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![Matthew Martin: Choral Works | Canterbury Cathedral Choir; Jamie Rogers (organ); David Newsholme (conductor) | Resonus Classics | RES10377]()
Matthew Martin: Choral Works£12.99
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Recent Highlights
In this fifth volume of the complete organ works of Johann Pachelbel, Matthew Owens continues his revelatory exploration of a composer who stood at the crossroads of German musical traditions.
Recorded on the characterful historic Metzler organ of Trinity College, Cambridge, this programme illuminates Pachelbel’s synthesis of northern virtuosity and southern lyricism — from the cascading brilliance of the toccatas and the poised contrapuntal craft of the fugues, to the devotional intimacy of the chorale preludes and Magnificat Fugues. Owens’s performances bring a rare clarity and expressive warmth to music that bridges liturgical purpose and concert artistry.
With its elegant blend of scholarship, colour, and vitality, this latest instalment in the acclaimed series reaffirms Pachelbel as one of the most eloquent voices of seventeenth-century organ literature.
Martin Romberg’s Symphony of Saints stands as a radiant homage to the Northern Saints — Columba, Aidan, and Cuthbert — whose lives shaped the spiritual fabric of early Northumbria. Written with a deep sense of reverence and vision, the symphony draws on Celtic Christian tradition, its glowing orchestral textures evoking the austere beauty of the Holy Island of Iona. Commissioned and inspired by personal devotion, this album is completed by Romberg’s Sacred Songs, written for soprano Joanne Lunn, setting luminous texts by Scottish poet Kenneth Steven. Lunn’s artistry, together with the Orchestra of the Swan under Andrew Griffiths, brings to life a cycle of profound intimacy and timeless lyricism. This recording is not only a testament to friendship and faith but also to music’s power to embody love everlasting.
At the heart of this album from the Gould Piano Trio is Schubert’s Piano Trio in E-flat major, D. 929, a late masterpiece of emotional depth and formal ingenuity. Heard here in its complete version, the finale restores the haunting B minor passage, its circling piano figures echoing Der Leiermann, while the Andante’s cello theme weaves through the work like a recurring memory. Alongside it is the youthful Piano Trio in B-flat major, D. 28 – fresh, lyrical, and full of promise, whilst Schubert Dances – a charming new suite of waltzes, Ländler and Deutscher arranged for piano trio by Brian Newbould, completes the programme and showcases Schubert’s lighter side. Together, these works chart a compelling path from teenage inspiration to late-style mastery.