The Exon Singers

“Lloyd’s final work, movingly performed” (Gramophone)

Written in the last year of his life, George Lloyd’s final work occupies a very special place in his output. The 45 minute Requiem is dedicated to the memory of Diana, Princess of Wales but it is hardly a grand public statement, rather a frail composer’s very personal leave-taking. Completed in pencil in January 1998, the full score was not produced in ink until the beginning of June. Three weeks later the composer was dead.

Realising that he might not complete the work, George Lloyd decided not to score it for full orchestra, choosing instead the more intimate combination of counter-tenor, chorus and organ. This lends the work an otherworldly quality which is unusual for a composer normally so earthy and immediate in his writing. The counter-tenor part imbues the piece with an archaic beauty normally the preserve of a composer like John Tavener. The organ writing in the piece is very accomplished. Indeed, there are very few moments in the Requiem when one misses the larger spectrum of colour which a full orchestra would have provided, the work’s own unique soundworld within the Lloyd cannon proving to be emotionally satisfying in its own right, especially in this valedictory context.

This moving work was given its first performance and recording by the Exon Singers and Matthew Owens.