Dyson, Evening Service in D: Magnificat | Choir of Merton College, Oxford | Britten Sinfonia

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Choir & Organ
Reccommended - MusicWeb International
'sumptuous' - Apple Music

For the Choir of Merton College, Oxford’s first collaboration with Britten Sinfonia, Benjamin Nicholas has brought together a collection of sacred works from the first half of the twentieth century.A little-known fact is that these stalwarts of the English repertory were either originally intended to be heard with orchestra, or subsequently orchestrated by their composer or a close colleague.

Written for enthronements, coronations and the nation’s grandest choral festivals, these national ‘standards’ arehere brought back to life, their orchestral accompaniments affording them the richness, pomp and majesty associated with that epoch.

Delphian Records Ltd.

[danielponder]

As a bassoonist and an organist, I appreciate this on many levels. Delphian is a really superb label, I have a number of their excellently engineered recordings! The Desenclos Requiem album is top-notch!

[ElbertBesaris]

First time hearing this piece in an orchestral version, and what a delightful full sound it is, such a great rendition!

[menene]

I honestly didn't think I could love this gorgeous piece any more than I already did. Wow! This is something else. Love the orchestration; very sensitively done by a skilled hand. All beautifully balanced; lovely sound; thank you!!

[judithwhitehouse]

Magnificent ! Dyson would certainly have approved...

[kapitankapital]

I've never heard Dyson in D done with an orchestra before but I think this is THE definitive way to perform it. This is a piece that really benefits from a brass section!

[LancePhillip]

Glorious orchestration & performance

[cameronmcgehee]

This has got to be the most microphones I've ever seen put on an orchestra! What was the philosophy of mic placement for this?

[tompw]

Wonderful! And what a reverberation at the end!

[dengat]

Probably the best Magnificat ever written by a vacuum cleaner.