Scene of coronations, royal weddings, state funerals and national commemorations, Westminster Abbey stands as a monument to a relatively unbroken tradition of worship and music that has taken place on the banks of the Thames since the tenth century. Led by Music Director James O’Donnell, its choir is rightly considered one of the UK’s very finest and over the last decade it has released a series of outstanding recordings. An exhilarating new disc of 21st-century church music shows the singers at their very best with splendid music by three of the UK’s leading choral composers: Jonathan Dove, Judith Weir and Matthew Martin. Many of these works were commissioned by them, adding to the authoritative nature of these spirited accounts. Clive Paget sat down in the Abbey’s refectory to talk to O’Donnell about Limelight’s April Recording of the Month.

James O’Donnell, Director of Music at Westminster Abbey

James O’Donnell, Director of Music at Westminster Abbey. Image supplied.

Many of your albums have combined Renaissance music with works from later periods, but this is the first disc made up of entirely new music. Was that a conscious decision?

Yes, it was. Over...