Prima Facie Records

Requiem and Other Music for Choir and Organ (PFCD255) £12.50/£17.50

Compositions by Richard Pancheff
Choir of Selwyn College, Cambridge | Sarah MacDonald conductor | Shanna Hart organ

[1-6] Requiem, Opus 66

1. Requiem Aeternam I [04:44]
2. The Lamentations I [06:00]
3. Remember, O Lord [05:44]
4. The Lamentations II [05:02]
5. Apologia [04:42]
6. Requiem Aeternam II [06:25]

[7] Quattro Ricercari Ricercar No.1 for Solo Organ [04:46]

[8] Advent Chorales, No.1 Redemptor Mundi [02:33]

[9] Quattro Ricercari Ricercar No.2 for Solo Organ [05:20]

[10] Advent Chorales, No.2 Conditor alme siderum [02:26]

[11] Quattro Ricercari Ricercar No.3 for Solo Organ [05:40]

[12] Advent Chorales, No.3 Adventus Regis nostri [02:24]

[13] Quattro Ricercari Ricercar No.4 for Solo Organ [06:15]

[14-15] The ‘Berlin’ Evening Canticles

14. Magnificat [05:35]
15. Nunc Dimittis [04:12]

Total Time 72'06'

About this Album

This CD showcases the largest single choral work by distinguished British composer Richard Pantcheff, alongside his most recent setting of the Evening Canticles, and a suite of recently-composed organ works. They are performed here by the Choir of Selwyn College, Cambridge, under the direction of Sarah MacDonald.

The Requiem was commissioned in 2005 for the Choir of St. Michael’s Cathedral, Bridgetown, Barbados, to celebrate the longstanding Anglican choral tradition there, as well as the distinct beauties of Caribbean poetry. The texts thus range from the Latin Requiem Mass for the Dead, via the Lamentations of Jeremiah, Euripides and the Greek Orthodox Church, to two poems by the great Barbadian man of letters, Sir Frank Collymore (1893-1980). The work was first performed (with the dedicatees’ permission) by the Chamber Choir of South Africa and the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Michael Dingaan in May 2009.

The disc also includes the composer’s most recent setting of the Anglican Evening Canticles, commissioned for the English Choir, Berlin, who premiered them in Berlin Cathedral in 2018, under the direction of Kathleen Bird. The composer was commissioned to write a short Advent Chorale for the Choir of the City Church of St. Michael at the North Gate, Oxford, for its Service of Nine Lessons and Carols in December 2023. This work was then published in a set of three (Three Advent Chorales), together with similar works written much earlier in the composer’s career.

Interspersed between the Chorales on this recording are the Quattro Ricercari for Organ, written in Oxford in 2023. These works transfer to the organ the sparse style more commonly heard in this composer’s chamber music (also available on Prima Facie Records – PFCD225 and PFCD237).

Credits

Recorded by Ben MacDonald
Edited and Mastered by Phil Hardman
Produced by George Richford
Artwork prepared by Simon Crosby Buttle
Executive producers Richard Pantcheff and Steve Plews

You can read the sleevenotes from this album on the Prima Facie blog, Recitative

Richard Pantcheff (photo: Liz Isles) is internationally renowned as one of the finest contemporary British composers of Choral, Organ, Chamber and Instrumental music. He was trained in choral music and composition from an early age, starting as a chorister at Ripon Cathedral, and thereafter reading music at Christ Church, Oxford, under Simon Preston and Francis Grier. He was mentored in composition by Benjamin Britten in the last years of Britten’s life. Since then he has been commissioned to write new works for the leading performers in their field, including Stephen Layton and the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra. From 2012-2019 he was Director of Music at St. George’s Anglican Church, Johannesburg, South Africa, where he remains Composer in Residence. He is currently guest conductor of the Choir of St. Michael at the Northgate, Oxford, and is occasional guest organist for Ripon College, Oxford. His substantial output of compositions has been commissioned, performed, recorded, and broadcast all over the world. His 2013 work for organ, Passacaglia on a Theme of Benjamin Britten, was premiered in Essen Cathedral by Jane Parker-Smith, as part of the Britten 100 Festival. All of his music has been published, and features in major international music festivals, including the Tanglewood Festival (USA) and the English Music Festival. His works have been broadcast regularly on radio and TV around the world, including by Classic FM (UK and South Africa), BBC Radios 3 and 4 (UK) and TV in South Africa. His compositions are noted by critics and audiences alike for their originality and technical brilliance, combined with intellectual and emotional depth.

Selwyn College Chapel Choir consists of up to twenty-eight singers, Choral Scholars and volunteers. Its repertoire ranges from the 10th to the 21st century. The choir has broadcast services for BBC Radio, sung live on television, and every year undertakes an international tour. Selwyn Choir has premiered major new works by some of the UK's foremost composers, including Jonathan Dove, John McCabe and Adam Gorb, and has made over 20 commercial recordings under Sarah MacDonald’s direction.

Sarah MacDonald is a Canadian-born conductor, organist, pianist, and composer, living in the UK, and she holds the positions of Fellow and Director of Music at Selwyn College, Cambridge, and Director of Ely Cathedral’s Girl Choristers. She has been at Selwyn since 1999, and was the first woman to hold such a post in an Oxbridge Chapel. Sarah has played numerous recitals and conducted choirs throughout the UK, North America, the Middle East, New Zealand, and much of mainland Europe. She has made over 35 recordings, variously in the guises of pianist, organist, conductor, and producer.