Kenneth Leighton: The World's Desire & Other Choral Works

Featuring

Jacob Coton
Stephen Foulkes
David Bednall
Matthew Owens
Léonie Maxwell
Simon Clulow

Iain Milne
Christopher Sheldrake
Wells Cathedral School Chapel Choir
Wells Cathedral Choir
Kenneth Leighton

Did you know?

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Composition History

Leighton composed 'Sequence for All Saints' as a commission for the West Riding Cathedral Festival, with its premiere involving his former choir at Wakefield Cathedral, which is dedicated to All Souls.

Composer Biography

Kenneth Leighton, the composer, studied classics at Queen's College, Oxford, and later composition with Bernard Rose before winning the Mendelssohn Scholarship.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Despite not being a conventional believer, Leighton found religious, mystical, and visionary ideas to be the most exciting stimulus for his compositions.

Recording & Production

The Wells Cathedral Choir, featured on this recording, has maintained a choral tradition for over 800 years, with records of Vicars Choral dating back to 1136.

Compositional Technique

A recurring theme in Leighton's work, including on this album, is his fascination with hymns, chorales, and plainsong chants, which he frequently used as musical material.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Leighton's early experiences as a cathedral chorister profoundly influenced his lifelong inclination to compose church music, which he considered a channel of communication.

Composition History

The work 'The World's Desire' was a BBC commission requesting a piece that reflected both Western and Eastern liturgical facets of the Feast of the Epiphany.