This festive CD was originally released on the ASV White Line
(CD WHL 2150) in 2003, and repackaged and reissued last year
by Champs Hill. It goes without saying that it is still widely
available on the internet, and doubtless will be for many Christmases
to come!
Though the CD itself does not advertise the fact, Plum Pudding
consists of a mixture of unaccompanied songs and readings. The
selection is generous and varied - "rich and well-spiced
fare", as the liner-notes put it - spanning four centuries
and mainly but not exclusively British in origin. This is also
a live recording, as becomes quite patent with the audience
laughter and applause during Dylan Thomas's 'Memories of Christmas'.
Felicity Lott's star billing - compounded by a double-page biography
in the booklet, as much as Woolf and the Joyful Company combined
- is understandable in marketing terms but unfair to prospective
buyers and to her fellow performers: she does not appear until
track 6, and then only sings on four or five tracks in all.
Most of the singing is multi-part and done - done beautifully
(though the 'Fith day of Christmas' is a bit of a jar)
- by the Joyful Company of Singers directed by Peter Broadbent.
Gabriel Woolf's acting talents are put to good use, and his
readings, though manifestly 'stagy', are likely to appeal to
all and sundry - with the possible exception of his rather luvvy
rendition of John Julius Norwich's dated 'Twelve Days of Christmas'.
His regional accents too, it must be said, are a little lacking
in authenticity: though he makes a reasonable attempt at a Northamptonshire
accent for John Clare's poem, his Swansea lilt for Thomas's
'Memories of Christmas' is a bit on the 'ropy' side, and his
vowels an approximation that locals may find comical. Similarly
his accent for the reading from the Wakefield Mystery Plays,
though poignantly done, is a generic northern one much favoured
by southerners.
The CD booklet has a brief note on every item, but that is about
as good as it gets: apart from the lack of dates and sometimes
even names attached to composers and arrangers, the absence
of song or poem texts is a big disappointment, and a puzzlement,
given that there are no obvious copyright issues. Track timings
are missing too, and the track-listing in small white text on
a bright red background pushes legibility close to the limits.
There are a couple of carnal typos as well, such as 'da
Victoria' and 'T S Elliot'. However, some leniency should
be shown at Christmas, and sound quality is very good, as it
almost invariably is at Champs Hill. This is a CD which, like
plum pudding, is best consumed at Christmas, but as festive
CDs go, it is certainly one of the most appetising.
Byzantion
Collected reviews and contact at reviews.gramma.co.uk
see also review by Ian
Lace
Track-listing
Trad. arr. Ralph Vaughan Williams)
Wassail Song
Tomás Luis de VICTORIA (1548-1611)
O Magnum Mysterium
William BYRD (c.1543-1623)
This Day Christ Was Born
Kenneth LEIGHTON (1929-1988)
Lully, Lullay
Rhian SAMUEL (b. 1944)
Jolly Wat the Shepherd
Max REGER (1873-1916)
Virgin Mary's Slumber-Song (arr. Peter Broadbent)
Peter CORNELIUS (1824-1874)
The Three Kings (arr. Ivor Atkins)
Samuel BARBER (1910-1981)
Twelfth Night
Francisco GUERRERO (1528-1599)
Virgen Sancta
Trad. arr. Andrew Carter
Esta Noche
Trad. arr. Walford Davies
The Holly and the Ivy
Trad. arr. Peter Broadbent
Deck the Hall
Trad. arr. Andrew Carter
The Twelve Days of Christmas
Franz Xaver GRUBER (1787-1863)
Silent Night
Readings: John Clare: 'December'; 'God’s Speech'
[from: The Wakefield Plays]; Anon: 'I Sing of a Maiden'; TS
Eliot: 'The Journey of the Magi'; Laurie Lee: 'Christmas in
Seville' (excerpt); Dylan Thomas: 'Memories of Christmas'; EV
Lucas: 'Christmas Decorations'; John Julius Norwich: 'The Twelve
Days of Christmas'; Capt. RJ Armes: 'Christmas Truce (A Letter)';
Leonard Clark: 'Singing in the Streets'
Felicity Lott (soprano) 
