Choral Music

Compared with large-scale oratorios such as St Paul, which includes the lyrical chorus How lovely are the messengers, Mendelssohn's smaller sacred choral works were influenced by Palestrina, ranging from short liturgical motets such as the Sechs Spreche to the canticle settings of the Magnificat and Nunc dimittis. The famous sacred melody 'O for the wings of a dove' is to be found in Hear my prayer. The fine choristers of St Albans Cathedral can also be heard 'on sparkling form' (Gramophone) in John Rutter's Gloria (8.572563). Tom Winpenny is Assistant Master of the Music at St Albans Cathedral, where he accompanies the daily choral services and directs the Abbey Girls Choir. Previously, as Sub-Organist at St Paul's Cathedral, London, he performed with the Cathedral Choir at the AGO National Convention, with the London Symphony Orchestra in Mahler's Symphony No. 8, and played for great state occasions.