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Vaughan Williams, Howells and Maxwell Davies: Katy Hill (soprano), Andrew Staples (tenor),  Alan Opie (baritone), Zsolt-Tihamér Visontay (violin), Winchester Cathedral Choristers (organist and Director of Music: Andrew Lumsden),  Winchester College Quiristers (Director of Chapel Music: Malcolm Archer), Bach Choir, Philharmonia Orchestra, David Hill, Royal Festival Hall, London, 27.11.2008 (BBr)

Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis (1910)

Vaughan Williams: Sancta civitas (1923/1925)

Howells: Cantata, Sir Patrick Spens (1917) (London première)

Maxwell Davies: A Birthday Card for Prince Charles (2008) (World première)

Vaughan Williams: The Lark Ascending (1914/19200

Howells: Te Deum (Collegium regale) (1944 revised and orchestrated 1977)


Hands up anybody who has ever heard Sancta Civitas live? That’s what I thought – not many. The fact is that this work, about which VW wrote, “I like it the best of my own choral works”, is so difficult, and so fully scored, that it takes a performance of supreme confidence and intelligence to bring it off. Most of us will know the piece from David Willcocks’s magnificent HMV recording made in the 1960s, and what an impression that made – this was a different VW to the one we knew from the Tallis Fantasia and the 5^th Symphony, a much more violent and destructive one. Likewise Sir Patrick Spens, which shows Howells to be the composer of music of some earthy, as opposed to visionary, power.

But what of these performances? I thought that with the inclusion of two purely orchestral pieces, necessary, of course, to give the chorus a rest, it felt as if someone had over–egged the pudding. On arrival at the RFH I discovered that another piece had been added to the show, by Maxwell Davies, and I had serious doubts about being able to last the course. I need not have worried for everything easily fell into place and the works were well placed.

Sancta civitas packs a lot into a little over half an hour and Hill drew passionate performances form his singers – especially exciting was the placing of the boys choirs at the top of the hall and their pure sound floated down to us, making their brief appearances all the more telling for their invisibility. Alan Opie, how good it was to hear him again, was a fine narrator and the small, but telling, part for tenor was beautifully done by Andrew Staples. Both soloists re–appeared, with Katy Hill, in Howells’s ballad, a fantastic creation of a sea voyage, complete with storm and disaster. It’s interesting how British composers have written some wonderful sea music – the Sea Interludes, of course, Bridge’s Suite, The Sea, and, best of all, McEwan’s Solway Symphony. Howells’s seascape can hold its own against any of these works and, difficult though it undoubtedly is, it should be heard more often for it could be a real crowd–pleaser. The problem was in both these works, and the short Te Deum which ended the show, was that Hill allowed his chorus to overwhelm the orchestra and, at times, the soloists. Thus Katy Hill’s small, but important, contribution was albut inaudible to me and Opie disappeared in section of Sancta civitas. Here, I feel, it would have been better to have used a more experienced conductor for Hill was too lax in keeping the choir under control and much interesting orchestral writing was lost. I kept wondering just how it would have been had we had Handley or Elder at the helm. This seeming lack of direction I felt even more strongly in the purely orchestral works. The Tallis Fantasia and Lark Ascending suffered from a weakness in attack and occasional reticence in entries due to imprecise direction. Like the real professionals they are the players made the best of the job but one couldn’t help feeling slightly dissatisfied with the finished performance. It’s one thing to achieve a fine performance in the recording studio – where balance can be controlled – but in a live concert more thought needs to go into the presentation of the music. Maxwell Davies’s new romp fared better. It’s one of his light pieces with hiccoughs being an Orkney dance, but with his usual lop–sidedness. It was most enjoyable.

At the start Hill paid tribute to Richard Hickox who passed away  last Sunday and dedicated the performance to his memory. This was an interesting programme but it was flawed and, because of this, the sound of the performances was muddled despite being obviously very well rehearsed.

Bob Briggs

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