The Lyrita record labelhas released a first recording of Stanford’s Mass Via Victrix (Op. 173) in May 2019. (Lyrita SRCD 382).The BBC National Orchestra of Wales and their Chorus and soloists are conducted by Adrian Partington. The sixty-eight minute work was written by Stanford in 1919 to commemorate the Allied victory in World War I.
Boosey published a vocal score of the Mass in 1920 and the ‘Gloria’ was performed with organ accompaniment under Stanford’s direction at a concert in King’s College Chapel Cambridge in June 1920. It appears that the Mass was subsequently not performed until the manuscript score was edited by Jeremy Dibble. The premier of the work was recorded by Lyrita at a concert given in Cardiff on 27th October, 2018 to commemorate the Armistice which ended the First World War. This concert was subsequently broadcast by BBC Radio 3 on 5th November, 2018.
The Lyrita CD also includes the first recording of Stanford’s At the Abbey Gate (Op. 177). This work was written in 1920 and premiered in March of 1921. The Conductor of this recording, Adrian Partington, is Director of Music and Organist at Gloucester Cathedral.
Please follow the link to read a review of the CD by John Quinn.
