| Biography | Founded by Matthew Best in 1973, Corydon Singers are now widely recognised as one of the foremost choirs in Britain. Their first recording, of Bruckner motets, was issued in 1983 and established them on the road to distinction. Their subsequent and numerous recordings, all for Hyperion, have consistently earned the approval of the press in Britain, Europe, the United States, Japan and elsewhere. Their 1990 recording of Vaughan William' s Serenade to Music and other works was selected as Record of the Year by both The Guardian and The Sunday Times, and was nominated for a Brit Award. Their recording of Rachmaninov's Vespers was chosen as the preferred version in BBC Radio 3's 'Building a Library' and their recording of Bruckner's Te Deum and Mass in D minor was selected as one of the top releases of 1993 by the BBC's Record Review. A great many of Corydon's recordings have reached the Gramophone Awards short list in the choral section and they have four times been runner-up: in 1984 with Howells's Requiem, 1990 with Vaughan Williams's Serenade, 1996 Berlioz's L'Enfance du Christ and in 1997 with Beethoven early cantatas.
Since leaving Cambridge where he was a Choral Scholar at King's College, Matthew Best has pursued a dual career as singer and conductor. He founded Corydon Singers when he was only sixteen and has been its Musical Director ever since. For the past ten years he has enjoyed a very fruitful association with Hyperion Records, resulting in many highly regarded recordings of 19th- and 20th-century music. These have included the Requiems of Fauré and Duruflé, the Rachmaninov Vespers and Liturgy of St John Crisostom, Britten's St Nicolas and several recordings of music by Bruckner and Vaughan Williams. His Bruckner series (which includes the three Masses, Psalms 112, 114 and 150, the Requiem, Motets and the Te Deum) was completed in 1993 in time for the 21st Anniversary season of Corydon Singers, and to celebrate their 21st birthday this year, Corydon Singers and Corydon Orchestra conducted by Matthew Best make their Proms debut. His recording of the Vaughan Williams Serenade to Music was voted 1990 Choral Record of the Year in both The Guardian and The Sunday Times, and several of his other recordings are now the established recommended versions.
Matthew Best also enjoys a successful career as a singer, appearing regularly on the concert platform throughout Europe, working with many of the world's leading conductors and orchestras. Between 1980 and 1986 he was a principal bass with the Royal Opera; he is also a regular guest artist with Opera North, Welsh National Opera and Netherlands Opera, and has sung with Glyndebourne Touring Opera and at the Alte Oper, Frankfurt. Recent singing engagements have included appearances at the Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall and at the Proms.
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