Cambridge University Press Law 2023

A selection of sacred and Christmas choral music published by Oxford University Press in Spring 2021, performed and recorded by renowned choral group, The Gesualdo Six. Includes music by Rutter, Quartel, and McGlade. “Ingeniously programmed and impeccably delivered, with that undefinable excitement that comes from a group of musicians working absolutely as one.” (Gramophone)

Pavel Chesnokov studied with Taneyev, Ippolitov-Ivanov and Conus in Moscow and was an admired choral director in the city. He wrote more than 500 choral works, the majority of them sacred. His contribution to music for the Divine Liturgy was immense and he wrote two settings of the All-Night Vigil, the second of which is heard here, rich in chant melodies, and full of grandeur and Romantic lyricism. His smaller-scale works show a refined and perceptive use of texture and sonority, often capturing the essence of chant without direct quotation.