| 1951 | Gluck: Orpheus | Cyril Gell |
| 1952 | Haydn: The Seasons | Herbert Bargett |
| 1953 | Handel: Mirth and Melancholy | John Clements |
| 1954 | Handel: The Messiah | Herbert Bargett |
| 1955 | Purcell: King Arthur; Vaughan Williams: Towards the Unknown Region | Anthony Hopkins |
| 1956 | JS Bach: Sleepers Awake; Brahms: Song of Destiny; Parry: Pied Piper | Iris Lemare |
| 1957 | JS Bach: St Mathew Passion | David Wilcocks |
| 1958 | Stanford: Songs of the Fleet; Parry: Blest Pair of Sirens; Elgar: From the Bavarian Highlands; Armstrong Gibbs: The Highwayman | Herbert Wiseman |
| 1959 | Haydn: The Creation | Allan Wicks |
| 1960 | Handel: Samson | Allan Wicks |
| 1961 | Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requiem | Meredith Davies |
| 1962 | JS Bach: Magificat; Britten: St Nicholas | Allan Wicks |
| 1963 | JS Bach: St Mathew Passion | Meredith Davies |
| 1964 | Purcell: Dido and Aeneas; Vaughan Williams: Cotswold Romance | Henry Havergal |
| 1965 | Handel: Judas Maccabaeus | Charles Groves |
| 1966 | JS Bach: St Mathew Passion | Dr Chalmers Burns |
| 1967 | Mendelssohn: Elijah | Eric Chadwick |
| 1968 | Haydn: Nelson Mass; Handel: Chandos Anthem No 6 | Eric Chadwick |
| 1969 | Verdi: Requiem | Eric Chadwick |
| 1970 | Dyson: Canterbury Pilgrims | Marcus Dodds |
| 1971 | Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius | Charles Groves |
| 1972 | Mozart: Requiem; Vaughan Williams: Serenade to Music | Charles Groves |
| 1973 | JS Bach: B Minor Mass | Allan Wicks |
| 1974 | Tippett: A Child of our Time; Dvorak: Te Deum | Norman del Mare |
| 1975 | Vivaldi: Gloria; Faure: Requiem | Meredith Davies |
| 1976 | Handel: Israel in Egypt | Eric Chadwick |
| 1977 | JS Bach: St Mathew Passion | Eric Chadwick |
| 1978 | Verdi: Requiem | Simon Rattle |
| 1979 | Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requiem, Song of Destiny | Stewart Robertson |
| 1980 | JS Bach: St John Passion | Paul Steinitz |
| 1981 | Poulenc: Gloria; Vaughan Williams: Donna Nobis Pacem | Paul Steinitz |
| 1982 | Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius | Donald Hunt |
| 1983 | JS Bach: B Minor Mass | Paul Steinitz |
| 1984 | Handel: Solomon | Donald Hunt |
| 1985 | Elgar: The Kingdom | Donald Hunt |
| 1985 | Handel: The Messiah | Hugh Davies |
| 1986 | Mendelssohn: St Paul | David Hill |
| 1987 | Bernstein: Chichester Psalms; Vaughan Williams: A Sea Symphony | David Hill |
| 1987 | Handel: The Messiah | Hugh Davies |
| 1988 | Verdi: Requiem | Charles Groves |
| 1989 | Haydn: The Creation | Hugh Davies |
| 1990 | Rossini: Stabat Mater; Bruckner: Te Deum | James Lockhart |
| 1991 | JS Bach: St Mathew Passion | David Hill |
| 1992 | Dvorak: Mass in D; Durufle: Requiem | Philip Ledger |
| 1993 | Mendelssohn: Elijah | Donald Hunt |
| 1994 | Schultz: Psalm 150; Gabrielli: In Excelsis; Britten: Rejoice in the Lamb; Kodaly: Missa Brevis | Philip Ledger |
| 1995 | JS Bach: St John Passion | David Hill |
| 1996 | Walton: Belshazzar’s Feast; Borodin: Polovtsian dances | Philip Ledger |
| 1997 | Haydn: Te Deum; Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requiem | Simon Halsey |
| 1997 | Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requiem; Hare: Sing to us | Ian Hare |
| 1998 | JS Bach: Magnificat; Mozart: Requiem | Philip Ledger |
| 1999 | Stravinsky: Symphony of Psalms; Orff: Carmina Burana | Philip Ledger |
| 2000 | Handel: Coronation Anthems; Beethoven: Mass in C | Philip Ledger |
| 2001 | Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius | Donald Hunt |
| 2002 | Carter: Benedictine; Taverner: Song for Athene; Haydn: Nelson Mass | Nigel Perrin |
| 2003 | Bernstein: Chichester Psalms; Lambert: The Rio Grande; Rodgers (arr. Hunt): With a Song in my Heart; Copeland: Old American Songs | Donald Hunt |
| 2004 | Verdi: Requiem | Philip Ledger |
| 2005 | Vaughan Williams: Te Deum in G; D Scarlatti: Stabat Mater; Liszt: Missa Choralis | Stephen Cleobury |
| 2006 | Karl Jenkins: The Armed Man; John Rutter: The Mass of the Children | Simon Wright |
| 2007 | Rossini: Petite Messe Solonelle | Nigel Perrin |
| 2008 | JS Bach: B Minor Mass | Simon Halsey |
| 2009 | Nielsen: Springtime in Funen; Carter: Te Deum; Britten: St. Nicolas | Simon Wright |
| 2010 | Fanshawe: African Sanctus; Hare: Cumbrian Canticle | Simon Halsey and Ian Hare |
| 2011 | Parry: I was Glad; Palestrina: Stabat Mater; JS Bach: Singet dem Herrn; John Rutter: Magnificat | Ian Hare |
| 2012 | Hare: Christ be with me; Handel: Coronation Anthems - Zadok the Priest, The King Shall Rejoice; Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requiem | Andrew Padmore |
| 2013 | Willcocks: Sing!; Chilcott: Salisbury Vespers; Rutter: Gloria | Bob Chilcott |
| 2014 | Bernstein: Chichester Psalms; Hare: Sing to us, you hills and valleys; Goodall: Eternal Light | Nigel Perrin |
| 2015 | Mendelssohn: Elijah | Andrew Padmore |
| 2016 | Jongen: Mass; Saint Saens: Requiem | Victoria Ely |
| 2017 | Rossini: Stabat Mater; Puccini: Messa di Gloria | Andrew Padmore |
| 2018 | Vaughan Williams: Dona Nobis Pacem; Jenkins: Requiem | Ian Wright |
| 2019 | Haydn: The Seven Last Words of Christ; Mozart: Requiem | John Butt |
