Sir John Kenneth Tavener was an English composer, known for his extensive output of choral religious works. Among his best known works are The Lamb (1982), The Protecting Veil (1988), and Song for Athene (1993).
The Gramophone Classical Music Awards, launched in 1977, are one of the most significant honours bestowed on recordings in the classical record industry. They are often viewed as equivalent to or surpassing the American Grammy award, and referred to as the Oscars for classical music. They are widely regarded as the most influential and prestigious classical music awards in the world. According to Matthew Owen, national sales manager for Harmonia Mundi USA, "ultimately it is the classical award, especially worldwide."
Oxford Pro Musica Singers (OPMS) is a chamber choir based in Oxford, England.
Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir (EPCC) is a professional choir based in Estonia. It was founded in 1981 by Tõnu Kaljuste, who was its conductor for twenty years. In 2001, Paul Hillier followed Kaljuste's tenure, becoming the EPCC's principal conductor and artistic director until September 2008, when Daniel Reuss took over the task. Since 2014 the choir's principal conductor has been Kaspars Putniņš. The repertoire of the EPCC ranges from Gregorian Chant to modern works, particularly those of the Estonian composers Arvo Pärt and Veljo Tormis. The group has been nominated for numerous Grammy Awards, and has won the Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance twice: in 2007 with Arvo Pärt's Da pacem and in 2014 with Pärt's Adam's Lament, the latter was shared with Tui Hirv & Rainer Vilu, Sinfonietta Riga & Tallinn Chamber Orchestra; Latvian Radio Choir & Vox Clamantis. In 2018 Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir won the prestigious Gramophone Award with its recording of Magnificat and Nunc dimittis by Arvo Pärt and Psalms of Repentance by Alfred Schnittke.
Veljo Tormis was an Estonian composer, regarded as one of the great contemporary choral composers and one of the most important composers of the 20th century in Estonia. Internationally, his fame arises chiefly from his extensive body of choral music, which exceeds 500 individual choral songs, most of it a cappella. The great majority of these pieces are based on traditional ancient Estonian folksongs (regilaulud), either textually, melodically, or merely stylistically.
Stephen Austin Wilkinson was a British choral conductor and composer.
James Anthony O'Donnell is a British organist, choral conductor and academic teacher who has been a professor of organ at the Yale Institute of Sacred Music in Connecticut, United States of America, since 2023.
Tõnu Kaljuste is an Estonian conductor.
Polyphony is a small English choir formed by Stephen Layton for one particular concert put on in King's College, Cambridge in 1986. They have released many critically acclaimed recordings, the most recent of which is Esenvalds - Passion & Resurrection. They record and perform a wide range of music mainly on Hyperion Records. Every year they perform Handel's Messiah and Bach's St John Passion in St John's Smith Square to sell-out audiences. Many of their recordings have been Gramophone editor's choice.
"Song for Athene" is a musical composition by British composer John Tavener with lyrics by Mother Thekla, an Orthodox nun, which is intended to be sung a cappella by a four-part choir. It is Tavener's best known work, having been performed by the Westminster Abbey Choir conducted by Martin Neary at the funeral service of Diana, Princess of Wales, on 6 September 1997 as her cortège departed from Westminster Abbey.
Stephen David Layton is an English conductor.
Uģis Prauliņš is a Latvian composer whose choral work Missa Rigensis was recorded by the Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge, the Riga Cathedral Boys Choir, Youth Choir BALSIS and has been performed in several locations around the world, amongst those Canada, France, England.
The Choir of Clare College, Cambridge, is a mixed-voice choir whose primary function is to lead services in the chapel of Clare College, Cambridge. Since its founding in 1972, the choir has gained an international reputation as one of the leading university choral groups in the world.
Arvo Pärt's Nunc dimittis is a setting of the Latin canticle Nunc dimittis for mixed choir a cappella, written in 2001. It was published by Universal Edition.
The Veil of the Temple is a piece of choral music by British composer Sir John Tavener. Identified by Tavener as "the supreme achievement of my life", it is set for four choirs, several orchestras and soloists and lasts at least seven hours. It is based on text from a number of religions, and received its world premiere performance at the Temple Church, London in June 2003.
Melodia Women's Choir NYC is a women's choir in Manhattan dedicated to exploring, creating and performing classical and contemporary music composed for women's voices. An ensemble of 30 singers, Melodia performs concerts in New York City, and supports emerging women composers through commissions and performances.
Kurt Lawrence Sander is an American composer of choral and instrumental works.
The Choir of King's College London is a mixed-voice choir whose primary function is to lead services in the Renaissance Revival chapel of King's College London. Since its revival in 1945, the choir has gained an international reputation as one of the leading university collegiate choirs in the world.
"This Have I Done for My True Love", or "Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day", Op. 34, no. 1 [H128], is a motet or part song composed in 1916 by Gustav Holst. The words are taken from an ancient carol, and the music is so strongly influenced by English folk music that it has sometimes been mistaken for a traditional folk song itself. It has often been described as a small masterpiece.
Benjamin Britten's Five Flower Songs, Op. 47, is a set of five part songs to poems in English by four authors which mention flowers, composed for four voices (SATB) in 1950 as a gift for the 25th wedding anniversary of Leonard and Dorothy Elmhirst. It was first performed in the open air at the couple's estate Dartington Hall, with Imogen Holst conducting a student choir. The set has been frequently recorded by English and foreign chamber choirs and ensembles, including Polyphony, Cambridge Singers and the RIAS Kammerchor.
