Lumen Christi: A sequence of music for the Easter Vigil The Choir of Westminster Cathedral & Simon Johnson

• Gregorian Chant: Lumen Christi:
• 1 Chant: Lumen Christi 00:36
• Exsultet:
• 2 Chant: Exsultet 07:24
• Orlando de Lassus (1532 - 1594): Iubilate Deo:
• 3 Lassus: Iubilate Deo 01:44
• Andrew Reid (b. 1971): Exodus Canticle:
• 4 Reid: Exodus Canticle 02:56
• Tomás Luis de Victoria (1548 - 1611): Laudate Dominum:
• 5 Victoria: Laudate Dominum 03:40
• Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525 - 1594): Sicut Cervus:
• 6 Palestrina: Sicut Cervus 03:42
• Claudio Monteverdi (1567 - 1643): Missa Ave Domine Iesu Christe:
• 7 Monteverdi: Missa Ave Domine Iesu Christe: II. Gloria 05:27
• Gregorian Chant: Solemn Alleluia:
• 8 Chant: Solemn Alleluia: Confitemini Domino 03:29
• Litany of the Saints:
• 9 Chant: Litany of the Saints 03:26
• Matthew Martin (b. 1971): Vidi aquam:
• 10 Martin: Vidi aquam 03:57
• Jean l'Heritier (1480 - 1551): Surrexit pastor bonus:
• 11 l'Heritier: Surrexit pastor bonus 05:20
• Gregorian Chant: Mass I:
• 12 Chant: Mass I: IV. Sanctus 01:32
• 13 Chant: Mass I: VI. Agnus Dei 01:44
• Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina: Angelus Domini descendit:
• 14 Palestrina: Angelus Domini descendit 08:32
• Gregorian Chant: Communio: Alleluia (Psalm 117):
• 15 Chant: Communio: Alleluia (Psalm 117) 06:27
• Pontifical Blessing & Dismissal:
• 16 Chant: Pontifical Blessing & Dismissal 01:27
• Martin Baker (b. 1967): O filii et filiæ:
• 17 Baker: O filii et filiæ 04:32
• Jean Langlais (1907 - 1991): Incantation pour un jour saint:
• 18 Langlais: Incantation pour un jour saint 05:29
• Total Runtime 01:11:24

Info zu Lumen Christi: A sequence of music for the Easter Vigil

The Choir of Westminster Cathedral is the crowning jewel of Catholic church music and has been at the forefront of English sacred music since its foundation in 1901. This disc draws us into the mystery of the Paschal Vigil, the very apex of the Church’s liturgical year, transporting us on a journey from darkness into light through a sequence of plainsong and polyphony. It is the first album under the choir’s current director, Simon Johnson, and immerses the listener in the Cathedral’s own unique treasury of liturgical music, including compositions crafted by its former musicians, as well as repertoire at the heart of the choir’s work, represented here in polyphony by Victoria, Monteverdi and L’Héritier’s glorious Surrexit pastor bonus.

The Choir of Westminster Cathedral
Peter Stevens, organ
Simon Johnson, conductor

Simon Johnson
became Master of Music at Westminster Cathedral in September 2021, following thirteen years at St Paul’s Cathedral. Described by Gramophone magazine as ‘A brilliant and sensitive musician’, he was involved in all of the national occasions that took place at St Paul’s, and an active recital schedule takes him regularly to the USA and to many of the great venues in Europe, including a Royal Festival Hall debut in 2017. At Westminster he directs the world famous choir in concerts, tours, recordings and in the daily Opus Dei. He has performed with groups such as the LSO, RPO, City of London Sinfonia, and The Sixteen, recorded for Decca, Coro, Hyperion and Chandos, been published by OUP and Peters, collaborated with NASA and the International Space Station, and also worked on the Oscar-winning soundtrack for The Grand Budapest Hotel. His most recent recording, B-A-C-H Anatomy of a motif, has attracted widespread critical acclaim.

Peter Stevens
is Assistant Master of Music at Westminster Cathedral. Born in Lancashire, he spent his sixth form years at Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester, where in his final year he also held the Junior Organ Scholarship at Manchester Cathedral. On leaving school, he spent a year as Organ Scholar at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, where he played for services at which members of the Royal Family were present, including the service to mark HM The Queen’s 80th birthday.

Peter spent four years as Organ Scholar at King’s College, Cambridge, accompanying the famous Chapel Choir in their daily services, broadcasts and recordings, as well as giving concerts in over 15 countries across the world. He played three times for the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, broadcast live on Christmas Eve to a worldwide audience of millions.

After graduating with BA and MusB degrees, Peter moved to Westminster Cathedral as Organ Scholar, before taking up his present position in January 2011. In addition to working with the Cathedral Choir, he organises and gives many of the Cathedral’s organ recitals.

For three years, he was Organist of the Edington Festival of Music within the Liturgy, becoming Director of the Festival’s Schola Cantorum in 2013. His organ teachers have included Jeremy Filsell, Colin Walsh, Thomas Trotter, and David Briggs.

The Choir of Westminster Cathedral
is acclaimed as one of the world’s great choirs. Since its foundation in 1903 it has occupied a unique and enviable position at the forefront of English church music, not least because of the ground-breaking work of its first Master of Music, Richard Terry, who revived the great works of the English and continental Renaissance composers. The choir’s fame grew under Terry as it presented this forgotten music, revolutionising attitudes to the repertoire. Innovation continued under George Malcolm who pioneered the development of the choir’s sound along continental lines, resulting in a choir that was truly revolutionary in both what and how it sang. The choir continues these traditions under its present Master of Music, Martin Baker, and it remains the only Catholic Cathedral choir in the world to sing daily Mass and Vespers. More recent holders of the post have included Colin Mawby, Stephen Cleobury, David Hill and James O’Donnell.

The choir’s reputation is ever-expanding and it continues to reach new audiences through its series of acclaimed recordings. In 1998 the choir was awarded the Gramophone Awards for ‘Best Choral Recording of the Year’ and ‘Record of the Year’ for the performance of Frank Martin’s Messe and Pizzetti’s Requiem.

The choir has a history of commissioning and performing new music, famous examples being Britten’s Missa brevis for boys’ voices, the Mass in G minor by Vaughan Williams and compositions by Wood, Holst and Howells. Within the last decade the choir has commissioned new Masses from James MacMillan, Peter Maxwell Davies, Judith Bingham, John Tavener, Matthew Martin and Stephen Hough, all of which were first performed in the context of the regular liturgies at Westminster Cathedral.

Westminster Cathedral Choir features frequently on radio and television. When its busy liturgical schedule permits it takes its music further afield. In addition to regular concerts around the UK, recent tours have included Hungary, Norway, Germany, Belgium, Italy and the USA.

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