From the mid-17th century, the Book of Common Prayer encouraged the use of Anthems, the motet's British counterpart. This 'anthem' had its heyday during the reign of Queen Victoria (who appears to have been a lover of Mendelssohn) and the early 2000s, when the motet had long since died out in the rest of Europe. The CD "Songs of praise", released by Naxos, offers a beautiful compilation of English
… hymns and anthems from the golden age of British choral singing. Besides works by Britons such as Vaughan Williams, Goss, Stainer, Elgar and Parry, the CD also contains a number of 'continental archetypes', such as Mozart's "Ave verum" and Mendelssohn's "Hear my prayer". The works are being performed by the Halifax Choral Society, founded in 1817, under the direction of John Pryce-Jones. (HJ) _more
