Recordings – Epiphoni Consort

Owain Park Choral Works (2020)

Our second release, like our first, comprises settings of a predominantly secular theme. Texts by Shakespeare, Housman, Wordsworth, Blake and Teasdale ellicit charming and heartfelt music from one of the most exciting composers of his generation.

Antiphon for the Angels
Four Shakespeare Love Songs
Shakespeare Songs of Night-time
Sing to me, Windchimes
Louisa
The Tyger
Holy is the True Light

With thanks to our Crowdfunder supporters and to the RVW Trust for their financial support and to all our Friends and Benefactors.

Release date: 26 June 2020

sudden light cover art

Sudden Light (2017)

“Sudden Light”, Epiphoni’s debut recording of choral works by David Bednall, explores themes of light and love in rich choral tapestries.

A quintessentially English collection, it features the premiere of Bednall’s 40-part motet Lux orta est iusto, written as a partner to Thomas Tallis’ Spem in Alium.

Other premieres include the Three Songs of Love – settings of four heart-rending poems by Yeats, McCrae and Clare.

Texts by Sassoon, Milton and Shakespeare complete a fresh and original programme by one of the UK’s leading composers, released on Delphian Records.

“[The opening chord] bursts into the ear, a glittering explosion of sound that scatters its bright shards in all directions with wonderful abandon ... a brilliant moment of music-drama”

— Gramophone Magazine

“A magnificent representation in sound of light ... extraordinary power ... the recording does it proud. A splendid new collection.”

— James Jolly, BBC Radio 3

Lux Orta Es Iusto, a motet in 40 parts, opens in a luminous explosion of sound, like the sudden appearance of sunlight from heavy cloud, before an inventive exchange of ideas between each of the 8 choirs, and a syncopated coda.

Tribus miraculis ornatum sets a text reflecting on the miracles of the Epiphany in rhythmical 7/8 time. From the Christmas cantata Welcome All Wonders, from which we recorded three movements.

Shall I Compare Thee To A Summer's Day? sets Shakespeare's timeless Sonnet 18, the amorous text highlighted with sumptuous harmony and, at the piece's close, expansive eight-part textures creating those "eternal lines" that "give life to thee".

Rise Up My Love, written like many pieces on this disc for a wedding of the composer's friends. It opens with an ecstatic organ introduction, suitable for a bridal entrance, before the choir arrive with the ardent invocation of the work's title. The music subsides into a sensuous setting of “set me as a seal”.

More previews from Sudden Light can be heard on the homepage

With thanks to the Friends of the choir, all our supporters and those who financially backed the recording of our debut CD including: Olwen Moss, John Robb, Eve Olsen. David Bednall is supported by PRS for Music Foundation

Making of Sudden Light...

★★★★
“a top-notch recording … firmly rooted in the English choral tradition, yet absolutely distinctive … well worth checking out. ”

— AllMusic.com, review of Sudden Light
★★★★
“This debut CD from the Epiphoni Consort establishes their credentials”

— Choir & Organ, review of Sudden Light
★★★★
“…their technical command of Bednall's sometimes challenging writing always dazzles”

— Planet Hugill, review of Sudden Light
★★★
“fresh performances [with] considerable interpretive subtlety … a significant addition to the Bednall discography”

— BBC Music Magazine, review of Sudden Light

“A most auspicious recording debut … [the choir] give assured and expert performances, their singing full of conviction”

— Music Web International, review of Sudden Light

“[the] enjoyment of engaging with Bednall's music comes across in this magnificent recording ... simply takes the breath away”

— Apple Music, Editor's Notes on Sudden Light

“The entire program is a torrent of joy … performed with warmth and precision … if I were forced to choose just one [Bednall] CD, this would be the one”
— R Moore, American Record Guide