Hymnus Paradisi
is a core work of the English choral
tradition and, more to the point, much
loved. It inhabits realms of exultation
and exaltation. It is a concise and
quintessential concentration of elements
from the first section of Delius's A
Mass of Life and, slightly further
afield, from Rosenberg's Symphony No.
4 Johannes Uppenbarelse with
its rapturously pealing 'alleluias'
their own echo of Howells' Glory
is the True Light.
If a lachrymose and
not mawkish melancholy charatcerises
Hymnus Paradisi, a bluff
and bucolic voice radiates from A
Kent Yeoman's Wooing Song. Here
the exemplars are Vaughan Williams's
Tunning of Elinor Rumming and
My Pretty Bess (Five Tudor
Portraits) and the merry or serenading
episodes from Sir John in Love as
well as the Wedding Scene from
Patrick Hadley's The Hills.
We are spoilt for choice
with three mainstream labels offering
easy access to Hymnus. I have
discounted the deleted Carlton BBC Radio
Classics version and the Baltic version
on the Jade label. Each of the three
currently on the shelves is differently
coupled. Hyperion proffers the only
recording of the subdued English
Mass. The Willcocks on EMI Classics
(CDM 5 67119 2) is strongly paired with
Boult's thunderously declamatory 1974
recording of the Concerto for String
Orchestra.
Hyperion's version
is very cleanly recorded and is more
open and lucid in sound than the warmly
cloaked Chandos. It is good and Julie
Kennard's bell-like voice is to be preferred
to the animated Joan Rodgers whose tight
fast vibrato is certainly affecting.
Kennard really is joyously clear. Heather
Harper is a favourite singer (outstanding
in the Chandos recording of Hamilton
Harty's Ode and Children of
Lir) but perhaps her more mature-sounding
and fuller soprano - complete with controlled
wider vibrato will scare off some. The
best choral singing across the three
is that of Willcocks' Bach Choir and
Choir of King's College - listen to
the fluid way they negotiate the Requiem
Aeternam.
None of these versions
is poor - far from it. Willcocks is
however in analogue sound with a constant
discreet hiss. Tear's nasal tenor is
an acquired taste but this is one of
his best recordings. Rolfe Johnson sounds
richer-toned than John Mark Ainsley
yet Handley's Julie Kennard is not to
be missed.
All these discs are
generously packed with a delightful
pairing. The English Mass is
the lowest keyed. The Concerto for
Strings is superb in Boult's and
the LPO's hands. The Kent Yeomans's
Wooing Song is rare yet is the shortest
coupling. It shows a fascinatingly extrovert
facet to Howells' genius. It is also
the only recording as is the Hyperion/Handley
English Mass.
Pushed to make a recommendation
for the Hymnus alone I would
go for the Handley on Hyperion. Taking
a more composite hybrid judgement based
on coupling I would lean towards the
Willcocks. That's for today - tomorrow
I might easily go for the Hickox on
Chandos. It is after all a very fine
version with many strengths.
Rob Barnett
see also review
by Hubert Culot
Joan Rodgers soprano*†; Anthony Rolfe Johnson
tenor*; Bruce Ogston baritone† 
