Celebrating 100 Years of Choral Tradition

This recording celebrates one hundred years of choral singing in the City of Glasgow. The Glasgow Orpheus Choir under Sir Hugh S Roberton established a unique choral tradition which its successor the Glasgow Phoenix Choir is proud to continue, keeping it at the forefront of choral excellence in the British Isles and beyond. The Orpheus led the way with the highest of standards, rightly earning a world-wide reputation. In 2001, the Glasgow Phoenix Choir, created by members of the Orpheus on Sir Hugh's retirement in 1951 is celebrating it's Golden jubilee, a fantastic achievement in this technological age that such a choir can not only survive, but still attract choristers young and old who share one overriding passion, a love of singing. It is appropriate therefore that this commemorative album attempts to include many favourites which are so closely associated with both choirs, combining a choral legacy with repertoire which the Glasgow Phoenix Choir performs today. The Choir has attempted to embrace our British cultural heritage with items from England, Wales, Ireland and the Isle of Man, alongside the Choir's distinctly Scottish identity. Other items on this album are memories of the Choir's many tours of North America and Europe. However it is no easy task to choose a programme which can amply reflect 100 years of choral excellence. Indeed the difficulty has been deciding what to leave out. No compilation could possibly exclude probably one of the world's great choral classics composed by Sir Hugh S Roberton, "All In The April Evening". Other favourites include some of Sir Hugh's arrangements of Scottish Psalm tunes. Classics such as Bach's "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" and Bruch's "On Jordan's Banks" complete this delightfully eclectic mix. We hope you will enjoy celebrating the first 100 years.