Ludford: Missa Videte miraculum

Released March 2018

Album cover - Ludford: Ave Maria, ancilla Trinitatis Missa Videte miraculum

The Choir of Westminster Abbey discovers the forgotten works of lesser-known Tudor composer Nicholas Ludford in this recording.

Ninefold Kyrie
Alleluia. Ora pro nobis
Hac clara die turma
Ave Maria, ancilla Trinitatis
Missa Videte miraculum

Nicholas Ludford (c.1490–1557)
James O’Donnell conductor/organ
The Choir of Westminster Abbey

Lesser-known Tudor composer Nicholas Ludford spent his career at the epicentre of English musical life yet is barely known to today's audiences. Born at the start of Henry VII's reign, his life spanned one of the most turbulent periods in the country's history, encompassing Henry VIII's break with Rome, the rise of Protestantism under Edward VI and the Catholic Revival under Mary Tudor. Ludford had strong links with Westminster, working at St Stephen's Chapel in the Palace of Westminster, and later at St Margaret's Church.

While his name may not be as familiar to modern audiences as his Tudor near-contemporaries Taverner and Tallis, this disc demonstrates that Ludford's music is equally worthy of attention for its intricacy, opulence and sheer inventiveness.

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