The Crown of Life continues the Choir of The Queen’s College, Oxford’s exploration of overlooked treasures in twentieth-century English choral music under Owen Rees. At it’s centre is the first recording of Kenneth Leighton’s Missa Christi (1988), the composer’s final large-scale sacred work, commissioned by Christ Church Cathedral, Indianapolis. Alongside it are world premiere recordings of Harold Darke’s Blessed is the man that endureth temptation and Imogen Holst’s Out of your sleep arise and wake. Works by Rebecca Clarke and Gustav Holst complete the programme, offering a richly varied portrait of composers linked by study with Stanford and united in sacred expression.

Tracklist:

1. Hymn to the Trinity
2. O Brother Man
3. Missa Christi-Kyrie Eleison
4. Missa Christi-Gloria
5. Missa Christi-Sanctus and Benedictus
6. Missa Christi-Agnus Dei
7. Crucifixus Pro Nobis, Op. 38-Drop, Drop, Slow