alternatively Crotchet

Many composers of the 17th and 18th centuries wrote music for special occasions. These works are mostly performed as isolated pieces divorced from their proper context. That is understandable, as many of the elements of a certain ceremony can hardly be reconstructed. Often we just don't know enough about the elements of a ceremony and the particular compositions which were part of it. Sometimes we are lucky: people attending ceremonies were making notes and if they were especially interested in music these notes can give clues as to which music was performed and even how. This disc attempts to reconstruct the ceremony of the coronation of James II in 1685.

The reconstruction is mainly based on a book by Francis Sandford, who attended the Coronation in his capacity as Lancaster Herald. He gives a detailed account of the preparations and the ceremony, which was printed in a large number of copies. Unfortunately for him James' Catholic leanings led to his downfall, and as nobody wanted to be associated with James, Sandford's book didn't sell that well. But to us it gives interesting information about the music performed, even though Sandford's information isn't always correct and is sometimes rather confusing. There are also gaps in the information which means that creative solutions are required.

Not every piece which was performed during the ceremony was composed specifically for the occasion: like William Child's anthem 'O Lord, grant the King a long life', which opens the disc. The next anthem is Purcell's 'I was glad', but here the performer has two choices: Purcell wrote a verse anthem and also a full anthem which was formerly attributed to John Blow and only later believed to be written by Purcell. Robert King, in the programme notes to his recording of Purcell's sacred music (Hyperion), thinks the latter version was the one performed during the coronation ceremony, considering Sandford’s reference to a 'full anthem'. For several reasons Andrew Gant thinks it is more likely that the verse anthem was performed. In this respect he states that Sandford's descriptions are not always reliable and contain several provable errors.

There is no reference as to what music the Litany was sung, but Gant thinks Tallis's setting is the most likely possibility, so here a number of verses from that setting are performed. According to Sandford the hymn was sung to a setting by William Turner, but no setting by him exists, so this remark is interpreted as referring to a chant, of which Turner composed several. Henry Lawes's anthem Zadok the Priest, written for the coronation of Charles II in 1661, is incomplete: only the bass part of the instrumental symphony has been preserved, and Andrew Gant has added instrumental parts of his own.

William Turner's anthem 'The King shall rejoice' is a setting written for the coronation of Queen Anne in 1702. It is used here since Turner's setting for the coronation of 1685 is lost. Andrew Gant suggests that the 1702 setting is an arrangement of the one of 1685. True or not, this is an example of the creativity which is necessary to realise a reconstruction like this. In the case of William Child's 'Te Deum' the performer has again to make a choice from the several settings which have come down to us.

The pieces by Blow and Purcell which conclude this disc are among the best-known works by their respective composers, and they are specifically mentioned by Sandford. These and Purcell's verse anthem 'I was glad' have been recorded before, of course, but most other pieces on this disc are probably first recordings. Even if some of them were recorded before, their performance here as part of this reconstruction makes them a welcome addition to the catalogue.

As I find this concept very interesting, illuminating and well realised, I would have liked to be more positive about the actual performance, but I'm afraid I can't. One really needs a certain amount of tolerance to listen to this disc.

The Choir of the Chapel Royal is not of Britain’s best. I find the sound of the trebles unpleasantly sharp, and the voices blend rather poorly. When the trebles sing with the men – two altos (with a third in both pieces by Child), two tenors and two basses, called 'Gentlemen-in-Ordinary' in the booklet – the blending is even further off. The men also sing the solo parts. The trio of James Bowman, Andrew Tortise and Maciek O'Shea in Purcell's 'I was glad' is particularly unsatisfying, as Bowman uses hardly any vibrato, but the two others use it in quantity.

There are some intonation problems in the choir's treble section in Blow's anthem 'God spake sometime in visions'. In William Child's 'Te Deum' the synchronisation of voices and instruments is patchy. I have also heard Purcell's anthem 'My heart is inditing' done a lot better than here: the symphony which opens the piece is rather lacklustre and flat. The instrumental ensemble is very small in comparison to the number of players involved in the ceremony in 1685. In his programme notes to the recording of anthems by Blow (Winchester Cathedral Choir and The Parley of Instruments - Hyperion) Peter Holman writes that the anthem 'God spake sometime in visions' "was performed with large forces, including the complete Twenty-four Violins" (the royal string orchestra). That is quite different from the ensemble used on this disc, consisting of just two violins, one viola, cello and organ - with two cornetts and sackbut.

The only reason for buying this disc is the opportunity to hear the music in the context for which it was written. Musically the result of the reconstruction is rather disappointing.

Johan van Veen

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