In the Beginning
In the beginning was the College Choir's debut CD, released on the Delphian label. Peter Phillips and Benjamin Nicholas direct the choir in music by Gombert, Palestrina, Weelkes, Holst, Copland, Łukaszewski, Whitacre and Jackson. This attractive programme shows the choir at its best, and the disc attracted very favourable reviews and was played on BBC Radio 3.
Plainly, this is a fine choir, and a worthy rival to the other mixed-voice Oxbridge ensembles that have flourished in recent times
Sunday Times, September 2011
In a generously imaginative gesture that can only benefit the future of British choral music, the college recently set up a new foundation, training 18 scholars. The results are already outstanding; Nicholas and Phillips draw a wonderfully fresh, vibrato-free sound from their young singers, who seem particularly at home in new repertoire
The Observer, October 2011
It’s hard not to love this disc for its sheer chutzpah—tackling music from five centuries and never putting a foot wrong
Listening to their superb performances and seamless blending of voices, it’s hard to believe that the choir is only four years old. They have a vast range of dynamics and vocal colouring, and they’re fully responsive to the different styles… An intensely moving recording, strongly recommended
Editor's Choice, Gramophone, December 2011
The choir is astonishingly accomplished for such a new starter and the standard has been set high
International Record Review, January 2012
Gabriel Jackson – In the beginning was the Word
Nicolas Gombert – Lugebat David Absalon
Thomas Weelkes – When David heard
Eric Whitacre – When David heard
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina – Nunc dimittis
Gustav Holst – Nunc dimittis
Pawel Łukaszewski – Nunc dimittis
Aaron Copland – In the Beginning
