The Choir of Clare College have released their latest recording, an album of previously unrecorded and rarely performed music by Palestrina in celebration of the 500th anniversary of his birth. Palestrina’s music is placed alongside settings of the same texts by his English contemporaries, William Byrd, Robert White and William Mundy.

From recording of the week (Presto Classical) to 5* reviews from BBC music magazine and the Financial Times, the album is proving a popular choice.

“Graham Ross and his Clare College Choir have become something of a choral powerhouse under his leadership and have elbowed their way onto the turf of other, historically dominant collegiate choirs through their sheer musical quality.” 
Presto Classical.

“The Clare College Choir sing in a harmonious and touching manner, as in their reverent account of the chordal textures of Palestrina’s Magnificat and Byrd’s Emendemus in melius. Their attention to naturalistic text rhythms gloriously break free of the bar lines in modern editions. These enjoyable performances take us further across the vast ocean of Palestrina’s works” 
BBC Music Magazine.

Director of Music, Graham Ross, will be touring the Choir to Rome this summer to perform excerpts from the album, with a concerned in Palestrina Cathedral itself on 6th July 2025.

The album can be downloaded here: http://lnk.to/palestrinarevealed. Physical copies are for sale via the Chapel Office in College.

Photo credit: Andrew Staples