John SANDERS
(1922-2003) Tomorrow shall be
my dancing day [2:21]
Franz GRÜBER,
arr. Blatchly Silent Night
[3:06]
Michael HEAD
(1900-1976) The Three Mummers
[3:57]
C16th French
tune, harm. WOOD Ding dong!
merrily on high [1:55]
Patrick HADLEY
(1899-1973) I sing of a Maiden
[2:26]
John GOSS
(1800-1880) See amid the winter`s
snow [4:06]
Peter ASTON
(b. 1933) There is no rose [2:57]
French Trad,
arr SANDERS Whence is that
goodly fragrance flowing? [3:34]
John TAVENER
(b. 1944) The Lamb [2:49]
Graham HYSLOP
A carol of praise [2:37]
H J GAUNTLETT
(1805-1876)
arr Willcocks Once in royal
David`s City [2:06]
English Trad,
arr SANDERS Blessed be that
maid Mary [2:33]
Gerald HENDRIE
(b. 1935) As I outrode [1:38]
Herbert HOWELLS
(1892-1983) Sing lullaby [3:33]
John SANDERS
Carol for Today [2:12]
German tune,
harm. J. S. BACH (1685-1750)
O little one sweet [2:56]
Eng. Trad,
arr SULLIVAN/WILLCOCKS It
came upon a midnight clear [2:19]
Kenneth LEIGHTON
(1929-1988) Hymn of the Nativity
[6:42]
Henry WALFORD
DAVIES (1869-1941) O little
town of Bethlehem [3:06]
John IRELAND
(1879-1962) A New Year Carol
[1:12]
There’s an old saying
that you shouldn’t judge a book by its
covers and sometimes that applies to
CDs too. When I saw the booklet cover
of this disc I’m afraid its design and
title led me to assume that this would
be "just another collection of
favourite carols." Well some of
the old favourites are there, to be
sure, but there’s enough novelty in
the programme to spice things up nicely.
When I came to live
in Gloucester in 1986 Dr. John Sanders
was already long established as Director
of Music at the Cathedral – though in
those days I think the title was simply
Organist – he’d been in post since 1967
(and had been Assistant Organist there
between 1956 and 1963.) He served the
cathedral with distinction until his
retirement in 1994 and though I never
knew him personally he was a very popular
and highly regarded figure. This disc
gives a welcome reminder of the fine
work that he did with the cathedral
choir.
It also demonstrates
his skill as a composer and arranger.
His version of Tomorrow shall
be my dancing day opens proceedings.
It’s a most effective setting, in which
the music truly dances, propelled by
a strong rhythmic impulse. The melody
is a fine one too. The booklet prints
eleven verses – as used in Holst’s magnificent
setting of the same text – but only
the first four are sung here and I’m
unsure if this is all Sanders set or
whether an abridged version has been
recorded. I also liked Carol for
Today, which sets a thoughtful text
to a good tune. The Sanders arrangement
of Whence is that goodly fragrance
flowing? is discerning and sympathetic
and Blessed be that maid Mary,
while it may not break any new ground,
is in the best traditions of English
choral music.
Among the items that
may be less familiar Michael Head’s
The Three Mummers is most enjoyable.
This little piece demonstrates Head’s
characteristic melodic felicity and
his empathy for words. Peter Aston’s
There is no rose is an atmospheric
piece which goes off into some unexpected
and interesting harmonic directions.
The same description might be applied
fairly to Leighton’s Hymn of the
Nativity, which is the most complex
piece in the programme, and a very fine
one. The unnamed treble soloist has
a demanding part to sing and he delivers
it with distinction and, indeed, the
whole choir does this difficult piece
very well. No such recital from Gloucester
Cathedral would be complete without
some Howells and I’m delighted that
the lovely Sing lullaby has been
chosen rather than the ubiquitous A
Spotless Rose, much though I love
the latter piece. Sanders’ choir sings
Sing lullaby with evident dedication.
The tried and trusted
items give pleasure too. The arrangement
of Silent Night is by Mark Blatchly,
who was, I believe, Mark Lee’s immediate
predecessor as Sanders’ assistant. It’s
a skilful arrangement though I’ve never
quite understood why, after setting
the first two verses in English, he
switches to German for the last stanza
– and it’s printed in English in the
booklet. O little town of Bethlehem
finds a deserved place, too, but it’s
nice to find Walford Davies’ lovely
tune is employed for a change – another
excellent treble solo in verse three,
by the way. And to complete the roster
of treble solos, there’s a fine example
at the start of Once in royal David`s
City, which Sanders takes at a nice
flowing tempo.
But for all the excellent
settings on this programme, nobody does
it better than Bach. His harmonisation
of the old German tune, known to us
in English translation as O little
one sweet, is a gem and it’s beautifully
performed here.
Throughout the recital
the singing of the choir gives a good
deal of pleasure. The blend isn’t always
perfectly homogenous – some male voices
stand out at times – but this is by
no means a major issue and the quality
of the singing is a fine tribute to
the skill of John Sanders as a choral
trainer. Mark Lee, who was at that time
the cathedral’s assistant organist,
contributes some excellent accompaniments.
The acoustic of Gloucester Cathedral
is a very reverberant one but the engineers
have done a good job. Both choir and
organ are well reported and the acoustic
adds to the ambience.
This very good recital
of seasonal music is most enjoyable.
Happy Christmas from Gloucester!
John Quinn
Gloucester Cathedral Choir/John Sanders
