Stanford is best known today for the choral music he wrote for the Anglican church. These includes some very fine anthems and motets as well as service settings. His music was much better than most of the church music that had been composed during the 19th century, so he helped to make British music better. He composed many pieces for music festivals: these include oratorios and cantatas as well as partsongs and solo songs. He also wrote a lot of orchestral and instrumental works. These often show the influence of Brahms and Schumann.