New Abbey Choir CD celebrates neglected Tudor composer

Friday, 2nd March 2018

The Abbey Choir celebrates the release of a new CD on Hyperion Records today, Friday 2nd March. Conducted by James O’Donnell, who also plays the organ interludes on the disc, Missa Videte miraculum is a compelling introduction to the work of early Tudor composer Nicholas Ludford (c. 1485 – c. 1557). Ludford spent his career at the epicentre of English musical life yet is barely known to today’s audiences.

Ludford, who was born at the start of Henry VII’s reign and died when his granddaughter Mary Tudor was on the throne, lived in turbulent times. He had strong links with Westminster, working at St Stephen’s Chapel in the Palace of Westminster and at St Margaret’s Church, and he may even have sung in the Abbey’s Lady Chapel choir. His music may not be quite as familiar to classical audiences as that of his contemporaries Thomas Tallis and John Taverner but it deserves equal attention according to James O’Donnell, Organist and Master of the Choristers, who said:

This is wonderful music – rich, opulent and inventive. Making the disc was a challenging but extremely rewarding project for the Abbey Choir and I am very proud of the resulting recording.