Royal wedding tops charts for Aberdeen composer

A NEW album by an Aberdeen University composer, featuring his choral work commissioned for this year’s royal wedding, has shot straight to the top of the classical charts.

Professor Paul Mealor, a reader in composition at the university, gained global recognition in April, when his work Ubi Caritas featured at the marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton. The same piece was later performed at the 9/11 commemoration ceremony in New York.

Earlier this month, another of his works was sung by a group of military wives in front of the Queen at the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance in London.

An album of Prof Mealor’s compositions, A Tender Light, has been released on Decca Records and is No 1 in the Classical Specialist Charts.

The Welsh-born composer said yesterday that the success of the album had capped a “truly remarkable year”.

He said: “I can’t believe A Tender Light has done so well – it’s both humbling and a little unbelievable.”

Mark Wilkinson, managing director of Decca, said: “Paul will undoubtedly leave his mark on music history.”