The Marian Consort: In sorrow’s footstep

Delphian

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Tradition rears its head in many forms in this exquisite a cappella recording by the compact but wholesomely radiant Marian Consort. There is the tradition of centuries-old liturgical texts, refreshed by successive generations of composers, such as the Stabat

Mater, Miserere or Ave Maria ,the first two of which appear in modern settings by Gabriel Jackson and James Macmillan alongside the perennial favourites of Palestrina and Allegri. Both modern settings pay homage to the earlier models in the liquidity of texture and harmony, yet speak for today in the more open emotive language that modernity permits. Combined with the Renaissance examples, there is an alluring, sometimes intoxicating equilibrium about this disc, regulated by the pure-toned intimacy and blend of Rory Mccleery’s fine ensemble. The British sacred choral tradition at its best.