The Gallery Choir of the Church of St. Mary Magdalene is well known in liturgical and classical music circles for the long residency of noted Canadian composer Healey Willan (1880-1968) and for the continuing high standards of its choirs and musical repertoire. In 2008, this choir won the CBC national competition for best church choir in Canada. It is under the direction of award-winning composer, Prof. Stephanie Martin. Prof Martin has won the Lillian Forsythe Award for Church Music and the Leslie Bell Choral Conducting Prize. She also won the Exultate 2008-2009 Choral Composition Competition.

This material is from their latest recording, all of it previously unrecorded compositions of Willan, including one, Missa Brevis No. 12, that had never been performed. Recorded in the church without accompaniment in both English and Latin, it has resonance and tone as well as unmistakable quality.