Reformation / Clare College Choir

Choir of Clare College, Cambridge, Graham Ross

Bach, J S: Cantata BWV79 'Gott der Herr ist Sonn und Schild' Cantata BWV80 'Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott' Brahms: Warum ist das Licht gegeben? Op. 74 No. 1 Croft: O God, our Help in Ages past Cruger: Now thank we all our God (Nun danket) Luther: Ein’ feste Burg ist unser Gott Mit Freud und Freud ich fahr dahin Mendelssohn: Wer nur den lieben Gott lasst walten Neumark: Wer nur den lieben Gott lässt walten Vaughan Williams: Lord, Thou has been our refuge Holly Holt (soprano), Catherine Clark (mezzo-soprano), Jackson Riley (tenor), Christopher Holliday (bass), Paul Sharp (trumpet), Nicholas Morris (organ)

In 1517, indignant at mercenary practices of the Catholic Church and convinced that a public debate was needed to restore faith in the founding texts of the Bible, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the church in Wittenberg Castle. This marked the beginning of the Protestant Reformation, of which he was a seminal figure, which was to spread all over Europe. Five hundred years later, in 2017, Graham Ross and the Choir of Clare College, Cambridge marked the anniversary with a series of cantatas by J. S. Bach performed liturgically in Clare College Chapel on the eight Sundays of Lent Term. This recording is the culmination of that project, presenting chronologically the two great Reformation cantatas of J. S. Bach and three chorale-based works by Mendelssohn, Brahms and Vaughan Williams, each preceded here by the chorale melody or hymn on which they are based, giving an insight into the emotional and dramatic strength of the Reformation's theological and cultural legacy. Recorded on 2 & 4 April 2017 in St John the Evangelist, Upper Norwood, London. Sessions Producer, Recording Engineer & Editor: John Rutter

Price: $22.98