Hymn singing is fundamental in protestant churches, but not normally the subject of an album released worldwide. The musicianship presented here is singular, sung by two volunteer choirs with power and emotion. The inspired arrangements heard on this recording have developed over decades of working with wonderful choirs and congregations, as well as by singing with, and listening to, many inspired colleagues. Some of the descants were conceived for particular services, while other arrangements grew further for special occasions. Several of the brass arrangements were composed for the ordination and consecration of the Rt. Rev. Alan Gates as Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts in 2014.

In this first album of a series devoted to the complete piano sonatas of Franz Schubert, Giuseppe Bruno interprets the Sonatas in A Major, D664 and in C Major, D840. The Sonata in A Major is possibly the composer’s first breakthrough in the genre.

Pianist Roberta Rust brings her own unique dynamism to the works of eight composers with whom she has had direct contact over the years. Dedicated to her late mother and step-daughter, this collection is as personal and touching as it is memorable for the broader audience.

The Legacy festival has grown into a true concept in the festival world in a short time. Legacy celebrates its 5-year anniversary on 16 June. Once again, more than 12,000 (!) Visitors can enjoy house and techno on four different internships in the magical surroundings of the Zilvermeer in Mol.

This collaboration between a consort of viols and the Greek lyra takes John Dowland’s Lachrimæ or Seaven Teares as its point of departure; together they paint a transverse and stateless picture of melancholy, although this is set against the joyful hope of a shining future that appears in these improvisations and timeless Anglo-Byzantine dances.

John Amner was born and died in Ely, Cambridgeshire and worked for the greater part of his life at Ely Cathedral, as a boy chorister and later as informator choristorum. He succeeded some of England’s finest composers such as George Barcroft, John Farrant and Christopher Tye. He received his Bachelor of Music from Oxford with the support of the Earl of Bath in 1613, and also from Cambridge in 1640.

Supersize Polyphony is a celebration of large-scale choral works from the 16th century, performed here by the Armonico Consort and the Choir of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, under their musical directors Christopher Monks and Geoffrey Webber. The unique programme features epic motets, such as Thomas Tallis’ Spem in Alium and Alessandro Striggio’s Ecce Beatam Lucem, alongside his rarely performed 60 part Missa Ecco Si Beato Giorno. Interspersed with the serene beauty of ethereal chants by Hildegard of Bingen, this new recording presents works of magnitude and polyphonic drama in stellar performances by two of the UK’s leading choral ensembles.