Britten Saint Nicolas

Britten’s enchanting choral masterpiece featuring soloist Andrew Kennedy and the renowned Britten Sinfonia.

The Choir of King’s College, Cambridge under conductor Stephen Cleobury presents Britten’s enchanting choral masterpiece, Saint Nicolas, with Hymn to St Cecilia and Rejoice in the Lamb, celebrating 100 years since Benjamin Britten’s birth. The recording features soloist Andrew Kennedy, a former Choral Scholar at King’s College, Cambridge, the renowned Britten Sinfonia, Sawston Village College Choir and Cambridge University Musical Society. Director of Music, Stephen Cleobury, said: “I am delighted to have been able to record Saint Nicolas in King’s. The cantata was written in the year I was born, and I have known it and performed in it in various roles since I was a teenager. Britten’s links with King’s were strong; he frequently visited EM Forster in the College, and my two predecessors, David Willcocks and Philip Ledger, both worked closely with the composer.” This was the first recording on the King’s College own label to be released in surround sound, capturing the unique acoustics of King’s College Chapel. The two-disc package comes with a standard CD and an SACD containing high definition stereo and 5.1 surround mixes. ***** – Classical Music Magazine ***** – Financial Times