MusicWeb International One of the most grown-up review sites around 2024
60,000 reviews
... and still writing ...

Search MusicWeb Here Acte Prealable Polish CDs
 

Presto Music CD retailer
 
Founder: Len Mullenger                                    Editor in Chief:John Quinn             


Some items
to consider

new MWI
Current reviews

old MWI
pre-2023 reviews

paid for
advertisements

Acte Prealable Polish recordings

Forgotten Recordings
Forgotten Recordings
All Forgotten Records Reviews

TROUBADISC
Troubadisc Weinberg- TROCD01450

All Troubadisc reviews


FOGHORN Classics

Alexandra-Quartet
Brahms String Quartets

All Foghorn Reviews


All HDTT reviews


Songs to Harp from
the Old and New World


all Nimbus reviews



all tudor reviews


Follow us on Twitter


Editorial Board
MusicWeb International
Founding Editor
   
Rob Barnett
Editor in Chief
John Quinn
Contributing Editor
Ralph Moore
Webmaster
   David Barker
Postmaster
Jonathan Woolf
MusicWeb Founder
   Len Mullenger

REVIEW


Advertising on
Musicweb


Donate and keep us afloat

 

New Releases

Naxos Classical
All Naxos reviews

Chandos recordings
All Chandos reviews

Hyperion recordings
All Hyperion reviews

Foghorn recordings
All Foghorn reviews

Troubadisc recordings
All Troubadisc reviews



all Bridge reviews


all cpo reviews

Divine Art recordings
Click to see New Releases
Get 10% off using code musicweb10
All Divine Art reviews


All Eloquence reviews

Lyrita recordings
All Lyrita Reviews

 

Wyastone New Releases
Obtain 10% discount

Subscribe to our free weekly review listing

 

 

alternatively
CD: MDT AmazonUK AmazonUS

A Year at Truro
Traditional
The truth from above (arr. Vaughan Williams) [3:02]
Paul DRAYTON (b. 1944)
The World’s Desire (2008) [3:30]
Traditional
Sans Day Carol (2009) (arr. Philip Stopford) [3:12]
David BEDNALL (b. 1979)
Noe, noe (2010) [3:12]
John Henry HOPKINS
We three kings (arr. Philip Stopford) [3:33]
Johannes BRAHMS (1833-1897)
Warum ist das Licht gegeben? [10:02]
Gabriel FAURÉ (1845-1924)
Ave Maria [4:05]
Anton BRUCKNER (1824-1896)
Christus factus est [5:48]
Arr. Charles WOOD (1866-1926)
This joyful Eastertide [2:34]
Gerald FINZI (1901-1956)
God is gone up [4:46]
Grayson IVES (b. 1948)
Listen, sweet dove [3:27]
David CHEETHAM (b. 1943)
Blessed be the Holy Trinity [2:34]
William WALTON (1902-1983)
The Twelve [11:27]
Edward BAIRSTOW (1874-1946)
Blessed city, heavenly Salem [9:47]
Jonathan DOVE (b. 1959)
Seek him that maketh the seven stars [6:43]
Choir of Truro Cathedral/Christopher Gray
Luke Bond (organ)
rec. 10-13 May 2011, Truro Cathedral DDD
Original texts and English translations included
REGENT REGCD377 [77:44]

Experience Classicsonline

Regent continue their valuable series in which cathedral choirs perform a programme of music that takes us through the major seasons and feasts of the church’s year, starting in Advent. We’ve already been to York (review) and there have also been visits to Winchester (REGCD372) and Southwark (REGCD376), though I’ve not heard those discs. Now the tour reaches Cornwall.
 
As I think is usual with this series the programme includes a number of pieces with specific connections to the cathedral in question. So, for example, the carols by Paul Drayton, Philip Stopford and David Bednall were all commissioned for the Truro Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, a service which, as is gently but firmly pointed out in the booklet, originated not at King’s College, Cambridge but at Truro as long ago as 1880. All three are very attractive offerings; the Bednall piece exploits the cathedral’s Father Willis organ to good effect while the Stopford arrangement of a traditional Cornish carol makes a pleasing alternative to the well-known Rutter version. Philip Stopford also contributes an arrangement of We three kings. I must say that I have a very strong aversion to this carol with its doggerel verse, especially if sung as a congregational item when it invariably drags. However, Stopford’s not-too-serious arrangement is an effective one and for once I actually enjoyed the piece.
 
There’s more serious fare in the shape of the searching pieces by Brahms and Bruckner. Brahms’ starkly exposed lines, especially those in the first part of the motet, are merciless on the singers. Generally the Truro singers cope well though this was one of a few items in the programme where I felt that sometimes the trebles’ pitching of notes was just a bit “in the crack”; with music like this there’s no hiding-place. The Bruckner motet, one of his very finest, was subject to the same flaw at times. However, whilst it’s fair to point this out one wouldn’t want to make too much of an issue of it; both performances are more than respectable.
 
The performance of Finzi’s splendid Ascensiontide anthem is a very convincing one. This is one of several occasions in the programme where in addition to committed singing we feel the full benefit of the cathedral’s organ, which is in the evidently capable hands of Luke Bond. I enjoyed Grayson Ives’s gently flowing anthem for Pentecost and also the nice, unassuming offering from local composer David Cheetham.
 
The last two items on the programme could scarcely be more different from each other. Bairstow’s expressive, romantic anthem is very well done. Christopher Gray and his choir convey the poetry as well as the grandeur of the setting and the beatific music of the final stanza is beautifully delivered. I was delighted to find Jonathan Dove’s keenly imagined Seek him that maketh the seven stars included in the programme and even more delighted that it is given an excellent performance.
 
The recorded sound is very good and the notes by the cathedral’s Precentor are ideal; here is a clergyman who understands the music as well as he understands the liturgy that the music accompanies. Aside from the one reservation I’ve mentioned the Truro choir acquit themselves very well indeed. This is another good instalment in what is becoming a valuable series.
 
John Quinn 

 

 

 


 


EXPLORE MUSICWEB INTERNATIONAL

Making a Donation to MusicWeb

Writing CD reviews for MWI

About MWI
Who we are, where we have come from and how we do it.

Site Map

How to find a review

How to find articles on MusicWeb
Listed in date order

Review Indexes
   By Label
      Select a label and all reviews are listed in Catalogue order
   By Masterwork
            Links from composer names (eg Sibelius) are to resource pages with links to the review indexes for the individual works as well as other resources.

Themed Review pages

Jazz reviews

 

Discographies
   Composer
      Composer surveys
   National
      Unique to MusicWeb -
a comprehensive listing of all LP and CD recordings of given works
.
Prepared by Michael Herman

The Collector’s Guide to Gramophone Company Record Labels 1898 - 1925
Howard Friedman

Book Reviews

Complete Books
We have a number of out of print complete books on-line

Interviews
With Composers, Conductors, Singers, Instumentalists and others
Includes those on the Seen and Heard site

Nostalgia

Nostalgia CD reviews

Records Of The Year
Each reviewer is given the opportunity to select the best of the releases

Monthly Best Buys
Recordings of the Month and Bargains of the Month

Comment
Arthur Butterworth Writes

An occasional column

Phil Scowcroft's Garlands
British Light Music articles

Classical blogs
A listing of Classical Music Blogs external to MusicWeb International

Reviewers Logs
What they have been listening to for pleasure

Announcements

 

Community
Bulletin Board

Give your opinions or seek answers

Reviewers
Past and present

Helpers invited!

Resources
How Did I Miss That?

Currently suspended but there are a lot there with sound clips


Composer Resources

British Composers

British Light Music Composers

Other composers

Film Music (Archive)
Film Music on the Web (Closed in December 2006)

Programme Notes
For concert organizers

External sites
British Music Society
The BBC Proms
Orchestra Sites
Recording Companies & Retailers
Online Music
Agents & Marketing
Publishers
Other links
Newsgroups
Web News sites etc

PotPourri
A pot-pourri of articles

MW Listening Room
MW Office

Advice to Windows Vista users  
Questionnaire    
Site History  
What they say about us
What we say about us!
Where to get help on the Internet
CD orders By Special Request
Graphics archive
Currency Converter
Dictionary
Magazines
Newsfeed  
Web Ring
Translation Service

Rules for potential reviewers :-)
Do Not Go Here!
April Fools






Error processing SSI file