Stephen Wilkinson was conductor of the BBC Northern Singers until well into the 1980s (when they became the Britten Singers). They sang widely around Europe, in Australia, Thailand and Hong Kong and made a number of records, some selected as Critics’ Choice in Gramophone, giving many works their first performances for composers such as Walton and Holst. He hs always been active in amateur music-making, helping many gifted players to launch their careers and in 1992, was awarded the MBE for his services to choral music.

Stephen retired at 90 but continues to direct the annual Chorale course at Chester. Although his compositional output is not large, it includes works premiered at the Aldeburgh Festival and several works that receive air-time on Radio 3. The original choral works, including those on this disc, remain unpublished and are recorded here for the first time.

Track List:

1. Rowing down the Tide

Some Psalms
2. Psalm 67
3. Psalm 23
4. Psalm 148

5. The Sheep under the Snow

Three Elegies
6. Short Measures
7. On Such a Day
8. Nocturne

9. The Piper o’ Dundee

Betjeman’s Bells
10. Wantage Bells
11. Uffington
12. Bristol

13. As I Walked Out (Y Deryn Pur)

14. That Time of Year

15. Hiems’ Song

16. The Lark in the Clear Air

17. Dover Beach

Under Stephen’s direction on this disc, The Choir are:

Anna Crookes, Julia Doyle, Amy Haworth, Carys Lane, Helen Neeves

Mark Chambers, Ruth Massey, Tom Williams, Clare Wilkinson

William Balkwill, George Pooley, Nicholas Hurndall Smith, Ashley Turnell, Simon Wall

Christopher Adams, James Arthur, Matthew Brook, Eamonn Dougan, Simon Grant, Robert Rice, David Stout