In the Bleak Midwinter reflects a Christmas that was unlike any other in recent history. Much of the music on this album was heard around the world as part of the 103rd Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, a service that has been broadcast live every year since 1930. But for Christmas Eve 2020, the continuation of this uniquely long-running tradition was not to be. A full service, with lessons, carols, organ voluntaries and prayers, had been recorded in an empty Chapel for use in the event that a live broadcast became impossible, and it was this that was called upon just days before Christmas Eve. For it's millions of listeners, the broadcast meant the continuation of a Christmas tradition in a year when so many were without their friends and family, and without so much of what makes Christmas special. Music from Christmas Eve is supplemented on this album by a selection of specially recorded tracks. It marks not only a moment of light in a time of considerable darkness for so many, but the beginning of a new era for the Choir of King's College under the direction of Daniel Hyde, with this his first full album at King's since his appointment in 2019.

One of the most celebrated English composers of the Renaissance, William Byrd wrote Latin sacred music throughout his professional career, despite the fact that such pieces were banned from being used in church. The motets on this recording are presented in the order in which they appear in the pre-Reformation church year, beginning with Advent. The remarkable range of form, texture and color in Byrd's music allows Stephen Cleobury to showcase the voices of the choir, as well as the legendary acoustics of the chapel, in all their glory. Most of the motets are presented here performed by the whole choir, with a small selection - including the rousing Vigilate and Byrd's masterpiece Ne irascaris, Domine - performed by the Choral Scholars of the choir.

Officially beginning on 25th August 2017, Bernstein’s 99th birthday, and continuing through his 100th year until 25th August, 2019, Bernstein at 100 is the celebration of the 100th birthday of the composer, conductor, educator, musician, cultural ambassador, and humanitarian. To celebrate this world-wide event, the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge and Britten Sinfonia present one of the composer’s most enduring works, Chichester Psalms. The voice occupies a special place in Bernstein’s output, and Chichester Psalms stands as his most popular choral work. It is presented here in the version for choir, organ, percussion and harp, with the exquisite solo for boy treble. Written in 1965, it is an exhilarating invocation of the composer’s hopes for brotherhood and peace. Sentiments which are mirrored by Vaughan Williams’s impassioned Dona nobis pacem, which draws on texts from the Mass, three poems by Walt Whitman, a political speech, and sections of the Bible.

The Harrison & Harrison organ in King’s College Chapel is, like the College Choir, famous the world over. The organ case with gilded pipework, which surmounts the 16th century screen, is a striking feature of nearly every depiction of the interior of the Chapel, while the instantly recognisable sounds of the instrument have become inextricably associated with those of the Choir. In January 2016, the instrument – including its 4,300 pipes – was removed from King’s College Chapel for the most significant restoration since the 1960s. Just nine months later, the project was completed, with the famous organ secured for future generations. Recorded just a few months after the restored organ was heard in public once more, this album celebrates a voice reborn, with a varied programme of music that shows off this magnificent instrument at its very best. Unusually for such a busy conductor, Stephen Cleobury has remained active as an organist. A former president of the Royal College of Organists, he gives regular performances in the weekly recitals at the King’s Chapel, while his recordings have been championed for their virtusoity and musical insight.

Much of Giovanni Gabrieli's music was composed for grand ceremonial occasions and 2015 marks not just the 400th anniversary of the publication of this collection of works from 1615, but also the 500th anniversary of the completion of King's College Chapel. The Choir celebrates these anniversaries with the first classical album ever to use Dolby's new Atmos technology, which uses ceiling-mounted speakers tp reproduce the acoustics of the Chapel with unprecedented realism. Paying homage to one of the most influential musicians of the Venetian Renaissance, Gabrieli was a prolific composer of sacred vocal and instrumental music. The Choir is joined by His Majesty's Sagbutts & Cornets playing faithful recreations o instruments from Gabrieli's time. This recording is also available in SACD and Pure Audio Blu-ray formats"

Easter at King's Is the First DVD Release of the Regular BBC Broadcast, Which Forms a Cornerstone of the BBC's Easter Programming. This Service Was First Broadcast at Easter 2014 from the College's Awe-Inspiring Chapel. Featuring Seasonal Hymns and Readings Alongside Choral Favorites, Including Allegri's Miserere, the Lacrimosa from Mozart's Requiem, the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's Messiah and Cesar Franck's Panis Angelicus, This Collection Presents a Contemplation of Christ's Death and Resurrection. Cameras Are Normally Forbidden During Services, So This DVD Provides a Rare Opportunity to Experience the Choir Engaged in It's Core Activity, Celebrating the Most Important Festival of the Christian Calendar. The Choir of King's College, Cambridge Is One of the World's Foremost Choirs and Unquestionably Among the Most Widely Heard. It Owes It's Existence to King Henry Vi, Who Envisaged the Daily Singing of Services in His Magnificent Chapel. This Remains the Choir's Raison D'e?Tre, and Is An Important Part of the Lives of It's 16 Choristers, Who Are Educated at King's College School, and the 14 Choral Scholars and Two Organ Scholars, Who Study a Variety of Subjects in the College.

100 YEARS OF NINE LESSONS & CAROLS

Following the success of last year's 100 Years of Nine Lessons & Carols, for 2019 King's College release a deluxe product showcasing the landmark 100th service - the last to be conducted by the outgoing Director of Music, Sir Stephen Cleobury.

The Choir of King's College, Cambridge releases a beautiful and varied selection of Easter choral music on it's new album under the direction of Daniel Hyde. Now the Green Blade Riseth is a procession through time and history, with music rooted in ancient Gregorian chant all the way through to contemporary works charting the course of Holy Week and Easter. The album presents not only a rich variety of choral music but a demonstration of the flexibility and agility of the Choir of King's College. Daniel Hyde conducts the Choir in music from the 'Golden Age of English Polyphony' (Byrd's Civitas) and the era of Italian grand opera (Rossini's O salutaris Hostia), as well Victorian, Edwardian and mid-twentieth century choral masterpieces. A selection of popular Easter hymns structures the program, which culminates in Durufl 's stunning transcription of Tournemire's Choral Improvisation sur le 'Victim Paschali', performed by Matthew Martin on the King's College organ.

King's College Recordings continues it's Evensong Live series with a new collection of popular anthems and canticles by British composers. Recorded live across 2018 and 2019 during choral services at the famous chapel, this album includes beloved pieces by Hubert Parry, William Walton, Charles Villiers Stanford, William Byrd, Judith Weir and Gerald Finzi.

Britten Sinfonia, recorded in the sublime acoustic of King's College Chapel. Alongside the work is the magnificent orchestrated Te Deum from the Collegium Regale service, and a premiere recording of the Magnificat from the same service, orchestrated by John Rutter. For both these recordings, the Choir and orchestra are joined additionally by the King's College mixed voice choir, King's Voices. Howells' completed Cello Concerto is performed by former King's chorister Guy Johnston, one of the UK's best solo cellists, with the Britten Sinfonia directed by Christopher Seaman. Also recorded in King's College Chapel, the surround-sound recording presents this glorious, but lesser-known work in a way never before heard, but in an environment perfectly suited to Howells' music. Stephen Cleobury rounds off the second part of the album with three of Howells' best-known organ works, performed on the recently-restored Harrison & Harrison organ, also presented here in surround-sound. Accompanying the album are specially-written essays by two of the foremost experts on the composer. Paul Spicer explores how the thrilling Te Deum came about as the result of a bet between Howells and the Dean of King's, and the subsequent canticle settings for cathedrals and foundations across the land for which Howells became so well-known. An English Mass, in contrast, is one of Howells' darkest religious works, with an agonising and troubled presentation of much of the Mass, and Spicer's essay considers Howells' state of mind and some of the possible reasons for this. Jonathan Clinch's essay describes the fascinating journey of completing Howells' Cello Concerto, giving a remarkable insight into the mind of the composer and the history of the work itself.

Bruckner's E Minor Mass and a selection of his profoundly beautiful motets were selected by Sir Stephen Cleobury as his last album at King's, recorded only a few months before his death. Perhaps the deepest and most spiritual of Bruckner's masses, the 'Mass in E minor' is unusual in it's scoring for choir, wind and brass. It is recorded here by the Choir of King's College, Cambridge and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields in King's College Chapel. The album is accompanied by a specially-commissioned Appreciation for Sir Stephen, written by Professor Iain Fenlon, as well as Shades of the Past in Bruckner's Sacred Music - another commissioned essay on Bruckner's works by Dr. Martin Ennis.

Following the success of their 2023 digital EP, Rutter Orchestral Carols, the Choir of Kings College, Cambridge, releases a new album for Christmas 2025, featuring a selection of arrangements and original works for choir and orchestra under the direction of Daniel Hyde. Recorded in the beloved Chapel of Kings College Cambridge, All the Stars Looked Down sees the choir performing alongside Britten Sinfonia once again, and includes beautiful orchestral arrangements of Christmas carols by John Rutter alongside a selection of both well-loved and lesser-known carols by the great choral composers who have influenced him, including Philip Ledger, David Willcocks and Ralph Vaughan Williams. Woven throughout the album are works that are especially meaningful to the Choir and it's community and the albums title track, John Rutters All the Stars Looked Down, is dedicated to the late Sir Stephen Cleobury.

Classical Music

FAREWELL TO CAMBRIDGE

A journey through this distinctive musical genre, performed by some of the finest former members of the Choir of King's College, Cambridge with one of this generation's most exceptional pianists.

For his second album for King's College, Cambridge, harpist and alumnus Parker Ramsay performs The Street by acclaimed composer Nico Muhly and librettist Alice Goodman, a dramatic new work for harp solo, narration and plainchant, based on the Fourteen Stations of the Cross. In it's complete form, The Street weaves together the three sonic elements of Parker's harp, Rosie Hilal's narration, and plainchant from the Choir of King's College, Cambridge, for a powerful presentation of the story of Jesus's final days in a uniquely beautiful way. An alternative version of the work for harp solo is also included. Following the success of Parker Ramsay's first album, J.S. Bach's Goldberg Variations performed on the harp, the album also contains a performance of the Partita No.2 in C Minor, BWV 826.

This is the first album of song from acclaimed bass-baritone and King's College alumnus Christopher Purves, alongside one of the UK's finest pianists, Simon Lepper. Lieder by Strauss, Schubert, Pfitzner and Mahler come to life in dramatic performances by one of opera's biggest names. Bach's popular Ich habe genug, extracts from Eisler's Hollywood Songbook and Weill's Das Berliner Requiem are recorded here in astonishing new sound worlds, with new orchestrations that include accordion, saxophone, guitar, flute and double bass.