Music and Vinyl: English Part Songs

I have a personal connection with this record since I was member of the Proteus Choir for a few years. The choir was a youth choir run under the auspices of Guildford Borough Council and associated with the Guildford Philharmonic Orchestra and Philharmonic Choir under the music director Vernon Handley.

Apart from singing in unaccompanied choral concerts, the choir also combined with the Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir for concerts, and - while I was with them - for a recording of Gerald Finzi's Intimations of Immortality for Lyrita Recorded Edition. Concert performances included Handel's Messiah, Elgar's Dream of Gerontius, Walton's Belshazzar's Feast, Bernstein's Chichester Psalms, and the wordless chorus in Ravel's Daphnis and Chloe.

Given Vernon Handley's intent interest in performing and promoting neglected British music, it was fitting that this Proteus Choir record featured three English composers with sets of Partsongs. My original copy of this was a terribly noisy pressing, but this later acquisition is just about acceptable to post. Vernon Handley provided the sleeve notes.