Even for Ralph Vaughan Williams the prospect of two world premieres within 24 hours must have been something of a rarity. Such was the case however on the first two days of June 1953, when his now classic arrangement of The Old Hundredth Psalm was sung at the Coronation of Elizabeth II in Westminster Abbey, being preceded the evening before by the premiere of 'Silence and Music', fourth of ten partsongs of A Garland for the Queen, commissioned from leading British composers by the Arts Council of Great Britain to honour the new monarch. Long unavailable except as separate items from individual publishers, this historic collectionis now reissued complete by Stainer & Bell in its original single-volume format, allowing conductors and singers to choose from a rich collection of choral music with which to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and, in 2013, the 60th anniversary of the Coronation itself. In addition to VW's contribution, A Garland for the Queen includes important settings by Bax, Berkeley, Bliss, Finzi, Howells, Ireland, Rawsthorne, Rubbra and Tippett. The collection moreover draws on the work of poets whose names likewise feature prominently in the annals of mid-century British literary talent: Clifford Bax, Edmund Blunden, Paul Dehn, Christopher Fry, Christopher Hassall, James Kirkup, Louis MacNeice, Walter de la Mare, Henry Reed and Ursula Wood. Intended as a counterpart to The Triumphs of Oriana of 1601, the celebrated madrigal volume published in praise of Elizabeth I by Thomas Morley, A Garland for the Queen emulates its distinguished predecessor in its variety of moods and vocal combinations. There is material here to fit every aspect of celebration, from the airy five-part ensemble of Bax's 'What is it like to be young and fair?', and the soprano solo with SATB of Rawsthorne's Canzonet, to the lustrous contrasting of male and female timbres in Bliss's Aubade, and the rapturous eight-part setting of/ Recueil / Voix Mixtes

Par MATTHEW MARTIN. O Rex Gentium sets the Magnificat antiphon for December 22 - one of the great 'O' antiphons traditionally sung at Vespers in the week before Christmas. These texts are all invocations of the coming of Christ, each one offering praise to him using titles taken from the prophet Isaiah. This piece was commissioned in 2011 to form part of a complete set of the seven O Antiphons for the Merton College Choirbook. It is conceived in grand and declamatory style, owing a respectful debt to the great motets of Bruckner. Formed in A-B-A structure, it uses block harmony in the outer sections for impact, whilst the central part employssome more reflective and linear writing. A brief coda suggests an atmosphere of wonder and mystery at the prospect of Christ's birth. / Niveau : Intermédiaire / Feuillet / Voix Mixtes