EDMUND RUBBRA
Song of the Soul, Op 78; Four Mediaeval Latin Lyrics, Op 32; Inscape,
Op 122; Veni, creator Spiritus, Op 130; Advent Cantata: Natum Maria Virgine,
Op 136.
Stephen Varcoe (bar); Academy
of St Martin in the Fields Chorus; City of London Sinfonia/Richard Hickox
Chandos CHAN 9847 56:
21
Crotchet
The music of Edmund Rubbra first became known to record collectors when his
Second Violin Sonata, Fifth Symphony and Second Quartet were recorded - the
first two on 78s, but soon all three on early LPs. For me, and I think for
many others, the impact of Barbirolli's ten-inch LP of the Fifth Symphony
was one of those long-remembered musical turning points which forms ones
life-long musical taste. Certainly the Barbirolli Fifth is still on my
desert island list many many years later. Subsequently came those wonderful
Lyrita LPs, conducted by Handley and del Mar, still just available on CD.
And it is as an idiosyncratic symphonist for which Rubbra's admirers have
continued to revere him, as Richard Hickox's more recent championship of
Rubbra's music for Chandos has continued the focus on the symphonies. So
it was not until he coupled the choral ninth symphony with Rubbra's short
choral setting of The Morning Watch (Chandos CHAN 9441) were we reminded
that Rubbra was as much a choral composer as an orchestral one.
Now, here we have a splendid survey of Rubbra's later choral music, including
three world premiere recordings; Song of the Soul, Veni, creator
Spiritus and Natum Maria Virgine. Long-standing in the catalogue
has been the Virgin Classics version of Rubbra's Four Mediaeval Lyrics
with David Wilson Johnson's fine reading in a pioneering recording conducted
by Hans-Hubert-Schönzeler (VC7 90752-2 now on
EMI CDM5 66936-2). Enjoyable as that
version was, in many ways this new account has the edge, for the delightful
way Stephen Varcoe seems to identify with the music, grabbing our attention
with the vigour and brilliance of his first song, his more focussed baritone
giving the music an urgency and edge, in the Chandos recording's natural
acoustic. And, of course, Hickox is now soaked in the Rubbra idiom, and directs
compelling and vibrant performances in which he clearly believes.
The suite of delightful choral settings of Gerard Manley Hopkins with
accompaniment for strings and harp, for which Rubbra borrowed from Hopkins
his title Inscape, was first recorded by Decca many years ago, on
a cherishable LP (SXL 6281) with the Ambrosian Singers and the Jacques Orchestra,
in which the Rubbra shared the disc with music by Robert Still. No one who
is fortunate to have that recording will want to dispose of it, but for day
to day purposes it is now succeeded by Hickox's sensitively sprung view of
Rubbra, composer and performers responding to the felicities of some of Hopkins's
best-know texts, including 'Pied Beauty' and 'God's Grandeur'. Hickox and
his singers really capture the fervour and intensity of the words and Rubbra's
settings: the rhythmic drive underlying the paean of praise at the end of
'Pied beauty', the intensity of the meditation 'The Lantern out of doors',
the dancing interplay of strings and voices in 'Spring', the latter so
reminiscent of earlier Tippett.
For most Rubbra lovers, though, it is the three newly recorded pieces which
are surely going to be the focus of attention, and here we have at least
two really significant additions to the Rubbra discography. Song of the
Soul is a fervent setting of a well-known poem from St John of the Cross
translated by Roy Campbell, depicting the flame of religious love in terms
of human passion, and Rubbra's setting is given a suitably impassioned reading
by Hickox's choir. This music occasionally bring Rubbra's teacher Gustav
Holst to mind, such as at "Oh lamps of fiery blaze", and while the orchestra
is by no means technicolour, Rubbra's characteristic textures are all the
more effective for the occasional flash of colour like a Byzantine jewel,
bringing to mind those words set by Holst "my soul is nought by fire and
ice".
The motet Veni creator Spiritus, setting very familiar Latin words,
was written for a Promenade Concert in 1966, when it was conducted by the
composer Malcolm Arnold. Set for mixed chorus and brass, this is a work to
make a glorious sound in a big resonant acoustic, and possibly the Blackheath
Concert Halls, where this was recorded in August 1999, is not the location
to make the most of this aspect of such music. Nevertheless, this is nicely
done.
Also from the 1960s, comes the eleven-minute Advent cantata Natum Maria
Virgine, for baritone, chorus and chamber orchestra, first performed
in May 1968. It may only run 11minutes, but it has the aura of a big piece.
The four movements play continuously, building to a climax for baritone and
orchestra with the third - 'Acrostic Hymn' - sung in Latin, while the rest
of the text is in English. Here Adrian Yardley, in his excellent notes, points
out that each verse begins with successive letters of the alphabet from A
to G, the music following suit, the rising pitch underlining the growth towards
the climax underlined by bells. The final Chorale gives the chorus a sustained
opportunity for resounding singing, bring a rewarding little work to an
optimistic, indeed triumphal conclusion, though in typical style Rubbra cuts
off the peroration lest it become too overblown.
There is only one slight blemish on an otherwise exemplary disc: its rather
short playing time, in a world where CD programmes are regularly over 70
minutes. Other similar works by Rubbra are all comparatively short and one
more could easily have been accommodated. However, it is a great pity that
Rubbra's short choral works no longer appear on local choral society programmes,
and I hope this fine recording may encourage choirmasters as well as a wider
audience to investigate some lovely music.
LEWIS FOREMAN
Comparative recording: Martyn Hill (tenor),
David Wilson-Johnson (baritone)
