This record is sheer delight. The Salisbury Cathedral Choir have a most appealing quality which matches the character of the building itself. Most apparent in Byrd's Ave verum corpus; it applies equally well to the extract from the German Requiem of Brahms, which here becomes an Anglican anthem, its orchestral accompaniment translate into organ figurations and the heavenly aspirations of the chorus sounding more like a brochure written by people with inside knowledge. But I edge in at this point my one serious criticism, which is that the choir and organ are too separated—the singers are near and every detail is clear, but the accompaniment is far off and we miss an awful lot of detail. Only the louder parts of the Wesley and the Parry are turly satisfactorily balanced, though some of Hear my prayer matches quite well.
Don't accept this opinion too hastily, however, or you might not buy the record, and I feel you must. The good it will do your soul far outweighs this one small point. You are unlikely to hear a more touching version of the treble solo in Blessed be the God and Father—the anonymous boy mixes an unusually beautiful tone-quality with a mature verbal intelligence: it was well worth capturing. The choral direction here is pleasingly neat and unaffected, as indeed it is throughout the programme, but there are one or two surprising (but totally acceptable) choices of tempo. I'd pick out Purcell's Bell Anthem as the prize winner, for its elegance and the nicety of its distinctive treatment. You can say that for the whole record. Richard Seal has made it all just that little bit different.'