First recording after pandemic lockdown
The Bath Abbey Choirs’ new CD ‘Caritas’ is being released on Wednesday 19th October, with a special Evensong at 5.30pm. A reception will follow where the CD will be available to purchase ahead of general release the following week. ‘Caritas’, meaning Christian love of humankind, is a beautiful collection of choral works celebrating love, hope and charity through music that consoles and uplifts.
Recorded in February 2022 by Regent Records, this is the first recording made by the Choir of Bath Abbey under director Huw Williams since singing resumed after eighteen months of lockdown. The CD features music which provides solace for those suffering challenge and loss, including music recently sung at the memorial services at Bath Abbey for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The glorious singing of the Abbey’s boys, girls and lay clerks again resonates through the hallowed walls of this historic and beautiful building.
‘Caritas’ includes the first recordings of Judith Bingham’s ‘The sleeping soul’ – commissioned by Bath Abbey – and ‘Lord, you have been my dwelling place’, by Huw Williams.’
On a personal note from Huw Willliams:
“Two items recorded are by a former colleague of mine, John Scott who died in 2015 aged 59. He was a wonderful and inspiring colleague and an outstanding musician.”
Revd. Prebendary Guy Bridgewater, Rector of Bath Abbey says of the CD’s release:
“‘How can I keep from singing?’ – one of the glorious pieces in this latest Bath Abbey recording, gives beautiful voice to the love and grace of God on which our faith rests.
Not so long ago at the height of the pandemic, with our Abbey choirs furloughed and live worship deemed unsafe, a different refrain was winning through. ‘How can I sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?’, the deep lament of God’s people in Psalm 137, vividly expressed our sad sense of exile and loss in worship.
But now the ‘Caritas’ of God has prevailed at last – and this musical offering of love, joy and hope is our special act of thanksgiving by choirs returning at Bath Abbey. I am so grateful to Huw Williams, and all who help us lift up hearts and voices in worship once again; and I pray that you too, as you join the Abbey through this wonderful new recording, may find your spirit crying out afresh: ‘How can I keep from singing?’”
