Music at the Parish of Our Most Holy Redeemer & St. Thomas More

Choral Tradition

The strong tradition of Sixteenth Century polyphonic music at Holy Redeemer goes back to a happy coincidence in the early 1960s.  The then Parish Priest, Canon Alfonso de Zulueta - scion of a noble Spanish family with extensive ecclesiastical connections in Spain - began unearthing, from dusty archives in cathedrals, the much-neglected treasures of the Golden Age of Spanish music, now familiar names like Guerrero, Morales, and Lobo.

The then Director of Music, John Hoban - later at the London Oratory - was so enthusiastic about the music that he formed the Scuola di Chiesa, based on the church choir, which promoted this unknown repertoire throughout the UK and continental Europe, and was heard regularly on the BBC and at the Promenade Concerts.

Music at Mass

The choir sings  at the 11am Mass every Sunday and on all holy days of obligation. In addition to the Spanish composers mentioned above, the current repertoire regularly includes music by: Thomas Luis de Victoria, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, William Byrd, Thomas Tallis, Orlande de Lassus, Jakob Handl, Hans Leo Hassler, Philippe de Monte, and Andrea Gabrieli. Please see the current music list for more information.

The recordings below were made by David Bevan, organist and choirmaster from 1983-2017, under whose baton the quality and renown of the choir grew exponentially. David also fostered an ambitious, liturgically sensitive attitude to repertoire, expanding the library to include many more works from the 16th century as well as a large number of modern compositions (many his own).