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GMCD 7129 – 20th Century Cathedral Music – Choral & Organ music by Philip Moore
Vasari Singers, Jeremy Backhouse – Conductor, Jeremy Filsell – Organ
The Organ Vol 76 No 302
York Minster has a long tradition of Organist/Composers. In this century alone the organ stool has been occupied by Tertius Noble, Sir Edward Bairstow and Francis Jackson.
This excellent recording includes compositions written between 1980 and 1996. Of the choral works the Three Prayers of Dietrich Bonhoeffer deserve to be better known, Jeremy Filsell gives an excellent account of the organ works on the organ of St John’s, Islington. I was present at the first performance of Five Sketches on Helmsley which took place at Ampleforth Abbey so it is good to be reacquainted with this interesting dissection of the well-known Advent Hymn Tune. Also worthy of note is the Organ Sonata written for Carys Hughes and the Prelude and Fugue in G composed for the reopening of York Minster Organ in 1994.
JR
Cathedral Music (Friends of Cathedral Music magazine) Issue 2, 1997
Like his distinguished predecessors at York Minster, Philip Moore’s work as a composer is widely recognised.
This exceptional disc presents a varied selection of his choral and organ music dating from 1980 to 1996 and shows him as a champion of his art. Once again the listener will delight in the sounds made by the Vasari Singers who capture the spirit of these glorious compositions with great skill. The performance of the Three Prayers of Dietrich Bonhoeffer are worth the price of this disc alone!
The organ music on this disc (using the organ of St John’s, Duncan Terrace, Islington) is played with great commitment by Filsell. I particularly enjoyed listening to the exciting Organ Sonata and Prelude and Fugue in G (recently published by Encore Publications). The CD contains informative programme notes by the composer.
This disc is well worth buying and deserves to be a success.
Church Music Quarterly July 1997
20th-Century Cathedral Music (Guild, Compact Disc GMCD 7129) is devoted to the music of Philip Moore, sung by the Vasari Singers, with organ soloist Jeremy Filsell.
Formerly in charge of music at Guildford Cathedral, and now (since 1983) at York Minster, Philip Moore is a prolific composer, whose work fully deserves to be more widely heard. He writes sensitively for both choir and organ, and the singers here, and organist, do full justice to his most interesting compositions. The perceptive conductor is Jeremy Backhouse.