Recently I gave a warm
welcome to the first volume in what
I believe is to be a three-disc series
review
vol 1. This second volume is even
more welcome since not only does it
maintain the very high artistic standards
of its predecessor but also the repertoire
net is cast more widely. Whereas the
previous disc featured the music of
Francis Poulenc and just two other twentieth
century French composers here works
by ten other composers are included
besides compositions by James MacMillan.
There are two works
by MacMillan. One of these, On The
Annunciation of The Blessed Virgin,
I had heard before. Indeed, only last
year I reviewed its first-ever recording
as part of a marvellous MacMillan disc
by Stephen Layton and Polyphony review.
Polyphony, of course, is an adult choir
whereas New College employ boy trebles.
I can say without hesitation that the
New College account need fear no comparison
with Polyphony’s recording. It’s very
fine indeed and some listeners may prefer
the additional edge that trebles bring
to the music as compared with sopranos.
The piece itself is quite superb. I
love the way MacMillan’s use of high
registers both in the choral parts and
in the organ accompaniment emphasises
the mystery of the event. As Samuel
Hogarth writes in his notes, what MacMillan
presents here is a "snapshot of
the Annunciation scene, strongly evoking
the sense of wonderment." Well
said! Hogarth rightly draws attention
to the "clear texture" of
the piece, which is splendidly realised
here. No less fine than the singing
is the playing of the crucial organ
part. Whichever of the organists is
playing on this track – this isn’t specified
in the documentation – achieves an arresting
sound before the climax at the words
"Allelujah, we adore". Then
the joyful, dancing organ part at the
very end sounds just like a bagpipe,
which surely this proudly Scottish composer
intended, but in the chosen registration
there’s also a very apt whiff of contemporary
French organ music at this point, I
find.
The other MacMillan
piece, Christus Vincit, is one
I’ve not heard before. MacMillan never
does the obvious. The short text of
this piece is triumphant, even triumphalist
in tone, yet at the start the music
is surprisingly calm and restrained.
Eventually the volume grows but overall
this strikes me as a calm and serene
meditation on and celebration of the
power of Christ. It’s music that makes
its effect through concentration and
cumulative growth. Particularly noteworthy
is the stratospheric solo treble part,
thrillingly sung by Sasha Ockenden
The only other composer
who has two pieces in the programme
is Jonathan Dove. I admired both. Ecce
Beatam Lucem sets a Latin text by
the sixteenth-century Italian, Alessandro
Striggio. As befits the subject matter
the music is fittingly luminous. As
for Into Thy Hands, in my listening
notes I’ve written "beautiful prayerful
setting" and I think that says
it all.
There’s a good deal
of music on this disc to which the adjective
"beautiful" might fairly be
applied. Among these are Robin Holloway’s
dignified setting of words by Robert
Bridges, Since I Believe, and
also Salve Regina by Gabriel
Jackson, which provides a lovely, pacific,
ending to the programme.
Julian Anderson’s O
Sing Unto The Lord makes a marvellous
start to the recital. This piece features
arresting yet accessible choral textures.
I would imagine that, like most of the
other pieces on this disc, it’s far
from easy to sing but the New College
choristers don’t make it sound difficult.
On the contrary, they give a confident,
convincing performance, which sets the
tone for the whole disc. Like most of
the music on the disc Francis Grier’s
A Prayer of St. Augustine was
new to me. However, I’ve greatly admired
several other choral pieces by him that
I’ve heard in the past and now this
one can be added to that list. After
a simple-sounding opening Grier skilfully
exploits a palette of rich harmonies
and I thought that this splendid piece
was a very eloquent response to the
words by St. Augustine, which provides
the text.
There’s considerable
variety in the music that’s included
here and though the emphasis is on music
written in the last fifteen years or
so it’s very good to see fine pieces
by two fine composers of the previous
generation, Peter Wishart and John Joubert,
getting a look in. Incidentally, the
Joubert piece was written for this choir,
as were the works by Tarik O’Regan and
Ryan Wigglesworth.
Throughout the whole
recital the standard of singing is absolutely
first class. Balance and tuning are
impeccable and the choir’s diction is
extremely good. I think it’s particularly
impressive to find young trebles negotiating
some fearsomely demanding music with
such aplomb, conviction and finesse,
a tribute in itself to the preparation
done by Edward Higginbottom. The recorded
sound is excellent, making the most
of the wonderful acoustics of Douai
Abbey. To round off an excellent production
the notes, in English, French and German
are succinct but most useful. Texts
and English translations are supplied.
This is one of the finest choral discs
to have come my way for some time. I
rejoice to find clear evidence that
so much high quality music is being
written for liturgical use by composers
of today. It’s an even greater cause
for celebration that this music is regularly
being performed at services in New College
Chapel – and by other choirs, I fervently
hope. I recommend this disc without
qualification or hesitation and I look
forward eagerly to the third and final
volume in this enterprising mini-series.
John Quinn
www.newcollegechoir.com
The Choir of New College Oxford/Edward Higginbottom
