Solemn Notes of Sweetest Sound

Following the publication of Jane Savage's Christmas anthem Whilst shepherds watch'd their flocks by night (CMS RS149) composed for the Asylum for Female Orphans, this anthology brings together ten works by men and women composers from publications issued by the Charity Institutions of Georgian London in the period 1729-1804. The music is scored for one or two upper voices featuring solo, duet, semi-chorus and tutti combinations, with organ accompaniment, and one anthem was composed specifically to be sung by boys and girls in alternation and together. The anthems have been selected to provide performance options across the liturgical year, and are of varied length. Composers include the famous organists John Stanley and William Russell, together with Maria Barthelemon and her husband Francois-Hippolyte Barthelemon who provided an English arrangement of a popular Italian psalm setting by Benedetto Marcello.