The Choir of Oriel College, Oxford - O Maria, virgo pia - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

This setting of the Stabat Mater, a 13th century hymn to the Virgin Mary, is written for soprano, tenor and bass soloists as well as chorus, strings and piano. The work was composed in 2009 and divides the original twenty stanzas of the text into ten movements. It describes the grief-stricken Mother of Jesus standing at the foot of cross, on which he is suffering an agonising death. The overall shape of these movements provides something of an arch structure, with similar music at the beginning and end. Similarly, a slower variation of the second movement is used for the penultimate movement.

Featuring timeless melodies from Guide me, O thou great redeemer (known to millions as 'Bread of heaven') to Abide with me, this stunning collection of some of the best-loved hymns of all time from The Choir of Magdalen College, Oxford, accompanied by the College's magnificent Eule organ, offers a glimpse into the daily musical life of this celebrated choir.

After falling in love with the quartets of Britten and Bartók, we developed a long-standing desire to record these masterpieces. For our debut CD Longing we chose their first quartets, as well as Webern's first string quartet work Langsamer Satz. All three remarkable works resonate with a profound and unmistakable sense of longing. We felt a sense of kinship with these composers as they, like us, were still discovering their distinct style and identity when creating these works.In Langsamer Satz, Webern beautifully showcases the height of longing for love in the romantic 19th century. Bartók continues this romantic idiom and goes on to develop the new sounds of the early 20th century, a period from which we draw so much of our own passions. Finally, Britten continues to explore the sound and identity of the 20th century in his own distinctive colour palette. These works not only keep us on the edge of our seats, but also express a beautiful longing, one which we recognize in ourselves, and one we want to share with our listeners.