briggs' Lead, kindly light, specially commissioned for this album.

On 13 April 1716, the long-awaited heir to the Habsburg throne was born. All of Europe rejoiced, for it was expected that the Spanish War of Succession so recently ended would not rekindle into another disastrous conflict. The city of Frankfurt am Main, where emperors were elected and crowned, marked the event on 17 May with a huge celebration, and Georg Philipp Telemann contributed two large-scale works for it. The performances in the Barf�sserkirche and on the R�merberg were part of a day-long series of festive activities with hours of carillons ringing and hundreds of cannon salutes-but it was music director Telemann who emerged victorious in the end. Understandably so, as the first recording of the two festive pieces reveals. These two gems further enrich our label's Telemann catalogue.

Carl Orff Carmina Burana Orfeon Pamplones Escolania de Nuestra Senora de los Desamparados Orquesta de Valencia Alexander Liebreich Sara Blanch, soprano Joaquin Asiain, tenor Andre Baleiro, baritone They are one of the most famous and frequently performed works of classical music: Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana". The Latin title refers to a collection of songs from Benediktbeuren dating from the 11th and 12th centuries with texts written in Middle Latin, Old French and Middle High German. Orff chose 24 of these songs, their topics ranging widely from the volatility of happiness and prosperity to the fleeting nature of life, from the joy of the return of spring to the pleasures and dangers of drunkenness, gluttony, gambling, and lust. In June 2024, at the Palau de la M�sica in Valencia, the Orquestra de Valencia, one of the great Spanish symphony orchestras, together with the leading local boys' choir as well as one of Spain's oldest choirs, Orfeon Pamplones, performed this epic work under the musical direction of Alexander Liebreich. They were joined by soloists Sara Blanch, Joaquin Asiain, and Andre Baleiro. The live recording of this lively and captivating concert evening is now available. Recorded live at the Palau de la M�sica, Valencia June 2024

The composer and pianist Livia Teodorescu-Ciocanea, born in Galati, eastern Romania, in 1959, brings together ancient and modern in her music: echoes of the modal sounds of Romanian folk music blend with an openness to timbre to generate a palette of colours that is both contemporary and ageless. All three works here use the voice - solo and in chorus - to touch on aspects of the human condition, suggesting both drama and ritual.

In this fifth GENUIN release devoted to his music, composer Christian Ridil adds another milestone to his extensive discography. In collaboration with the Vocal Consort of the Berliner M�dchenchor and the S�dwestpf�lzer Kinderchor, Ridil presents a richly varied program spanning six decades of his creative work. All the pieces-world premiere recordings-include works for women's and children's choir alongside solo songs, performed by ensembles and soloists whose artistry brings Ridil's music vividly to life. From folk-inspired melodies to sophisticated contemporary idioms, this album offers a rewarding journey of discovery through Ridil's stylistic spectrum-a voyage as captivating as it is illuminating.

When Anton Bruckner premiered his Te Deum at the Vienna Musikverein in 1886, he later referred to it as the "pride of my life." This rare display of self-assurance is striking, given that Bruckner was otherwise known for his artistic self-doubt and frequently revised his compositions. But in this case, he was certain-and the critics agreed: the Te Deum became one of his greatest successes, surpassing even many of his symphonies in public acclaim. The story of the Mass in F minor unfolded rather differently. Commissioned by the Imperial Court Chapel in Vienna (Wiener Hofmusikkappelle), it was composed nearly two decades before the Te Deum. Bruckner subjected the work to multiple revisions up until 1893-a creative process typical of him. He conducted the premiere himself and even covered the considerable costs, after the Hofkappelle had initially dismissed the Mass as "unsingable." Only gradually did the work establish itself in the repertoire. The recordings on this album were made in 2024 and 2025, bringing together an outstanding cast of internationally acclaimed singers under the direction of a conductor of international standing.

Head Space: Candlelight is the first EP in The King's Singers' Head Space series, aiming to connect choral music with calmness and reflection. Inspired by compline, the Catholic night service, it features plainchant, including "In manus tuas Domine" and "Salva nos Domine vigilantes," emphasizing breath-led pacing. The album also includes wordless Orlando Gibbons "Songs," contemporary pieces by Anna Thorvaldsdottir, Judith Bingham, and Arvo Part, and the experimental "4'33" by John Cage, concluding with Robert Parsons' "Ave Maria" and Edvard Grieg's "Ave Maris Stella," all designed to create a contemplative atmosphere.

In January 2026 The Elgar Society marks it's 75th anniversary, and SOMM Recordings celebrates the event with several Elgar releases in gratitude for the society's generous support and encouragement from 1998 to the present day. Light Out of Darkness, Choral Music by Elgar was recorded in February 2025, with the support of The Elgar Society, and continues the inspired journey of the composer's musical development in a series of widely acclaimed releases by SOMM. This present release includes five world-premiere recordings. Light Out of Darkness features the Chapel Choir Of The Royal Hospital Chelsea conducted by their Music Director, the multiple prize-winning conductor and pianist William Vann. This follows their hugely successful first recording of Elgar's choral works for SOMM, The Reeds by Severn Side [SOMMCD 0278]. The featured organist is Callum Knox, an emerging talent from Australia. Edward Elgar (1857-1934) had an unorthodox musical education that turned out to be a fertile training ground for his evolution into one of the most important composers of the Victorian and Edwardian eras. He "learned on the job," so to speak, studying scores and instruction manuals in his father's music shop; assisting his father who played the organ at Worcester's St George's Church; and graduating to organist for St George's in 1885. From these early years come world-premiere recordings of the hymn Praise ye the Lord, 1878, and the first of Elgar's seven settings of Thomas Aquinas's O Salutaris Hostia composed c.1877. Two later versions-from c.1880 (dedicated "To my father - with affection") and 1882-are also included here. This last is another world-premiere recording, as is Elgar's a cappella setting of the Stabat Mater from 1886. In 1888, now aged 31, Elgar composed the dignified Ecce sacerdos magnus (Behold a great priest) for a visit to St. George's by the newly installed Bishop of Birmingham. This release includes three anthems extracted from Elgar's oratorios. Light out of darkness and Light of the World, we know Thy praise are taken from his first oratorio, The Light of Life (Lux Christi). The third is The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, the opening chorus from his penultimate oratorio, The Apostles. Elgar's part songs, or "choral songs" as he later preferred to call them, contain some of his greatest music. Amongst the six included here are Byron's Deep in my soul from The Corsair; O wild West Wind! Inspired by Shelley's Ode to the West Wind; and Go, Song of Mine after the Italian 13th century poet, Guido Cavalcanti, translated by Dante Gabriel Rossetti. The programme closes with Elgar's rousing 1902 arrangement of God Save the King, heard here in the version for organ accompaniment.

Spanning 500 years from the exquisite simplicity of Thomas Tallis' perfect miniature O nata lux through Britten's jubilant Festival Te Deum to Cheryl Frances-Hoad's majestic O come let us sing unto the Lord, this album celebrates the hope and anticipation that comes with the beginning of a new day. Arise my love perfectly complements Magdalen's first album on CORO, Peace I leave with you, which celebrates music written for the end of the day.

Spanish Renaissance polyphony has a reputation for florid, intricate contrapuntal textures and dark colours. Sebasti�n de Vivanco (c. 1551-1622), born in �vila but active for most of his life in Salamanca, stands apart from his contemporaries: his music explores a much wider range of colours and techniques than that of, say, Victoria. In his more experimental and dramatic motets, some of which are heard here, he points the way towards the new Baroque. But, in the calm sobriety of his Requiem, now reconstructed and recorded for the first time, he honours the Iberian tradition of unhurried chant-driven polyphony, all the more moving for it's uncluttered clarity and exquisitely lovely chordal sequences.

What distinguishes Faur�'s Requiem from numerous other settings of the requiem text is it's rather intimate, restrained, almost chamber-music nature, a "lullaby of death", as it has also been called, initially more as a criticism of a work that for most of the time avoids depicting the dread of death and the Last Judgement. Faur�'s reply "But this is how I feel about death: as a happy liberation, as a striving for happiness in the hereafter rather than as a painful transition", not only perfectly describes essential characteristics of his Requiem, but also reveals it to be a very personal expression of the composer's very own artistic nature. Two generations after Faur� (and Faur�'s grand-disciple through his teacher Koechlin), Francis Poulenc's (1899-1963) displayed a significantly different approach to religion. Poulenc, who like Faur� was from the southern part of France, had been shaped by his homeland in the sense of a 'rural', intense but joyous Catholicism. He regarded his Gloria as a more joyful counterpart to some of his other sacred works, and it is in this spirit that the first movement, begins in a festive mood with a striking, fanfare-like motif in the full orchestra. If Poulenc cited Gozzoli frescoes with monks sticking out their tongues and Benedictine monks playing football as the source of inspiration for his Gloria, then nowhere is this more immediately comprehensible than in the second movement, with it's rhythmically pointed Laudamus te, of the choir. In both the opera house, and concert hall, Pr�tre's interpretations were notable for their full-blooded and highly romantic character; in style, they were often different from those of French conductors of the previous generation. He was an effective conductor not only of the French repertoire, but also of the music of Italy, and Germany, a fact reflected by the admiration in which he was held in both countries. A highly experienced and polished recording artist, Pr�tre had many years' experience of working in the studio. His discography was large. Especially important were his recordings of the music of Poulenc.

Marking Oriel College's 700th anniversary, this unique collection explores the diverse musical traditions connected with Oriel College. Drawing on sources from medieval Marian devotion to the Oxford Movement, and from the work of distinguished fellows to contemporary commissions for the chapel choir, it explores the influence and inspiration of the college's scholars, poets, and musicians over seven centuries, charting an evolving relationship between the college and it's cultural life.

A sense of expectancy, along with images of stillness in nature, are recurrent in depictions of the story of Christmas. This collection of contemporary carols, alongside well-known favourites, seeks to draw the listener deeper into the remarkable story of the Christ Child.

This powerful live recording from the Philharmonie Luxembourg brings together the choir of the renowned Gaechinger Cantorey and the Luxembourg Philharmonic under the musical direction of Hans-Christoph Rademann for an emotionally charged interpretation of Johannes Brahms' Ein deutsches Requiem. Featuring acclaimed soloists Katharina Konradi (soprano) and Konstantin Krimmel (baritone), this performance offers a deeply human and musically refined experience of one of the most important choral works of the 19th century. Unlike the traditional Latin Requiem, Brahms' German Requiem focuses not on the dead but on the living - on comfort, compassion, and hope. Drawing on texts from the Lutheran Bible, Brahms crafts a spiritual and emotional journey that speaks directly to the human condition, transcending religious boundaries and remaining timeless in it's message. Rademann, a master of choral conducting, shapes the work with clarity, warmth, and expressive nuance. Under his direction, the Gaechinger Cantorey delivers a performance marked by rich tone, articulate phrasing, and emotional intensity. The Luxembourg Philharmonic adds glowing orchestral color and transparency, perfectly complementing the vocal forces. The synergy between choir, orchestra, conductor, and soloists is palpable throughout, offering a fresh yet profoundly respectful interpretation of this beloved masterpiece.