Howells: Collegium Regale & Other Choral Works

Featuring

Owain Park
Stephen Layton
Jamie Roberts
Eleanor Kornas
Jonathan Pacey
The Choir of Trinity College Cambridge

Herbert Howells

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Composition History

The opportunity to re-engage with church music in Cambridge had a profound effect on Howells's career, initiating a body of music that placed him at the pinnacle of 20th-century Anglican church composers.

Composition History

Eric Milner-White, Dean of King's College from 1919 to 1941, challenged Howells to revitalize English church music composition, a seed that flowered in the form of liturgical settings for King's chapel.

Composer Biography

By 1941, Howells's career was in a slump, and he was still recovering from the tragic death of his son, Michael, from polio in 1935.

Compositional Technique

Howells unified the complete Collegium Regale settings by using thematic material from the morning and evening services in the Holy Communion order, with the Kyrie reprising Magnificat chords and the Gloria using Te Deum music.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Howells promised that his settings of the Magnificat and Nunc dimittis would reflect specific characteristics, such as the Magnificat's 'feminine association' and the Nunc dimittis's gentle Simeon, with only the Gloria raising its voice.

Composer Biography

Herbert Howells, the composer, temporarily held the post of organist at St John's College, Cambridge, from 1941 to 1945, standing in for Robin Orr who was on active service.

Composition History

Howells composed 'Behold, O God our defender' as a short Introit for the Coronation Service of Queen Elizabeth II in 1952, completing it on Christmas Day that year.