Circumstances financial and personal forced Herbert Howells to turn from his early career as a well-regarded rival of Vaughan Williams and Holst to dedicate himself almost exclusively to church music. Here he could create without being exposed to the public gaze of the concert hall, which he found unbearable. His early orchestral compositions are splendid but rarely heard; on the other hand his contribution to the Anglican liturgy is one of the most significant in post-WWII Britain. The content of this attractive CD attests to this.

From the 1940s when he was organist at St John’s College Oxford, he began a course of composition for the church in a style that endures to this day. The Winchester Service exemplifies this perfectly, the Magnificat moving quietly to exalted heights; the setting of the Nunc dimittis more darkly hued than usual. Two of his organ works are placed between the choral offerings. I find them less distinguished but they work well within the program.

This selection is from the latter part of the composer’s life. It includes settings of Jubilate Deo, Te Deum, and Exultate Deo. The performances are sensitive and robust, in the best English tradition.

To hear...