TWO local singers have helped record a CD that has been causing a stir in the classical music world.

Linda Ayres, from Colwall, and Helen Randall, from Malvern, are alto members of the prestigious Worcester Cathedral Chamber Choir, whose CD Hodie Advent to Christmas Day, has gone on worldwide release in time for Christmas.

The pair are part of the 30-strong group of singers who recorded pieces by some of the 20th century’s best known composers, such as Benjamin Britten’s Ceremony of Carols and Ralph Vaughan Williams Fantasia on Christmas Carols, in Worcester Cathedral, where they regularly perform at concerts and services as part of the choir’s brief to enrich the building’s choral tradition.

One of the tracks from the recording will be included on the cover CD of the Christmas issue of Classic FM magazine.

The CD has been produced by Regent records, one of the top classical location recording companies and can be bought online, not only from the choir’s own website but from classical music sites and through leading retailers such as Tesco and Asda.

The two singers agree that the opportunity to record the CD was a “fantastic experience” and are delighted it has earned praise from critics.

“It is important to record so that people can experience the choir and its high level of performance,” said Linda.

“The main cathedral choir of boys and men has been recording since the 1960s and is well known in England and around the world so it’s good that we, its newest choir, are now entering the performance arena with our own individual sound of men and women.”

The choir was founded in 1998 and made musical history as the first choir in the cathedral’s 1,000 year history to include women’s voices.