Matthew Owens: Wells Cathedral Choir - Burgon: Choral Music

The thirteen works recorded here range from the contemplative of the Nunc dimittis to the ceremonial of an anthem such as At the round earth�s imagined corners where the familiar Donne text receives a thoroughly fresh interpretation. This is music reaching out to a modern desire for immediate accessibility masking consummate artistry: �I can�t believe it�s not Rutter�, perhaps �Television credits for Geoffrey Burgon include the music for Brideshead Revisited and the pop chart-topping Nunc dimittis (recorded here) which introduced the BBC�s John le Carr� adaptation Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy in 1979.But commercial success should not prevent us from recognizing, and appreciating, a depth of invention and mastery of formal conception which might just as well be described as being firmly rooted in the classical tradition, and particularly that of the Anglican Church.