EVERY LIVING CREATURE
Choral music by Kenneth Leighton
Our second disc for the SOMM label, Every Living Creature, exploring the wonderful and varied choral music of Kenneth Leighton, and including five premiere recordings, was released in May 2023.
We were able to unearth a number of significant works by this important British composer, many of which had never been recorded. They include the extraordinary Laudes Animantium, a twenty-five minute work for double choir, soloists and children's chorus, as well as a superb setting of John Donne’s Nativitie and the charming Three Carols (1948). Alongside these, we recorded the partsong London Town and three more sacred works: Lord, When the Sense of Thy Sweet Grace, An Evening Hymn and A Hymn to the Trinity. Just over two-thirds of the disc consists of world premiere recordings, and the majority of the remaining works have been recorded only once before. We were thrilled to work with Rebecca Lea, Nick Pritchard, Ciara Hendrick and Nina Bennet as our soloists, and to be joined by the choir of Finchley Children's Music Group in the finale of Laudes Animantium.
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Grateful thanks go to the RVW Trust, now part of the Vaughan Williams Foundation for their generous financial assistance for this album, and to the Leighton family for unstinting support, including permission to use manuscripts and scores.
We are also very grateful to our producer, Adrian Peacock, and engineer, David Hinitt. The recording was made in the church of All Hallows, Gospel Oak, 17-19 June, 2022.
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Track list
Laudes Animantium, Op.61* [29:24]
[1] I. Prelude 3:57
[2] II. Scherzo: Calico Pie 2:03
[3] III. The Nightingale 3:57
[4] IV. The Lamb 2:22
[5] V. The Kraken 5:13
[6] VI. The Grey Squirrel 0:49
[7] VII. The Tyger 3:08
[8] VIII. Every Living Creature 7:55
[9] An evening hymn 9:12
[10] London Town* 6:28
[11] Lord, When the Sense of Thy Sweet Grace* 5:44
Three Carols (1948)
[12] Lully, lulla, thou tiny little child 3:32
[13] The seven joys of Mary* 5:25
[14] Sleep, Holy Babe* 4:05
[15] Nativitie 5:46
[16] A Hymn to the Trinity 3:35
Total Duration: 73:21
* First Recordings