In 2023, I enjoyed a Convivium disc devoted to the choral music of Matthew Coleridge. The centrepiece of the programme was Coleridge’s Requiem (2014/15). Now the label has followed up that disc with another one. As on the previous disc, Rupert Gough conducts the Southern Sinfonia and The Choir of Royal Holloway. I learned from the booklet that Songs of Light was composed in 2025 but the dates of composition of the other two works are not stated either by Convivium or on the composer’s website. I infer, though, that all the music on this programme was written quite recently and certainly subsequent to the Requiem.

The Breath of Life is a cantata cast in eight short movements and here playing for 31:29. According to the composer’s website, the accompaniment is “flexible”; I think that’s important for choral societies who, these days, are often short of cash. On this recording we hear SATB choir (with divisi) with organ, strings, horn, trumpet, trombone and percussion (3 players); I suspect that’s the fullest scoring of the work. The texts are drawn from a wide variety of sources. Coleridge has said that after his Requiem, he “wanted to write something full of life and positivity… something that would scream joy, vitality and rhythm – quite the opposite of a Requiem”. I’d take mild issue with the use of the word ‘scream’ simply because, as I hear it, the music of The Breath of Life is certainly positive but much of it is characterised by what I might term thoughtful joy.

Indeed, unless you read Oliver Condy’s booklet notes before listening for the first time, you may be surprised, as I was, by the opening of the work. The title of the first movement, ‘Rejoice in God, O Ye Tongues’ might lead you to expect a boisterous, extrovert setting of the text, which is taken from Chrisopher Smart’s poem Jubilate Agno. But Coleridge is more subtle than that; instead. the music begins quite softly – “in shimmering stillness, as if slowly awakening”, as Condy expresses it. Apparently, Coleridge wanted to suggest the choir processing in, their sound getting louder as they get closer. (In passing, it would have been daring if such a processional approach had been adopted for this recording but, nonetheless, Rupert Gough’s choir successfully convey Coleridge’s idea.) The music gradually rises to an impressive climax when words from Psalm 150 are sung.

The second movement, ‘Benedicite’ mainly sets words adapted from that canticle. I’m not sure that Coleridge’s treatment of this text is as imaginative as was the case with the first movement. It’s a tricky text to set – it invites repetition – but Coleridge’s music seems to do little except grow louder, relying on motor rhythms. The third movement. ‘Arise, The Breath, The Life’, is better. The start is arresting and thereafter Coleridge uses dynamic contrasts effectively in his response to the words. This is followed by a setting of lines from Psalm 57, ‘Awake, My Glory’. Oliver Condy draws attention to the time signature, which is 7/8. However, Coleridge’s music is quite gentle and so whilst the listener is aware that there’s some irregularity of pulse, the effect is subtle.  The following movement ‘Praise God, From Whom All Blessings Flow’ was commissioned by Christchurch Priory for the Feast of Holy Trinity. I wonder, therefore, if it was a standalone piece which was subsequently incorporated into The Breath of Life. It matters not, though I presume the piece could be performed separately. Coleridge has taken words by a variety of authors and has blended them into a seamless whole. The music is broad and has the character of a hymn, though the setting is not strophic. The piece builds to a strong climax from which it then retreats to a rather effective hushed ending. I liked this number.

For the sixth movement, ‘For Thunder Is The Voice Of God’, Coleridge goes back to Chrisopher Smart’s Jubilate Agno. The setting is imaginative, not least in the way that the piece builds from a somewhat subdued opening which, perhaps, illustrates the gathering storm. The music is powerful and dramatic, as befits the text. The penultimate movement, ‘These Great Trees Are Prayers’ is in many ways the most impressive. At the start we hear a pensive, lyrical cello solo, very well delivered by Lionel Handy; the solo cello returns near the end. When the choir begins to sing, the music is initially very hushed and still. As the piece unfolds, Coleridge conveys awe and growth; his music expands and I had an aural impression of great Sequoia trees. This is a fine movement. For the last movement, ‘The Breath of Life Is In the Sunlight’ Coleridge brings together words by no fewer than six writers, ranging from Albert Einstein to Bishop Thomas Ken; at the end, the last two lines of text are by the composer. The music is slow-moving and when the words by Thomas Ken are reached (‘Praise God, from whom all blessings flow’), Coleridge incorporates the well-known tune by Thomas Tallis to which these words are commonly sung. The movement is a suitably thoughtful conclusion to the cantata and I think the hushed ending is very fitting.

The Breath of Life is an interesting, well-crafted work which I should imagine is very gratifying to sing. Though it doesn’t reveal all its secrets at once, it has a direct appeal which will make it attractive to audiences.

The three Requiem Motets are for eight-part a cappella choir and an obbligato cello. For this performance, the choir of Royal Holloway is joined by Maxim Calver, who was the cello soloist on the earlier disc of Coleridge’s music, referenced above. The first motet, ‘In Paradisum’ very effectively combines words from Hamlet (‘May flights of angels / Sing thee to thy rest’) with the Latin text from the Mass for the Dead. Towards the end a solo soprano (Lucy Mitten) sings a reminiscence of Fauré’s Requiem. The harmonies are warm and light-suffused and I think the cello line is a most effective addition to the texture. This is a moving piece. ‘The Heart’s Affections’ is a setting of lines specially written by Euan Tait (b 1968) which were inspired by Keats. Like the other two pieces in this set, Coleridge’s music is slow-moving. I think the cello line eloquently cuts through the intense block chords sung by the choir. Finally comes ‘Take Him, Earth, For Cherishing’ which sets just a few lines from the text chosen by Herbert Howells for his similarly titled masterly motet. Coleridge opts to set the words to slow, homophonic music to which the cello furnishes a very effective counterpoint.

The three Songs of Light are, like the motets, all cast in slow tempi. The first, ‘In Your Light, I Learn How To Love’ is a setting of words by the thirteenth century Sufi mystic poet, Sumi (1207-1273), Apparently, the piece was a wedding anniversary gift to the composer’s wife. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, the music is warm, the harmonies intense and the melodies unfold slowly in long-breathed lines. It’s a radiant piece. ‘A Thousand Windows’ is adapted from the writings of the American naturalist, John Muir (1838-1914). In the selected passage, Muir, in Oliver Condy’s words, “glimpses God in the surroundings of the Sierra Nevada mountains”. Coleridge’s music takes its cue from the opening phrase: ‘Oh, these vast, calm, measureless mountain days,…’ The piece is broad and chorale-like and the music evokes, I think, the majesty and awe of Creation. It’s a memorable composition. The last of this triptych, ‘Where Shadow Chases Light’ is a setting of some lines by Rabindranath Tagore. This is a thoughtful piece and the words lend themselves to slow, unhurried music.

I enjoyed this disc. Coleridge’s music is melodic, warmly harmonised and well written for voices. He chooses his texts with discernment and the music to which he sets the words fit the texts very well. The one criticism I would make is that virtually all the music presented here is in either a moderate or slow tempo. Perhaps that’s the composer’s natural inclination but I would have welcomed the variety which some music in quicker tempi might have provided. As I finished writing this review, I looked back at my review of the previous disc in order to insert a link to it; I see that I made a similar observation then. Perhaps my feelings have been enhanced because, as a reviewer almost always must do, I have listened to the disc straight through; maybe this is a programme into which to dip selectively, auditioning each of the two sets of three unaccompanied pieces separately?

Matthew Coleridge has been very well served by the performers. Over the last twenty years, Rupert Gough has made The Choir of Royal Holloway into a highly accomplished ensemble; they are on excellent form here. The sound of the choir is fresh and bright, diction is very good and they sing with evident commitment. The instrumental playing is of a similar level of accomplishment.

As was the case with the earlier disc. the recording venue is, once again, Christchurch Priory where Simon Earl, the organist in The Breath of Life has been Director of Music since 2015. Engineer Adaq Khan has achieved excellent results here; the sound is clear and very well balanced.

This expertly performed disc will enhance the reputation of Matthew Coleridge’s choral music.