Now the Green Blade Riseth
Price range: £8.99 through £13.00
The Choir of King’s College, Cambridge
Matthew Martin, Paul Greally organ
Daniel Hyde Director of Music
Release date: 15 April 2022
“The depth of sound this choir makes, even at low volume, is remarkable. If you’re fond of the English choral tradition, you need to hear this; the performances have a winning freshness and are beautifully recorded.” – The Arts Desk
“A rich offering for Easter courtesy of Cambridge’s finest… a beautiful selection and impressive in its delivery” – ★★★★★ BBC Music Magazine
A beautiful and varied selection of Easter choral music on its 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 programme, which culminates in Duruflé’s stunning transcription of Tournemire’s Choral Improvisation sur le ‘Victimæ Paschali’, performed by Matthew Martin on the King’s College organ.
| 1 | Ingrediente Domino | George Malcolm, fanfare Matthew Martin | 2:49 |
| 2 | Ride on! ride on in majesty! (desc. Philip Ledger) | Winchester New | 2:33 |
| 3 | Ubi caritas et amor | Maurice Duruflé | 2:26 |
| 4 | O salutaris Hostia | Gioachino Rossini | 3:46 |
| 5 | Wash me throughly | Samuel Sebastian Wesley | 4:10 |
| 6 | Civitas sancti tui | William Byrd | 5:56 |
| 7 | There is a green hill far away (desc. John Scott) | William Horsley | 2:21 |
| 8 | Crucifixus à 6 | Antonio Lotti | 3:00 |
| 9 | Greater love hath no man | John Ireland | 6:14 |
| 10 | God so loved the world | John Stainer | 4:02 |
| 11 | When I survey the wondrous cross (desc. George Guest) | Edward Miller | 3:21 |
| 12 | Now the green blade riseth | Old French Traditional arr. Bob Chilcott | 5:13 |
| 13 | Blessed be the God and Father | Samuel Sebastian Wesley | 8:04 |
| 14 | King of glory, King of peace | T. Frederick H. Candlyn | 3:31 |
| 15 | Jesus Christ is risen today (desc. Philip Ledger) | Lyra Davidica | 2:39 |
| 16 | Light of the World | Edward Elgar | 5:04 |
| 17 | Christus vincit | Laudes Regiae arr. Martin Baker | 2:27 |
| 18 | Choral Improvisation sur le ‘Victimæ Paschali’ | Charles Tournemire, trans. Maurice Duruflé | 9:29 |
| Total playing time – 77:05 |
Recorded at 192kHz 24-bit PCM in the Chapel of King’s College, Cambridge, by kind permission of the Provost and Fellows, 28–29 June & 1–2 July 2021.
Producer and engineer Benjamin Sheen
Mixing and mastering Benjamin Sheen
Cover design Benjamin Sheen & David Millinger
Cover image Sensi Lorente / Millennium Images, UK
Layout design David Hawkins (Untitled Studio)
Content layout David Millinger
Booklet editors David Millinger & Benjamin Sheen
Booklet photographs Benjamin Sheen / King’s College, Cambridge (pp 3, 9 & 19); Geoff Robinson (p14); Leon Hargreaves (p20)
Label management Benjamin Sheen
