Melancholy lingers about much of Gerald Finzi’s oeuvre. The sadness of his early life contributed, as did his later ill health. Finzi’s music is often that of sorrow though, and as this magnificent new disc reminds us, it also included the heroically celebratory and even buoyantly joyful.
Stephen Layton leads one of the best choral ensembles in the world for this repertoire: the choir of Trinity College Cambridge. And he wisely records the works with organ accompaniment in Hereford Cathedral, where the acoustics and organ radiantly support the singers.
