As a glance at the track-listing will indicate, this is a wide-ranging
programme. It appears to offer a good representation of the
varied musical fare to which Benjamin Nicholas ensures his young
singers are exposed. It certainly gives them a broad musical
education. One thing seems evident from the results that we
can hear on this disc: the boys love singing. Throughout
the programme enthusiasm and commitment are abundantly in evidence.
Enthusiasm will only get you so far, however. Happily, the fifteen
treble members of Tewkesbury Abbey’s Schola Cantorum collectively
have excellent voices, good musicianship and sound technique
as well so the musical results on this disc are very good.
We hear several very good soloists during the programme but
there’s one exceptional voice among the choir in the shape of
Laurence Kilsby. The year before this recording was made he
was, at the age of eleven, BBC Radio 2’s Young Chorister of
the Year for 2009 and it’s not hard to see why from the several
solos that are allotted to him. The one that particularly caught
my attention was the very first item on the disc, Quilter’s
lovely song Music, When Soft Voices Die. Laurence Kilsby
makes a strong impression right from the start, producing a
rich, round sound – there’s no hint of shrillness, even though
he has some fine top notes. But what strikes me particularly
is the intelligence with which a twelve-year old addresses the
music. Kilsby doesn’t just get through the notes, he offers
a genuine and mature interpretation of the song. I also enjoyed
his account of the other Quilter song and, needless to say,
more regular treble fare, such as the first verse of John Ireland’s
lovely anthem or the Bach/Gounod piece, is grist to his mill.
I hope this young man develops into an equally good adult singer
when his voice breaks.
It will be seen that there are some pieces in the programme
that one is accustomed to hearing treble choirs sing but I applaud
very strongly the good leavening of modern music in the selection.
The pieces by Arvo Pärt and by Philip Wilby – both of them
well executed – are excellent; the Wilby piece is charming.
Gabriel Jackson’s The Land Of Spices must present
a real challenge to young singers. Not only is the wide-ranging
vocal line very demanding – and though the Tewkesbury boys cope
valiantly it sounds as if they find the music a bit taxing at
times – but also the words, by George Herbert, are far from
straightforward. It’s a very interesting piece and I think the
choir does well to put it across as successfully as they do.
There’s also a short, but characteristically interesting vocal
offering from James MacMillan. I’d not previously heard either
Dutch Carol or the organ piece that MacMillan wrote for
his own wedding but I enjoyed both. It’s also good to hear this
fine composer, who usually writes in a very serious vein, composing
somewhat lighter music.
As well as directing the choir very well Benjamin Nicholas contributes
two instrumental solos. One is the aforementioned MacMillan
piece while the other is the item by Howard Skempton, which
is a piano solo. I’m afraid I found the Skempton to be a dreary
piece, which doesn’t really seem to go anywhere. In general
Paul Baxter’s recorded sound is up to its usual high standard
on this disc though I was a little disconcerted from time to
time because it seemed to me that sometimes the sound of the
piano, when accompanying singers, was clouded a little in the
resonant acoustic of Merton College Chapel. Oddly, however,
I didn’t notice this during the Skempton piece.
When the singers are accompanied their support comes either
from Helen Porter, Director of Music at Dean Close School, Cheltenham,
where the boys are educated, or from organist Carleton Etherington,
who is the organist at Tewkesbury Abbey. Both make admirable
contributions.
Returning to the singing, the boys’ renditions of the three
Vaughan Williams items all give great pleasure. I had mixed
feelings about some of their American offerings, though all
are well sung. Copland’s simple, sincere arrangement of At
The River is a success but I didn’t think the Bernstein
song works at all as an item for a group of trebles. In the
booklet we read that this was one of the encores on a 2005 American
concert tour. It may have worked satisfactorily in that context
but I don’t care for it as something to listen to repeatedly
on disc. On the other hand, I was fearful that Barber’s great
song, also an encore piece from that same US tour, would not
sound right, but it does and the boys sing it very well.
The very last piece in the programme is entitled How Can
I Keep From Singing? That is a rather fitting conclusion;
it sums up the evident joy these boys have not only in singing
well but also in singing for sheer pleasure. It’s a very good
way to round off a happy disc.
John Quinn
Track listing
Roger QUILTER (1877-1953)
Music, When Soft Voices Die [1:45]
Arvo PÄRT (b. 1945)
Vater Unser [2:36]
Henry PURCELL (1659-1695)
Fairest Isle (Address To Britain)[2:17]
Roger QUILTER (1877-1953)
Love’s Philosophy [1:41]
Gabriel JACKSON (b. 1962)
The Land Of Spices [5:35]
Howard SKEMPTON (b. 1947)
Whispers [3:49]
Léo DELIBES (1836-1891)
O Salutaris Hostia [2:39]
John IRELAND (1879-1962)
Ex Ore Innocentium [3:20]
Philip WILBY (b. 1949)
The Flower [3:12]
Richard Rodney BENNETT (b.
1936)
A Song At Evening [3:31]
Johann Sebastian BACH (1685-1750)/Charles
GOUNOD (1818-1893)
Ave Maria [2:42]
Henry PURCELL
Nymphs And Shepherds [1:44]
James MACMILLAN (b. 1959)
Dutch Carol [1:38]
Trad. (arr.Ralph
VAUGHAN WILLIAMS (1872-1958))
I Will Give My Love An Apple [1:37]
Linden Lea [2:30]
Dirge For Fidele [3:27]
Leonard BERNSTEIN (1918-1990)
Somewhere [2:39]
Samuel BARBER (1910-1981)
Sure On This Shining Night [2:39]
Robert LOWRY (1826-1899),
arr. Aaron COPLAND (1900-1990)
At The River [2:28]
John TAVENER (b. 1944),
arr. Barry ROSE (b.
1934)
The Lord’s Prayer [2:27]
James MACMILLAN
Wedding Introit [3:08]
Patrick HADLEY (1899-1973)
I Sing Of A Maiden [2:15]
trad.,
arr. Percy GRAINGER (1882-1961)
Skye Boat Song [2:49]
Robert LOWRY
arr. John SCOTT (b. 1956)
How Can I Keep From Singing? [4:01]
The trebles of Tewkesbury Abbey Schola Cantorum/Benjamin Nicholas
