The choir of Oxford’s 12th-century Christ Church Cathedral is
500 years old and was first directed in the reign of King Henry
VIII by the distinguished Tudor composer John Taverner who was
appointed by Cardinal Wolsey in 1526.
Taking up over half of the playing time the principal work on
this CD is Vaughan Williams’ Mass in G minor. He composed
this setting of the Latin mass in 1922 around the time of his
appointment as Professor of Composition at the Royal College
of Music (RCM) and the conferring of an honorary doctorate at
Oxford University. The early 1920s was a period of inspiration
and success for Vaughan Williams with scores such as the Symphony
No. 3 ‘A Pastoral Symphony’ and the opera The
Shepherds of the Delectable Mountains and the première
in 1921 of The Lark Ascending for violin and orchestra.
The Mass in G minor is scored for unaccompanied SATB
soloists and double chorus. It is noteworthy for being written
in the traditional a-cappella English style of the
sixteenth century masses of Thomas Tallis and William Byrd.
Vaughan Williams dedicated the G minor Mass jointly
to his friend and fellow former pupil at the RCM, Gustav Holst
and the Whitsuntide Singers from Thaxted, Essex. It was the
City of Birmingham Singers that gave its first performance in
the non-liturgical setting of Birmingham Town Hall in December
1922. Under the direction of Stephen Darlington the choir show
considerable assurance with impressive timbre in the Kyrie
a movement with a dark undercurrent. The choir are fluent and
pliable amid the quick shifts of tempi in the Gloria
in excelsis. In the varied moods, textures and tempi
of the lengthy Credo the choir bathes the listener
in devout sentiment. A persuasive rendition of the Sanctus
remarkable for its contrast of tenderness against lofty peaks
of supplication features especially joyous singing from the
boys. Concluding the Mass is a deeply felt rendition
of the Agnus Dei. Throughout I was impressed by the
Oxford Choir’s engaged adherence to the sacred texts. This is
a most memorable performance that on balance I place on a par
with the outstanding recording by the Holst Singers directed
by Hilary Davan Wetton. Recorded in 1991 at St. Paul’s Girls
School, Hammersmith in London this is a cherished recording
of mine displaying a lovely blended tone and reverence. It’s
on Regis RRC 1135 c/w Elgar 7 Part-Songs.
Next come the Five Sacred and Secular Songs commencing with
the 1940 motet Valiant for Truth for unaccompanied
SATB mixed chorus. Here Vaughan Williams uses a secular text
from John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress. Naturally eloquent
the boys’ and men’s voices are prominent and display a wonderful
unity. The composer was 81 when he wrote his Christmas cantata
Hodie in 1954 from which the composer has taken the
two carols: The Blessed Son of God and No Sad Thought
His Soul Affright. The first is a setting of text by Miles
Coverdale after a Martin Luther hymn. It’s undemanding and highly
agreeable. Secondly, in No Sad Thought His Soul Affright
the choir’s voices blend with real refinement to a joint text
from an anonymous author and by Ursula Vaughan Williams. In
1921 Vaughan Williams wrote the substantial motet Lord,
Thou Hast Been Our Refuge, a setting of verses from Psalm
90. Here, set against the psalm text in the manner of a chorale,
is Isaac Watts’ version of O God, Our Help in Ages
Past to William Croft’s hymn tune St. Anne. The
choir freshly convey the dignified gravity of sacred inspiration.
A special favourite of mine, the brief yet splendid motet O
Taste and See marked Andante sostenuto, is performed
in its version for unaccompanied chorus with a solo treble.
A setting of a text from Psalm 3, verse 8, O Taste and See
was composed for the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster
Abbey in June 1953. During the Coronation service the choristers
directed by Sir William McKie sang the motet while the Queen
took Communion. A real highlight, right at the beginning, is
the glorious effect provided by the fleetingly short organ part
and the unnamed boy soloist with the subsequent entry of the
choir.
To conclude the release are the Three Shakespeare Songs
from 1951 that the composer dedicated to Cecil Armstrong Gibbs.
The first song, Full Fathom Five, a setting from The
Tempest, is notable for the unanimity of the singing. Next
the highly appealing songs The Cloud-Capp'd Towers
another setting from The Tempest and Over Hill,
Over Dale using text from A Midsummer Night's
Dream are splendidly rendered with considerable care and
affection.
Recorded in 1986 in the superb acoustic of Oxford’s Merton College
Chapel, Stephen Darlington directs assured and well prepared
performances. The purity of the boys’ voices stands out and
the precision of the choral ensemble is outstanding. The only
real drawback with this otherwise excellent release is the lack
of sung texts and we are not told which soloist is singing what.
This winning disc has been in the catalogue for quite some time.
It presents mainly sacred music by Vaughan Williams from the
Christ Church Cathedral Choir and is quite beautifully sung
and recorded.
Michael Cookson
Iain Simcock (organist)