Choir Of St. John's College, Cambridge - Berkeley: Crux Fidelis / Missa Brevis / 3 Latin Motets / A Festival Anthem (2003)

Lennox Berkeley's church music has now entered the lists of cathedrals — both Anglican and Roman — to a degree unthinkable 10 years ago. He was a devout Catholic, and much of his music is rooted in his deep spiritual beliefs. His personal type of melody and harmony sounds like no one else's. This is especially evident in his most famous religious works here — the 1960 Missa Brevis for Westminster Cathedral, which Britten greatly admired, and The Lord is my shepherd for Chichester. Equally typical are Look up sweet babe and George Herbert's ecstatic production, which forms the central part of the festival's extensive anthem. After hearing these melodies, it's hard to forget.
The Mass for Five Voices and Three Latin Motets written for this choir in 1972 are more rigorous, but like the eloquent spiritual works of his friend Poulenc, they clearly come from the same imagination as the composer's other works. And quite late, Berkeley boldly brings the discoveries of his more advanced late music to Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis.
It's an impressive collection that deserves repeated listens. The choir sounds good and boasts excellent soloists.