The Oxford-based choir Cardinall’s Musick has won the prestigious Gramophone Early Music Award for their recording of William Byrd’s ‘Infelix Ego’.
Winning the award for the fourth time, Cardinall’s Musick secured the title with their recording of Byrd’s Latin mediation piece, which incorporates music from the late 16th and early 17th Centuries.
Three musical groups based in Oxford made up the complete shortlist for the Early Music Award this year. Cardinall’s Musick beat rival groups Phantasm and the Christ Church Cathedral Choir for the prize, awarded by classical music magazine Gramophone.
A panel of critics selected the three nominees from thousands of CD releases from the past year. It is unprecedented for all three groups to have strong Oxford links.
Both Phantasm and Christ Church Cathedral Choir are directed by members of the University Music Faculty, and Cardinall’s Musick was founded in Oxford when its director, Andrew Carwood, was a lay clerk with Christ Church Cathedral Choir.
Professor Jonathan Cross, Director of the Oxford University Music Faculty, spoke of his pride at the shortlist.
“In the Music Faculty we are delighted by the nominations of both Christ Church Cathedral Choir and Phantasm, directed by our colleagues Stephen Darlington and Laurence Dreyfus.
“Like the Oscars, it’s as much an honour to be nominated as to win!” he said.
Dr Stephen Darlington, the Director of Christ Church Cathedral Choir, agreed that the Oxford-dominated nominations reflected the high calibre of music at the University.
He said, “Overall, it shows the national recognition for the quality of music-making in the field of Early Music at Oxford, an area which has a long history of distinction here.”
The Gramophone Awards are among the most significant honours bestowed on recordings in the classical music industry. The winners are selected by critics for the Gramophone magazine, music retailers, broadcasters, arts administrators, and musicians.
In 2008, the Early Music prize was also won by an Oxford group. The Choir of New College carried away the prize based on their performance of ‘Missa Benedicta’, conducted by EdwardHigginbottom.
