Anna Lapwood to Release New Sony Classical Album ARISE, SHINE

Anna Lapwood will release her new choral album ARISE, SHINE on March 6, 2026 via Sony Classical. The album, featuring The Chapel Choir of Pembroke College, Cambridge, is available for pre-order now.

The recording marks Lapwood’s final project conducting the Pembroke College Chapel Choir following the conclusion of her nine-year tenure as Director of Music at Pembroke College, Cambridge, a role she held until the end of the summer term in 2025.

ARISE, SHINE includes two original compositions by Lapwood—“Arise, Shine” and “An Irish Blessing”—alongside sacred repertoire and contemporary works. The programme pairs contrasting settings of sacred texts, including “Ubi Caritas” by Maurice Duruflé and Ola Gjeilo, and “O Sacrum Convivium” by Olivier Messiaen and Lucy Walker.

Walker, a former alto in the choir, contributes multiple works to the album. Additional highlights include “Rain,” composed by Maryam Giraud to a text by fellow chorister Cassidy McKinlay, and “Abide With Me” by Maggie Kaposamweo, a young composer based in Zambia whose studies were supported through a mentoring and commissioning initiative led by Lapwood.

Lapwood said, “As I was preparing to leave Pembroke, I felt it was really important to do one final album with the Chapel Choir to mark their incredible hard work over the course of the last nine years. The choir has grown so much in that time - both in size but also in ambition and identity, and I have learned so much from working with these singers. I wanted to curate an album that felt like it summed up just a little of what makes Pembroke unique, pairing traditional repertoire with modern reinterpretations, and showcasing music written by young composers from within Pembroke Choir and beyond.”

She added, “This is an album that is all about the unique warmth of making music with friends and being able to share that experience with others.”

The album follows Lapwood’s 2025 release Firedove, which reached No. 1 on the Official Classical Artist Album Chart. In 2025, Lapwood also became the Royal Albert Hall’s first Official Organist and premiered Max Richter’s concerto Cosmology. Her recent performances have included a BBC Proms all-night event and international concerts drawing large audiences.

Tracklisting – ARISE, SHINE

1. Arise, Shine – Anna Lapwood

2. Adoro Te Devote – Cecilia McDowall (text: Saint Thomas Aquinas)

3. Miserere – Gregorio Allegri

4. Regina Caeli – Lise Borel

5. Rain – Maryam Giraud (text: Cassidy McKinlay)

6. Ubi Caritas – Maurice Duruflé

7. Silent Night – Franz Xaver Gruber

8. The Lord’s Prayer – Lucy Walker

9. O Sacrum Convivium – Olivier Messiaen (text: Saint Thomas Aquinas)

10. Ubi Caritas – Ola Gjeilo

11. A Hymn for St Cecilia – Lucy Walker (text: Ursula Vaughan Williams)

12. Abide With Me – Maggie Kaposamweo (text: Maggie Kaposamweo & Henry Francis Lyte)

13. O Sacrum Convivium – Lucy Walker (text: Saint Thomas Aquinas)

14. An Irish Blessing – Anna Lapwood

15. Somewhere Over the Rainbow – Harold Arlen (text: Yip Harburg)

ARISE, SHINE will be released March 6, 2026.