George Guest
George Guest is generally regarded among the finest British choral conductors of his time. Some musicologists have attributed the endurance, if not the very survival, of the English cathedral choir to him. He made more than 60 recordings with St. John's Choir (Cambridge), covering a broad range of repertory (Palestrina and Mozart to Tippett and Lennox Berkeley) and garnering consistent critical acclaim.
Guest was born in Bangor, Wales, on February 19, 1924. He attended the Friars school in his hometown and became a chorister by age 9 at the local cathedral. At 11 he sang in the choir at Chester Cathedral while taking private lessons to develop his keyboard skills. After serving four years in the Royal Air Force during World War II, he returned to Chester Cathedral as sub-organist in 1946. The following year he enrolled at St. John's under an organ scholarship, studying with Thurston Dart and Boris Ord. In 1951 the choir director, Robin Orr, resigned to focus on composition, leaving the post to Guest.
In the coming years, Guest, not least because of a healthy rivalry with David Willcocks who was director of the Choir of King's College, vastly improved St. John's choral standards. Beginning in the mid-'50s, Guest and his choir began appearing regularly on radio broadcasts, and in 1958 he made his first recording with the group, Mendelssohn's Hear My Prayer, for the English label Argo. At Cambridge he became a lecturer in 1956, then the university's organist in 1974. In the mid-'70s Guest's growing interest in French music yielded two acclaimed recordings, the Duruflé Requiem and a collection of Fauré works. In 1978 Guest was elected president of the Royal College of Organists, serving in the post for two years. He retired from university lecturing in 1982, but continued his work with St. John's Choir, both in concert and on recordings, as well as in performances abroad. In 1991 Guest retired both from his directorship of St. John's Choir and from his organ post. He died on November 20, 2002.
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Haydn : The Complete Masses - Stabat Mater
John Eliot Gardiner, George Guest, Simon Preston
Klassik - Erschienen bei Decca Music Group Ltd. am 01.01.2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vivaldi: Gloria, RV588; Gloria, RV589
Klassik - Erschienen bei Decca Music Group Ltd. am 19.11.1982
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Britten: A Ceremony Of Carols; Rejoice In The Lamb; Missa Brevis
The Choir of St John’s Cambridge, Marisa Robles, Brian Runnett, George Guest
Klassik - Erschienen bei Decca Music Group Ltd. am 01.11.1966
Qobuz’ Schallplattensammlung16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Allegri: Miserere - Lasso & Palestrina: Masses
George Guest, Choir Of St. John's College
Klassik - Erschienen bei Warner Classics am 01.01.1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Fauré: Messe de Requiem; Cantique de Jean Racine
The Choir of St John’s Cambridge, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Stephen Cleobury, George Guest
Klassik - Erschienen bei Decca Music Group Ltd. am 28.04.1976
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Charpentier: Messe de minuit pour Noël - Poulenc: Motets & Salve Regina
George Guest, City Of London Sinfonia, Choir of St. Johns College, Cambridge
Chorwerk (für den Chor) - Erschienen bei Chandos am 01.12.2007
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Fauré: Requiem/Duruflé: Requiem/Poulenc: Motets
The Choir of St John’s Cambridge, George Guest
Klassik - Erschienen bei Decca Music Group Ltd. am 01.01.1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Psalms of Consolation and Hope
The Choir of St John’s Cambridge, John Scott, George Guest
Klassik - Erschienen bei Decca Music Group Ltd. am 30.11.1978
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Christmas at St. John's
The Choir of St John’s Cambridge, George Guest
Klassik - Erschienen bei Decca Music Group Ltd. am 03.12.1974
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vivaldi: Glorias, etc.
The Choir of St John’s Cambridge, George Guest, Choir of King's College, Cambridge, Philip Ledger
Klassik - Erschienen bei Decca Music Group Ltd. am 01.01.1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Haydn: The Masses
Christ Church Cathedral Choir, Oxford, The Choir of St John’s Cambridge, Choir of King's College, Cambridge, George Guest, Simon Preston, Sir David Willcocks
Klassik - Erschienen bei Decca Music Group Ltd. am 01.01.1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hear My Prayer
The Choir of St John’s Cambridge, Peter White, George Guest
Klassik - Erschienen bei Decca Music Group Ltd. am 03.03.1959
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Victoria: Requiem Mass; O Magnum Mysterium; Ave Maria
The Choir of St John’s Cambridge, George Guest
Klassik - Erschienen bei Decca Music Group Ltd. am 19.04.1968
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bononcini: Stabat Mater / Lotti: Crucifixus / Caldara: Crucifixus
Klassik - Erschienen bei Decca Music Group Ltd. am 07.03.1978
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
O Sacrum Convivium
The Choir of St John’s Cambridge, Stephen Cleobury, George Guest
Klassik - Erschienen bei Decca Music Group Ltd. am 03.02.1971
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Poulenc: Mass in G; Exultate Deo; Salve Regina / Peeters: Missa Festiva
The Choir of St John’s Cambridge, George Guest
Klassik - Erschienen bei Decca Music Group Ltd. am 15.12.1977
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
A Meditation On Christ's Nativity
The Choir of St John’s Cambridge, William Henry Squire, George Guest
Klassik - Erschienen bei Decca Music Group Ltd. am 15.10.1968
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Pergolesi: Stabat Mater
George Guest, Felicity Palmer, Alfreda Hodgson, The Choir of St John’s Cambridge, The Argo Chamber Orchestra
Klassik - Erschienen bei Decca Music Group Ltd. am 10.09.1980
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stainer: The Crucifixion
George Guest, Richard Lewis, Owen Brannigan, The Choir of St John’s Cambridge, Brian Runnett
Klassik - Erschienen bei Decca Music Group Ltd. am 18.02.1962
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The World of Psalms
The Choir of St John’s Cambridge, George Guest, Choir of King's College, Cambridge, Sir David Willcocks, The Choir Of Westminster Abbey, William McKie
Klassik - Erschienen bei UMSM am 01.01.1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Duruflé: Requiem; Prelude et Fugue sur le nom d'Alain
The Choir of St John’s Cambridge, Stephen Cleobury, George Guest
Klassik - Erschienen bei Decca Music Group Ltd. am 29.05.1975
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo