Commissions

As the National Musicians’ Church, we want to play our role in the development of sacred music. We commission every year for our BBC Proms service, live on BBC Radio 3, and also for our St. Cecilia service. We are also inheriting a tradition of significant choral works written for Holy Sepulchre by composers such as William Walton and Gerald Finzi. The following choral works are known to have been written for Holy Sepulchre:

Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, Sydney H. Nicholson, Tercentenary of Captain John Smith, 1931

Where Does the Uttered Music Go? William Walton, Unveiling of the Memorial Window, 1946 (multiple publishers)

The Voice out of the Whirlwind, Ralph Vaughan Williams, St Cecilia 1947 (OUP)

Prelude to a Solemn Music, William H. Harris, St Cecilia 1950 (Novello)

Live for ever, Glorious Lord, George Dyson, St Cecilia 1952 (Novello)

God is Gone Up, Gerald Finzi, St Cecilia 1954 (Boosey & Hawkes)

Thou hast made me, Lennox Berkeley, St Cecilia 1960 (Chester)

The Angel, Joshua Pacey (for choir, organ and string quartet), Christmas 2018

My Heart, O God, Lucy Walker, Lent 2022 (Boosey & Hawkes)

O Sing to the Lord, Lucy Walker, St Cecilia 2024 (Boosey & Hawkes)

None Other Lamb, Dan Forrest, BBC Proms Service 2025 (Beckenhorst Press)

A Song for St. Cecilia’s Day, William Mason, St. Cecilia 2025

Among the Folk of Paradise, David McGregor, BBC Proms 2026

Heavenly Harmony, Joshua Pacey, St. Cecilia 2026