Regent Records is delighted to release this first disc entirely devoted to the compositions of Ben Parry. There is new choral music for the entire Christmas season from Advent to Epiphany. In addition to settings and arrangements of traditional texts there are several new carols with original words by Garth Bardsley.

Ben Parry is one of the UK’s most distinguished and versatile musicians. He studied at Cambridge, where he was a member of King’s College Choir. In the mid-1980s he joined The Swingle Singers as a singer, arranger and music director, touring globally and performing with some of the world’s greatest artists. He has subsequently been Director of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra Chorus, Director of Choral Music at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and conductor of Haddo House Opera. He co-founded the Dunedin Consort, was Director of Music at St Paul’s School, London, then Director of the Junior Academy at the Royal Academy of Music. He is currently Artistic Director of the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain and Assistant Director of Music at King’s College, Cambridge.

Ben has an extensive catalogue of compositions and arrangements including the popular Faber Carol Book, and music published by Peters Edition and OUP. He has enjoyed commissions from, among others, the BBC Singers, St John’s College, Cambridge, Chelmsford, Ely, Norwich, Sheffield, and Worcester Cathedrals. His compositions have been performed at the BBC Proms and on the TV and radio. His music is imaginative, colourful, and impeccably crafted. He was made an Honorary Associate of the Royal Academy of Music in 2013 for his services to the music industry.

Over the last few years The Chapel Choir of Selwyn College, Cambridge, and its director, Sarah MacDonald, have built an unequalled reputation in championing contemporary sacred choral music from young emerging composers, with debut discs of works from Philip Cooke, Ben Ponniah, Mark Gotham, Iain Quinn, and John Hosking. There have also been discs from more established composers in the field of church music, including Paul Spicer, Gary Higginson, and Alan Bullard. Future releases include discs of music by Stuart Turnbull and Paul Ayres.

‘...the choirs are chameleon-like in their ability to change color, tone, timbre, mood, and idiom on the absolute fly...’ - American Record Guide (REGCD485)

‘...Sarah MacDonald guides her singers to great heights.’ - Choir and Organ (REGCD485)

‘The clarity of diction and impeccable tuning from the choir make this piece a must for repeated hearings.’ - American Choral Journal (REGCD495)