SKU: HL.14042785

The Voices Stilled (Agnus Dei) by James Whitbourn was commissioned by John Snelling and the Shipley Arts Festival (director Andrew Bernardi), and first performed on 14 July 2013 in Lancing College Chapel by the Westminster Williamson Voices (director James Jordan), choirs from across West Sussex and the Bernardi Chamber Orchestra with Bruce Martin (flute), conducted by the composer.

SKU: HL.14042891

6.5x9.75x0.055 inches.

The Twenty-Eight Times is a Vocal piece composed by British composer and conductor James Whitbourn . The Twenty-Eight Times was commissioned by the United Westminster Schools and Grey Coat Hospital Foundation to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy, and performed in Westminster Abbey on 25 October 2013 by the choir of Queen Anne's school, Caversham. This ancient Hebrew text from Ecclesiastes (Qoheleth) was a favourite of President Kennedy and formed partof the Eulogy delivered at his funeral service on 25 November 1963. He was assassinated on 22 November 1963.

SKU: GI.G-995

UPC: 785147099529.

“I would tear a hole in the sky so I could pull out the heart of the moon for thee.” From “As I Walk the Silent Earth” by Thomas LaVoy Performed by the Westminster Williamson Voices, conducted by James Jordan. Works by: Ola Gjeilo, Eric Whitacre, Thomas LaVoy, Stephen Paulus, Aaron Copeland, Blake Henson, Benjamin Britten, Tomás Luis de Victoria, Dan Forrest, Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Arvo Pärt, Alice Parker, Anton Bruckner, and Maurice Duruflé. Produced by James Whitbourn   A stunning new recording from James Jordan and the Westminster Williamson voices. Music opens us to a more radiant and brilliant life through sounds and words. There is music that, by its very nature, “tears a hole in the sky”—the “sky” of our spirits and souls. Certain music, certain composers, and certain performances have a way of “tearing a hole” into us perhaps even bringing new meaning to what we do and how we live. The music of Hole in the Sky has a common thread in that all the pieces, in some way, provide an illuminative hole, through both sound and text, into a deeper understanding of life and living. It explores the many worlds of choral sound. From Ola Gjeilo’s “The Spheres,” to Mendelssohn’s stunning work for women’s choir, “Veni, Domine,” to “She Weeps Over Rahoon” by Eric Whitacre, to the joyful “Jubilate Deo” of Benjamin Britten, this music will touch the depths of your soul. Be bold, take a breath, and dare to fall through. Westminster Williamson Voices under James Jordan is one of the great choirs of the world. Theirs is a sound which can set the soul at rest. James Whitborn.

SKU: OU.9780193572843

ISBN 9780193572843. 10 x 7 inches.

For SATB and piano, organ, or other instruments For his expressive and accessible arrangement of the popular melody known to many as 'Carol of the Bells', Whitbourn has written new lyrics that reflect the melody's true heritage, the Ukrainian folksong Shchedryk. The piece is presented with flexible accompaniment options.

SKU: GI.G-1056

UPC: 785147005629.

I suppose as artists we are always searching for metaphors that speak directly to the musics we perform to guide us and inspire. The music on this CD pushes our boundaries of what could be considered normal music making and instead moves us into sound worlds that expand what a choral ensemble can produce. This recording, which documents an almost three-year exploration into improvisation in various forms, contains works for choral ensembles that create new sound worlds in and of themselves. We are happy to present to the world a young composer from our midst, Sam Scheibe. His virtuous setting of O magnum mysterium introduces a gifted and deeply insightful compositional voice. Sanctitude is an expansive improvisation combining choir, soprano saxophone, Gregorian chant, Arabic chant, and melodies into a sound world that I hope will document the frontier of a new world of choral performance. The techniques employed in this improvisation are documented in the new text Discovering Choral Improvisation through Chant (GIA, 2020). The CD opens with a three-movement work, The Dreams That Remain by Thomas LaVoy, yet another composer from the Williamson Voices family who has adapted the sound world of this ensemble into a work of beauty and honesty. All of the works on this CD create Auroras of their own that touch us deeply and cover our senses with streamers of light. I thank my friend, James Whitbourn, for conducting on three of the tracks and for crafting the Sanctitude improvisation. Hopefully the sounds on this CD will, as Makoto Fujimara says, bring you outside of yourself, and pull you to look at the [life's] horizon and to see beyond. — James Jordan  .

SKU: GI.G-1118

A year ago, Westminster Williamson Voices joined a consortium called “The Scattered Light Consortium” along with Jo-Michael Scheibe at USC (the USC Thornton Chamber Singers) and Jamie Glasgow (The Glasgow School of Art Choir). I was attracted to the concept not only because of the composers who are dear friends, but because the pieces were set to poems by one of America’s greatest poets, Dana Gioia. When the two works arrived from composer Sarah Rimkus and Thomas LaVoy, I had, as they say, “the wind knocked out of me.” While both poems could be interpreted using a broader life perspective, they spoke to me and the choir in ways that were immediately deep and profound. Both poems provide light and hope to all of us who are living through this change at Westminster into something unknown. And then, shortly after this recording was completed, the pandemic struck and we were in isolation from our music-making family. We were thankful that we were able to complete this recording.   All of the music on the CD reflects our hope for the future as we climb a crooked ladder leading to, hopefully, a brighter new time for our beloved college, and our lives beyond the pandemic. Our desire is to see a glimmer of light behind what seems a very closed door. This CD offers music for personal reflection, with the hope that these sounds can provide for each of us “scattered” new light.   CONTENTS: In the Bleak Midwinter, Steve Pilkington • Kit Smart's Carol, Gerald Custer • Improvisation on Coventry Carol, Sam Scheibe, Christian Koller, Guillermo Passarin, Alex Tomlinson • Solitude, James Whitbourn • The Stars Now Rearrange Themselves, Thomas LaVoy • The Burning Ladder, Sarah Rimkus • Salvation to All That Will Is Nigh, Anthony Maglione • Brightest and Best, Sarah Rimkus • Coventry Carol, John Frederick Hudson • Magnificat, Peter Relph • Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silent, Sam Scheibe.