Gabriel Jackson (b.1962)

One of Britain's foremost composers, after three years as a chorister at Canterbury Cathedral, Gabriel Jackson went on to study composition with Richard Blackford and John Lambert at the Royal College of Music. Particularly acclaimed for his choral works, his liturgical pieces are in the repertoires of most of Britain's cathedral and collegiate choirs and he is a frequent collaborator with the leading professional groups of the world. From 2010-2013 he was Associate Composer to the BBC Singers. In 2014 his hour-long The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, commissioned for the 750th anniversary of Merton College, Oxford, was premiered in its chapel. May 2015 saw the premiere at the Latvian National Opera of Spring Rounds for soprano, choir and orchestra, commissioned by the Riga-based youth choir Kamer for their 25th anniversary. He was recently commissioned by The Marian Consort to write Stabat Mater to mark their 10th anniversary.

"Both of these extended anthems [also Let my due feet never fail] fit well within Jackson's established individual style, adding to his impressive catalog. The organ accompaniments are prominent, soloistic, and often demanding. Typical of Jackson's writing, the choral parts are predominantly homophonic, moving together even in passages of frenetic rhythmic activity . . . Both of these pieces are very challenging. Even with the fully diatonic context (both works are almost entirely devoid of any accidentals), the bold dissonances accentuated by jarring chord voicing will challenge any choir. Both anthems are impressive additions to the repertoire and are sure to appear in concert, recording, and ecclesiastical use." - Jason Overall, Journal of the Association of Anglican Musicians (US), Sept 2016