Lighten our Darkness (2006)

performed by Cambridge Singers (choir, chorus), John Rutter (conductor)
composed by Anglican Chant, Francisco Guerrero, Jacobus Handl (Gallus), John Sheppard, Joseph Rheinberger, Louis Bourgeois, Orlande de Lassus, Sergey Rachmaninov, Thomas Tallis, Tomás Luis de Victoria, William Byrd, William Mundy

Lighten Our Darkness: Music for the Close of Day is the first disc seen in a long, long time from British label Collegium Records and its sole talents, John Rutter and the Cambridge Singers. This one is a radical departure from just about everything the choir has done for Collegium in the past, particularly as it does not include a single John Rutter composition, original or arranged. Rather, the focus is on the office of Compline, which in the Benedictine order is the last prayer sung before bedtime. This tradition was ... Read More

Lighten Our Darkness: Music for the Close of Day is the first disc seen in a long, long time from British label Collegium Records and its sole talents, John Rutter and the Cambridge Singers. This one is a radical departure from just about everything the choir has done for Collegium in the past, particularly as it does not include a single John Rutter composition, original or arranged. Rather, the focus is on the office of Compline, which in the Benedictine order is the last prayer sung before bedtime. This tradition was handed down from the Rule of St. Benedict in the sixth century; however, many orders do not regard it as legit, and observe Vespers as the last service of the day. Nonetheless, the practice of observing Compline took hold in England, where it is an integral part of the English "Sarum" service and has been for centuries.This was recorded in England's Ely Cathedral, which was erected in the eleventh century under the dictate of William the Conqueror and remains one of only a few Gothic... Read Less