Below are some extracts of the CDs that the choir has recorded. If you would like to purchase the CDs, please see the recordings page.
A Ceremony of Carols - As dew in Aprille from the CD "Hodie"
Away in a Manger - last verse from the CD "Sing Choirs of Angels"
Dear Lord and Father of Mankind - last verse, special arrangement by Shephen Shellard from the CD "A Worcester Evensong"
Evening Hymn - from the CD "Jerusalem"
Fantasia on Christmas Carols - from the CD "Hodie"
How Shall I Sing That Majesty - from the CD "Jerusalem"
In the Bleak Mid Winter - from the CD "Sing Choirs of Angels"
I wonder as I wander - first verse from the CD "Hodie"
O Tree! - first recording from the CD "Hodie"
Resonemus Laudibus - last verse from the CD "Hodie"
The Beatitudes - from the CD "A Worcester Evensong"
Click on the play button below to start the clips.
Filmed as part of a live broadcast on BBC1 of Midnight Mass from Worcester Cathedral, 24 December 2007
Filmed as part of a live broadcast on BBC1 of Midnight Mass from Worcester Cathedral, 24 December 2007
STEPHEN Shellard is something of a marvel when it comes to conducting Worcester Cathedal Chamber Choir with Worcester Chamber Orchestra. His attention to detail in the score of Haydn's The Creation did not leave anything for the audience to desire. Showing a profound understaning of Haydn's style of composition, Shellard nurtured up to the very last note every phrase in the orchestral accompaniment as though looking after a baby in arms. Lively chorus and aria numbers in the piece had him maintining control of the choral and orchestral forces. To match, efforts from soloists were very memorable. There were occasionally tuning problems in Hannah Atherton's notes, but again, she was able to produce a purity of tone and told the story of the piece movingly. A great body of sound emerged whenever all three soloists -- Atherton, James Atherton and Nick Perfect sang together.
Lucas Ball, Worcester News, 25th November 2009
FILTHY weather can make concert-going difficult. But the Worcester Cathedral Chamber Choir’s concert did have an audience and attentive listeners were dotted around the pews at St Swithun’s on Thursday night. Something must have drawn these people in and that something was the quality of the singing that the Chamber Choir is known for. Communication of the music’s subject matters showed in conductor Stephen Shellard’s reading of all pieces. He managed to make the material into a drama while pianist John Wilderspin provided supportive accompaniment. From the beginning of Mozart’s Spatzen Messe to the variety of pieces performed in Part 2 of the concert, Shellard’s conducting style was energetic. The Ave Verum movement in the Mozart mass was so romantic that it hardly sounded like Mozart. This is not a huge problem, but Mozart purists might have found the indulgence and sentiment that came over too much of a good thing. During Thomas Morley’s madrigal Now is the Month of Maying, Shellard and the choir maintained the sort of energy released in the Mass. Towards the end of the concert, things got really sentimental and American in An American Serenade arranged by Donald Hunt. This hardly could have been more different from the beginning genre-wise, but Shellard’s fervour was there right to the end.
Lucas Ball, Worcester News, 17th July 2009
