God bless
John Sanders. Without him and the thousands of musicians like him, music would have been much the poorer. Indeed, without
Sanders and those like him, life would be poorer. Born in 1933,
Sanders spent most of his life as the organist and master of the choristers at Gloucester Cathedral, enriching the lives of all Anglicans in the west of Britain. Upon his retirement in 1997,
Sanders was at last able to return to his love of composition and created a series of works both exalted and intimate, personal and transcendent, subjective and sublime. This disc featuring the
Choir of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, was not, unfortunately, made under
Sanders' direction, but rather was led by
Geoffrey Webber. This is unfortunate not because
Webber isn't a fine conductor -- he is clearly a fine conductor with a thorough understanding of
Sanders' music and idiom -- but because
Sanders died unexpectedly after a short illness before the recording could be made. Thus his stirring Festival Te Deum, his affecting A Prayer of Cardinal Newman, his awesome The Firmament, and all the other works on this disc were not led by
Sanders but by
Webber. Fortunately,
Webber seems to love
Sanders' music and his performances with the
Gonville and Caius College Choir are tremendously moving. While
Sanders' music is by no means avant-garde -- it is thoroughly tonal and proud of it -- it is still recognizably the music of its time and anyone who enjoys the music of
John Rutter will find no difficulties here. For a taste of
Sanders at his best, try the concluding a cappella A Prayer. Written just before his death,
Sanders' music is at once restful, hopeful, and deeply blessed. Priory's sound is lush and deep.