George Lloyd Choral Works: Requiem & Psalm 130

"...listeners will be able to set aside questions about the employment of so traditional musical language and simply allow themselves to wallow in the lovely sounds this music makes and the beautiful sentiments it communicates." William Hedley, musicweb-international.com [read full review]

“Is it recommended?

Indeed, not least as these reissues come with full texts and detailed notes from Paul Conway. Inherently unoriginal while unequivocally sincere, Lloyd’s late choral works are far removed from the facile disingenuity of much current choral music and are the more appealing for this.” Richard Whitehouse, Arcana Full review here

"George Lloyd finished his final score, the Requiem for counter-tenor, choir and organ, just a month before his death in 1998. Dedicated to the memory of Diana, Princess of Wales, it is a work on a grand scale, lasting over 50 minutes, and it seems that Lloyd decided an organ accompaniment because he felt unable, through declining health, to write a full orchestral score. The organ is used imaginatively and in places suggests a full orchestra. On this recording the balance between organ and the choir (a chamber choir) works well, although I needed to turn up the volume to hear the quiet opening. The counter-tenor part is written low in the voice range and Stephen Wallace sings expressively, but often sounds tenor-like in his solo movements.

The choir sing with precision and energy and make a very blended sound. The tessitura in the soprano part is often set relatively high and the top notes ring out splendidly… I was pleased to read that Lloyd’s complete recordings, formerly available on Albany Records, will be released by Lyrita, beginning with issues this year." Ronald Corp, British Music Society

Psalm 130. "It is written for unaccompanied choir and Owens directed its first performance in 1996. The choral writing allows the words to be clearly heard, an important consideration with a text such as this one. The choir is frequently used in small groups that exchange and respond to each other. There are a number of short interventions from a solo soprano that are so gorgeously taken that listeners would have been happy to know her name. The Psalm closes in an atmosphere of tranquillity and hope, rather as does the Requiem. Most listeners will be able to set aside questions about the employment of so traditional musical language and simply allow themselves to wallow in the lovely sounds this music makes and the beautiful sentiments it communicates." William Hedley, MusicWeb International