The Choir of Westminster Cathedral & Simon Johnson - Lumen Christi: A sequence of music for the Easter Vigil (2024)

The Choir of Westminster Cathedral is the crowning jewel of Catholic church music and has been at the forefront of English sacred music since its foundation in 1901. This new disc draws us into the mystery of the Paschal Vigil, the very apex of the Church’s liturgical year, transporting us on a journey from darkness into light through a sequence of plainsong and polyphony. It is the first album under the choir’s current director, Simon Johnson, picking up where Vexilla Regis (AF002) left off, and immerses the listener in the Cathedral’s own unique treasury of liturgical music, including compositions crafted by its former musicians, as well as repertoire at the heart of the choir’s work, represented here in polyphony by Victoria, Monteverdi and L’Héritier’s glorious Surrexit pastor bonus.

Tracklist
01. Chant- Lumen Christi
02. Chant- Exsultet
03. Lassus- Iubilate Deo
04. Reid- Exodus Canticle
05. Victoria- Laudate Dominum
06. Palestrina- Sicut Cervus
07. Monteverdi- Missa Ave Domine Iesu Christe- II. Gloria
08. Chant- Solemn Alleluia- Confitemini Domino
09. Chant- Litany of the Saints
10. Martin- Vidi aquam
11. l'Heritier- Surrexit pastor bonus
12. Chant- Mass I- IV. Sanctus
13. Chant- Mass I- VI. Agnus Dei
14. Palestrina- Angelus Domini descendit
15. Chant- Communio- Alleluia (Psalm 117)
16. Chant- Pontifical Blessing & Dismissal
17. Baker- O filii et filiæ
18. Langlais- Incantation pour un jour saint