Sancta Civitas

La nouvelle Jérusalem (Tapisserie de l'Apocalypse, Château d'Angers, 14th century)

Sancta Civitas, the oratorio of 1925  by Ralph Vaughan Williams, a setting of verses from the Book of Revelation - performed here by Andrew Staples, tenor, Matthew Broock, baritone, the Winchester Cathedral Choristers, Winchester College Quiristers, The Bach Choir and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra conducted by David Hill

The critic and foremost authority on Vaughan Williams, Michael Kennedy, regards the work as a homage to Bach from the twentieth century and describes it as 
"a gigantic fresco. The word 'mystic' is often applied to Vaughan Williams. Sancta Civitas is its justification. In it, by means of words which excited him, and in pursuit of a faith which he held but did not define, he reached out to 'the ultimate realities' in music...."