Choral music by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor

London Choral Sinfonia
Michael Waldron, conductor
James Orford, organ

Orchid Classics ORC10024

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Committed and colourful performances… interesting and neglected music that is certainly worth rediscovery - Gramophone, August 2023

Instructive and persuasive - The Sunday Times, June 2023

The London Choral Sinfonia are vibrant advocates for this alluring music. - Classical Music, July 2023

Featuring the esteemed London Choral Sinfonia, led by conductor Michael Waldron, this extraordinary collection showcases the timeless compositions of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, a revered British composer whose brilliance is finally receiving the recognition it deserves. - ABC Classic, July 2023

The singing of the London Choral Sinfonia is highly accomplished: Michael Waldron has evidently trained the choir very well indeed and he conducts the performances expertly… This valuable collection of short pieces, expertly performed, expands our knowledge of this sadly short-lived composer. - Music Web, October 2023

  • The genesis of this album began quite by accident. I was recording some Vaughan Williams in October 2022 and was chatting with our producer, Adrian Peacock, in one of the breaks. We were discussing well-known composers and their neglected works, and in contrast neglected composers and their better-known works. Very quickly Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast came up in conversation. I recalled having grown up with an LP recording of it at home but couldn’t call to mind being familiar with any of his other music. Adrian and I reflected on the revived interest in his music and the several recordings of his chamber, orchestral and song repertoire which had appeared in the previous 12 months.

    Later that day I did a cursory search online to see what other – if any – music Coleridge-Taylor had written for choirs/chorus. Very soon it became apparent there was rather a large amount of it, and although published and easily available, almost none of it had been recorded. I hastily ordered a copy of everything I could get my hands on.

    Over the coming weeks the scores began arriving. I sat down and played each one at the piano. I was blown away by the variety, skill and beauty in all of them. It was roughly a 50/50 split of secular and sacred. I was then – and still am now – shocked that all the sacred works were unfamiliar to me, particularly given how much of my early musical training was in church/cathedral music. With the support of the LCS board and the generous support of its sponsors, we all felt this was a project to push up the agenda.

    At the risk of sounding cliched, it has been an honour to rediscover many of these pieces and record them, giving them a platform I feel strongly they all deserve. From the simple, understated tones of Whispers of Summer on one end of the spectrum, to the quasi-cantata grandeur of Now late on the Sabbath Day, this is music which deserves to be known, and all will enjoy.

    Michael Waldron