New Releases: Christmas at St George’s Windsor; J.S. Bach Partitas

2 December 2019, 10:00 | Updated: 2 December 2019, 10:01

Throughout the week Classic FM’s presenters bring you the best new recordings, including world exclusives and premiere broadcasts of latest releases. This week: Christmas at St George’s Windsor and beautiful Bach Partitas.

John Suchet plays a track from his featured Album of the Week at 10.15am every weekday.

Christmas at St George’s Windsor
Hyperion

Recorded at St. George’s, Windsor – the home of the Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in 2018 – this sublime Christmas offering features choral works suited to the season of Advent, Christmas and Epiphany, including William Byrd’s ‘Vigilate’ (from Cantiones sacrae, 1589) and Bogoróditse Djévo by Arvo Pärt.

The Choir of St George’s Chapel, directed by James Vivian, is famous for its Royal Patronage and being one of the finest choirs in the country. It comprises up to 23 boy choristers, who are educated at St George’s School in the grounds of Windsor Castle, and twelve Lay Clerks, who live in the Horseshoe Cloister, singing alto, tenor and bass.

The choir performed at both Royal Weddings that took place in St George’s Chapel: TRH The Duke and Duchess of Sussex in May 2018, and for HRH Princess Eugenie and Mr Jack Brooksbank in October the same year.

Listen to the choir performing the Ukrainian carol, ‘Carol of the Bells’, below:

Christmas at St George's Windsor (Free Promotional Track)

John Brunning plays a track from his featured Drive Discovery at 6.20pm every weekday.

Pianist Angela Hewitt takes on Bach’s self-proclaimed ‘Opus 1’ – the Six Partitas. A partita is best described as a suite of dance movements and, as with the whole of his oeuvre, Bach’s take on the genre was boundary-pushing and modern.

Formerly a dancer, Hewitt has long been a proponent of Bach’s music and describes her dedication to the composer as “a great gift and a lifelong adventure”.

Listen below:

The Six Partitas