Situated in the attractive Suffolk town of Bury St. Edmunds, the
parish church, much of which dates from the early sixteenth century,
only became a cathedral in the 1960s. There is no choir school,
and the thirty or so singers rehearse and sing at services in
their own time, a considerable commitment. The choir broadcasts
regularly and has undertaken many tours abroad.
James Thomas
was appointed Director of Music in 1997 after studying in Cambridge
and Rouen, and previous professional engagements in Caen, Blackburn
and Chichester. Amongst other biographical information gleaned
from the booklet, we learn that his cat is named after the one
which features in Britten’s Rejoice in the Lamb, and
his dog shares his name with a famous comic literary hero. He
is a composer too, and this disc features six of his works.
Ecce sacerdos magnus was composed to commemorate the
retirement of the Bishop of St. Edmundsbury and Ipswich. It
is a ceremonial piece with a part for three horns in addition
to the organ, and features an attractive, recurring rising scale
figure. More interesting, to my ears, is O mundi pater unice,
an unaccompanied work which begins and ends with some deft writing
opposing two choral groups. The unaccompanied Sacerdos et
Pontifex puts to solemn but effective use three elements,
plainsong, homophonic choral writing and a solo baritone, well
taken by chorister David Sadler. Benedicite and Benedictus
are both lively, organ-accompanied liturgical pieces. The former
brings in the hymn tune Easter Alleluia, usually sung
to the words “All creatures of our God and King” and which Holst
used to telling effect in his setting of Psalm 148. All this
music is absolutely tonal and, the two latter works especially,
not especially original, though undeniably effective in a liturgical
setting. The short, unaccompanied and rather touching Bless,
O God most high, on the other hand, suggests that its composer
might well find his own voice if only he is given the time to
seek it out.
It was in the
Benedicite that the sound of the trebles slightly struggling
with rapid, high-lying phrases first made me realise that I
wasn’t listening to one of the country’s top-class cathedral
choirs. I decided, then, to listen to the one piece on the disc
which I was able to compare with other versions, Finzi’s splendid
anthem God is gone up. Alongside King’s College Choir
(1968 vintage, EMI) and St. John’s (2001, Naxos) St. Edmundsbury
lacks the last ounce of security. Attack is occasionally imprecise,
especially in the upper reaches. But this is a very marginal
thing, and most listeners would be unaware of it, I think, outside
of direct comparison. The performance is more cautious, especially
beside St. John’s, the tempo slower, but the decision to insist
on a sustained line results in an interpretation which is very
appealing and which loses very little in exuberance.
The choral writing
in Roxanna Panufnik’s Declare the Wonders is largely
homophonic over a florid organ accompaniment, perhaps with a
view to allowing the text to emerge clearly. The choir struggles
again somewhat in the trickier moments, but this only marginally
detracts from the pleasure of hearing the piece. Judith Bingham’s
impressive motets put humming tones to effective use, and sometimes
surprise the listener, the second motet defiant and powerful,
for example, rather than lachrymose as the text might lead us
to expect. With this disc, the Bulgarian composer Dobri Hristov
makes his first appearance in my collection with his short but
affecting piece which the choir learned for a tour to Sofia
in 2008. The disc ends affectingly with Rutter’s simple – and
quite characteristic – setting of God be in my head.
Most of the music
on the disc was composed especially for the choir and they sing
the whole programme with relish. Tuning is excellent, as is
blend and balance, though one might have hoped for more power
in the bass register from time to time. David Humphreys’ organ
accompaniments are exemplary, and the recording is excellent
even if, from time to time, I found it favoured the organ a
little too much. The booklet gives information on the performers
and includes full texts and short descriptive notes on all the
pieces. If the programme appeals the disc will bring much pleasure.
William Hedley
St. Edmundsbury Cathedral Choir/James Thomas 
