1-7 Alfred Desenclos:
Messe de Requiem

8 Pierre Villette:
O sacrum convivium

9 Villette:
Hymne a la Vierge

10 Villette:
Attende Domine

11 Desenclos:
Salve regina

12 Desenclos:
Nos autem

13 Francis Poulenc:
Litanies a la Vierge noire

Winner of the coveted Prix de Rome, Alfred Desenclos remains an almost unknown figure in twentieth-century music. His contribution to the distinguished French tradition of Requiem Mass settings dates from 1963; incorporating influences from Gregorian chant as well as rich harmonies based on added-note chords, this piece with its passionate outpourings is a revelation.

It forms the centrestone of David Trendell’s programme, which also features music by Villette – who shared Desenclos’ interest in jazz – and Poulenc, whose return to Catholicism in 1936 initiated a line of pieces, beginning with the Litanies a la Vierge noire de Rocamadour, that represent some of the most significant religious choral music of the twentieth century. Trendell’s choir is on ravishing form, and the organ at his alma mater, Exeter College, Oxford, partners this music like a velvet glove.

'David Trendell’s fine choir glows with warmth and commitment’’

– The Observer

‘Credit to David Trendell for eliciting sustained intensity of expression … youthful timbre imparts a freshness to the interpretation’

– BBC Music Magazine