Samuel Sebastian Wesley: Sacred Choral Music The Choir of The National Musicians' Church & Toby Ward

• Samuel Sebastian Wesley (1810 - 1876): Blessed be the God and Father:
• 1 Blessed be the God and Father 07:49
• O Give Thanks unto the Lord:
• 2 O Give Thanks unto the Lord 08:44
• O Thou who Camest from Above (‘Hereford’):
• 3 O Thou who Camest from Above (‘Hereford’) 02:38
• Let us Lift up our Heart:
• 4 Let us Lift up our Heart: I. Let us Lift up our Heart 04:46
• 5 Let us Lift up our Heart: II. Be not very Sore, O Lord 04:00
• 6 Let us Lift up our Heart: III. Thou, O Lord God 04:28
• 7 Let us Lift up our Heart: IV. Thou Judge of Quick and Dead 01:37
• 8 Let us Lift up our Heart: V. O may we thus Ensure 02:25
• Wash me Throughly:
• 9 Wash me Throughly 05:03
• The Wilderness:
• 10 The Wilderness: I. The Wilderness 03:06
• 11 The Wilderness: II. Say to Them of Fearful Heart 02:46
• 12 The Wilderness: III. Then Shall the Lame Man Leap 00:14
• 13 The Wilderness: IV. For in the Wilderness 02:00
• 14 The Wilderness: V. And a Highway Shall be There 01:08
• 15 The Wilderness: VI. And the Ransomed of the Lord 02:24
• 16 The Wilderness: VII. And Sorrow and Sighing 02:29
• Psalm 142:
• 17 Psalm 142 03:18
• Communion Service in E Major, Credo:
• 18 Communion Service in E Major, Credo: I. I Believe in one God 00:57
• 19 Communion Service in E Major, Credo: II. Who for us Men 01:12
• 20 Communion Service in E Major, Credo: III. And the Third Day 00:44
• 21 Communion Service in E Major, Credo: IV. And I Believe in the Holy Ghost 02:25
• O God, Whose Nature and Property:
• 22 O God, Whose Nature and Property 03:55
• All People That on Earth do Dwell (‘The Hundredth Psalm’):
• 23 All People That on Earth do Dwell (‘The Hundredth Psalm’) 05:57
• Total Runtime 01:14:05

Info for Samuel Sebastian Wesley: Sacred Choral Music

In an age when church attendance in England was flourishing, Samuel Sebastian Wesley (1810–1876) was one of the foremost composers and organists of his day. Taking advantage of new developments in instrument building, Wesley was able to push the boundaries of English church music in a new direction, encompassing a more ambitious, even operatic style.

In this recording – the first to have been made using an organ similar in design to his own – Wesley’s music is brought to vibrant life by the young professional singers of Holy Sepulchre under conductor Toby Ward.

The Choir of The National Musicians' Church
Toby Ward, direction

Toby Ward
was born in Wharfedale in 1993. His formative training came as one of the last choristers of Leeds Parish Church (now Minster) in singing and organ with Dr Simon Lindley and David Houlder, before leaving for Gloucester Cathedral under Adrian Partington as a tenor choral scholar. He is currently mentored in conducting and performance practice by Paul Brough as part of his involvement in the musical tradition at St Mary’s, Bourne St., London.

He read music at King’s College, Cambridge with particular focus on early music and continuo alongside a choral scholarship in King’s College Choir under Sir Stephen Cleobury, with whom he toured internationally and performed on BBC radio and television with major solos on the annual Carols from King’s programme. Postgraduate studies in singing with Alison Wells followed at the Royal College of Music prior to the pandemic.

Current posts include organist of the National Musicians Church in the City of London, Praefectus Cantorum of the Grand Priory of England and Tenor Associate Artist of Tenebrae Choir.

He has conducted live on Radio 3 with Ensemble Pro Victoria and at major festivals including the London International Early Music Festival, Cambridge Early Music Festival, and is in demand as a guest conductor, repetiteur and continuo player across the capital.

Known also for inspiring and developing choristers and young singers, Toby has taught the boy choristers of Durham Cathedral, Newcastle cathedral and Westminster Abbey alongside work as a workshop leader for the Tenebrae schools programme, occasional work with London Youth Choir and a happy spell as acting director of the York Chapter House Youth Choir.

Upcoming projects including directing a CD of works by the Victorian great, S.S. Wesley with the Choir of the National Musicians’ Church, also on Delphian Records.

Booklet for Samuel Sebastian Wesley: Sacred Choral Music