Along the Line
Along the Line is a choral album by British composer Colin Riley, released in September 2025. Written for and performed by the Pegasus Chamber Choir with soloists Gabriella Swallow (cello) and Gloria Rappo (harp).
The album explores journeys as its central theme. It features two main pieces: It Speaks Without Answer, which uses Riley’s own poetry to trace a reflective journey along a river from source to sea, blending observation and introspection. The work draws on Riley’s genre-blending style, merging classical choral elements with contemporary influences.
Roads Shining Like River Up Hill After Rain is a 2017 work for choir and solo cello, marking the centenary of poet Edward Thomas’s death. The libretto was compiled by Robert Macfarlane from fragments of Thomas’s poetry (including unfinished lines found in his pocket). The guiding poem is “Roads” by Thomas: “Where any turn may lead to Heaven, / Or any corner may hide Hell, / Roads shining like river up hill after rain.” The piece has five “ghost shards”, each closing with a stanza from “Roads”. It traces a metaphorical journey from Thomas’s home village of Steep to the Western Front.
For the Fallen
Released in 2018 for the centenary of the armistice, this recording features works written around the time of the first world war, or in commemoration of it. This was the first major conflict to generate an outpouring of creative work from those who actually fought in the trenches, or were deeply affected by the war. The recording features works by composers from five combatant nations, including Rachmaninov, Ravel, Mahler, Holst, Stanford and Ivor Gurney.
“Great dramatic flair… beautifully blended tone… [Matthew Altham] throws every emotional weapon in his armoury at the music” (Gramophone)
“The singers have a large expressive range which they use to great effect” (Choir & Organ)
“All superbly sung, and sweetly recorded” (The Arts Desk)
Twelve Days
A feast of anthems for Christmas, ranging from Elizabeth Poston’s classic Jesus Christ the Apple Tree to Jonathan Rathbone’s exuberant setting of Gabriel’s Message, Judith Bingham’s mysterious The Clouded Heaven and Morton Lauridsen’s rapturous O Magnum Mysterium. Matthew Altham directs Pegasus, with organ accompaniment by Martin Toyer.