Albums by The King’s
Singers are not normally the first place
one goes to find serious or religious
music. They are more familiar to their
audience as performers of popular and
folk songs or medieval and Renaissance
music, albeit often reinvented for their
particular idiom. On celebration of
their 25th anniversary, however,
they decided to show off. This album,
from beginning to end, is a display
of the group’s broad talents and musical
range. The concept is simple: take some
of the most well known and intense religious
music of the twentieth century, augment
it with other religious works commissioned
specifically for the a cappella sextet,
and see if the audience can be inspired
through the nearly-seventy minute musical
experience. It is a demanding program,
especially considering the limited size
of the ensemble. Also, considering that
they are better known for their lighter
music, the intensity and somber nature
of the material may be surprising. However,
this disc is rightly in the RCA Red
Seal/BMG Classics catalog, as it is
among the better albums that this group
has ever produced.
The initial notes are
perfectly selected for the opening of
this album. They are an a cappella
exclamation normally performed
by a large mixed choir harking back
to the medieval while still finding
resonance with the modern man. Considering
again that there are only six men in
this group, the Gorecki makes for a
bold opening selection. This work requires
a large sound. It is almost scary how
big the group of six sounds. The arrangement
is very well done, and although they
perhaps would have done better augmenting
themselves either with a supporting
choir or by recording extra tracks of
themselves, the intensity of the piece
is not lost and the performance is largely
successful.
The second work, "Piispa
Ja Pakana" was commissioned specifically
for this recording. According to the
liner notes, it is drawn from musical
documents and folklore to tell the largely
historical story of the death of a British
warrior and Christian missionary. Opening
with traditional plainchant and drawing
from Finnish pagan folk songs, it tells
the same story from both points of view.
The interposition of the different chanting
traditions on top of each other creates
a truly vital-sounding work that will
attract both fans of early music and
modern musical literature.
With the next two pieces
The King’s Singers briefly return to
the more-familiar. Stravinsky’s "Pater
noster" and "Ave Maria"
are normally performed by mixed-voice
ensembles, but here are quite admirably
performed by the all-male group. It
would be very difficult to find fault
in these interpretations. Those preferring
other recordings are expressing a preference
based solely on predilection for the
timbre of women’s voices in lieu of
the counter-tenor. As the origin of
both works is inspiration from the Russian
Orthodox tradition, later reinterpreted
through the Roman Catholic liturgy,
an all-male rendition is certainly appropriate.
Additionally, here it is as impressive
as it is distinctive.
The most intriguing
work on the album is Geoffrey Poole’s
Wymondham Chants. It is a four
movement modernization and reinterpretation
of fifteenth-century English carols.
The prologue "Ave, rex angelorum"
is melodic, though not particularly
soothing or regressive. The scherzo
"Tutivillus" certainly shows
modern influences such as Stravinsky
or Benjamin Britten. It is rhythmic,
yet ametrical, and certainly not melodic
in any traditional sense. The voices
are largely utilized as percussion instruments.
Truly this may be the most distinctive
point on the album, as the group is
clearly stepping beyond the traditional
realm of vocal music. This is a brief
exploration of non-traditional vocal
technique though. The third movement
is a prayer, "Mary modyr",
which returns to the melodic and introspective
sense that one would expect. This is
the point at which the piece is at its
most familiar. It is the movement which
sounds the most medieval. Finally the
epilogue, "Blessed Jesu" is
a harmonically rich ensemble piece that
sounds in turns reminiscent of French
impressionism, with all of the planning
and chordal complexity that implies,
and medieval plainchant with its open
octaves and perfect fifths providing
the extent of the harmonic vocabulary.
Again, according to the insert, the
inspiration was the ruined medieval
abbey of Wymondham in Norfolk. Apparently
the imagined experience of reconstructing
the roof and carvings inspired the process
of constructing the music, leaving the
ancient underpinnings while augmenting
and encapsulating the works with pieces
of the modern world. It is an apt metaphor
for the four movements regardless of
the actuality of the experience.
After the Wymondham
Chants the King’s Singers return
to familiar pieces with two selections
from the book of John Tavener. There
are few works that can match the solemn
beauty of the Funeral Ikos, based
on Greek Orthodox funeral sequences
for the burial of priests. While the
previous work may be the most intriguing
and distinctive, this selection is probably
the most moving. The counter-tenors
soar and balance against the four lower
voices in otherworldly fashion. This
is one of the best recordings that can
be found of this particular work. The
Lamb, also by Tavener, is again
remarkably well done and moving.
The five-movement Sermons
and Devotions by Richard Rodney
Bennett concludes the anthology. As
it was commissioned for this group,
debuted in recording on the original
pressing of this album, and eventually
chosen as the title work, it is clear
that this is a piece which the King’s
Singers hold in high regard. This is
not unreasonable as the exceptionally
flexible Bennett is actually able to
enhance the already moving poetry of
John Donne’s pen. Much of the text is
familiar, including the quite famous
line, "Ask not for whom the bell doth
toll; it tolls for thee ..." The atypical
tonal vocabulary that Bennett has developed
through his movie scores, symphonies,
concertos, operas, choral pieces, instrumental
works, and songs is fully utilized.
He stretches the rhythmic and harmonic
sensibilities of the performers. However
the singers do stand up to the challenge.
While obviously challenging from a technical
sense, there is not a note out of place
in tuning or time.
In summation, this
album represents solid work by an often
masterful group. If the listener thinks
that the King’s Singers best work is
Good Vibrations then this album
is probably not one that would be particularly
interesting. Although certainly approachable
and never avant-garde, these works are
of a more serious and challenging nature.
For a fan of choral or religious music,
however, the excellence of the music
and the enthusiasm of the performances
make for an album that I feel I must
recommend.
Patrick Gary
