The major figure on this disc is Pelham Humfrey (1647–74), who is represented by seven anthems, though four of them are very brief, the shortest works on the disc. Two of his larger works, O Lord, my God (which leads the program) and By the waters of Babylon were on Nicholas McGegan’s Humfrey disc (16:5), and the shorter Wilt thou forgive that sin (also known as a hymn to God the Father) has been recorded more than a few times. The only anthem credited to John Blow (1649-1708), I will hearken, seems to be a first recording, one of two dozen symphony anthems that he wrote for the Chapel Royal. Henry Cooke (c. 1615–72), not to be confused with several Cookes who lived in other eras, is missing from every catalog I checked, so the two anthems here seem to be the first recordings of the composer. William Turner (1651–1740) is listed here only because he contributed to the “Club” Anthem (I will always give thanks), a piece of juvenilia composed by three young singers at the Chapel Royal. Judging by style, Humfrey wrote the beginning and the largest share, Turner wrote the bass solo that follows, and Blow wrote the rest. Turner is known for The king shall rejoice, written for the coronation of James II, a work that has been lost, though Simon Preston substituted another work for it in his recording (11:1).

The three principal names have more than this in common, for they were the first three masters of the choristers of the Chapel Royal after the Restoration. Training a dozen boys after the tradition had been interrupted for 11 years would have been difficult, but Captain Cooke simply went around and drafted the ablest boys from the country’s choral foundations. When he died in 1672, Humfrey succeeded him and married his daughter, but he lived only two years longer. Blow followed for the next 35 years. The anthems heard on this disc combine solo verses and choral sections with symphonies, lengthy interludes played by a consort of violins (there are only four here, with two theorbos and organ), replacing the sackbuts and cornets of earlier times.

O Lord, my God certainly deserves pride of place here, but Put me not to rebuke and O Lord, thou hast searched me out demonstrate that Cooke, his teacher, laid the foundation for the Restoration school of composition, for half of the dozen boys that started under him in 1661 made names for themselves. This is an unusually well-made collection, sharply focused in content, and beautifully sung and played in The Sixteen’s familiar style. The verse soloists are gratifying, a contrast to the embarrassing work sometimes heard from cathedral choirs that record this repertoire. An earlier disc of this kind (it also included O Lord, my God, though Purcell and Locke furnished most of the contents) was a similarly titled Erato LP by John Eliot Gardiner. (The notes here seem to quote all of the same contemporaries as Gardiner cited.) This is the finest survey of the Chapel Royal since that issue.

FANFARE: J. F. Weber

Inspired by Haydn's trips to England, where he first heard Handel's oratorios, The Creation is widely considered Haydn's crowning masterpiece. Set for three vocal soloists, four-part chorus, and a large Classical orchestra, there seems little doubt that Haydn wanted a big sound (by the standard of his day) for this work. Based on both the biblical Book of Genesis and Milton's Paradise Lost, the oratorio was premiered in the US by the Handel and Haydn Society in 1819. Harry Christophers says: "Haydn's music is always a joy to perform but with The Creation he excels himself, allowing soloists, chorus and period orchestra to revel in vivid word painting, both vocal and instrumental. Can there be a more consistently happy work than The Creation? Feel free to smile at his genius." Handel and Haydn Society is America's oldest continuously operating arts organization.

-----

REVIEW:

An exceptional account of the oratorio from all points of view. What is wholly exceptional is the diction of both soloists and choir; you can hear every word without referring to the text printed in the booklet.

­– BBC Music Magazine

PENDERECKI Hymne an den heiligen Adalbert 1. Song of the Cherubim 2. Canticum Canticorum Salomonis 3. Kosmogonia 4. Strophen 5 • Antoni Wit, cond; 4,5 Olga Pasichnyk (sop); 4 Rafa? Bartmi?ski (ten); 4 Tomasz Konieczny (bs); 5 Jerzy Artysz (spkr); 1,3-5 Warsaw PO; 1-4 Warsaw P Ch • NAXOS 8.572481 (57:18)


Naxos’s Penderecki releases have been of very good quality, but have tended to jumble together music in wildly different styles. The present release is no exception, going backwards chronologically from the Hymne an den heiligen Adalbert (1997) to Strophen (1959), which was composed when Penderecki was in his mid-20s. One would be forgiven for guessing that at least two different composers, perhaps more, were at work here. In the 1970s, thanks in large part to Hollywood, I was turned on to “old” Penderecki, and had a difficult time accepting the changes his style underwent from that point onward. Now that I am gaining maturity (ha!), I’ve become more open-minded, and if “new” Penderecki is not as innovative and striking as “old” Penderecki, the level of workmanship remains very high, and a distinctive voice remains, albeit a different one.


Having said that, I think this disc is most welcome for the presence of the last two, and oldest, works listed in the headnote, because they have been elusive on CD—in fact, I am not sure they have appeared on CD until now. The first (and only?) recording of the creepily beautiful Kosmogonia (1970) appeared on the Polskie Nagranie/Muza and then the Philips labels. The conductor was Andrzej Markowski, and the soloists were Stefania Woytowicz, Kazimierz Pustelak, and Bernard ?adysz. That recording, if you can find it, remains attractive, as it has a warmth and an emotional quality not quite matched by Wit’s, which seems a little clinical. As I recall, like Naxos, it does not print the work’s texts (which are “in copyright”), but I think the texts dealt with the creation of the universe and ended with . . . was it a quotation from Neil Armstrong? Maybe someone will help me out here. I have Strophen on a Polskie Nagranie/Muza LP (with Canticum Canticorum Salomonis ) and I am glad to replace it with this new version, even though I prefer Stefania Woytowicz to Olga Pasichnyk. The texts are taken from Menander, Sophocles, the Books of Isaiah and Jeremiah, and Omar Khayyam, and if their stagey narration makes Strophen seem a little dated, one has to appreciate the work’s daring, if nothing else.


Canticum Canticorum Salomonis (1973) slightly predates Penderecki’s Magnificat , and listeners will appreciate their stylistic proximity, particularly in the aggressive choral writing. Song of the Cherubim (1986) is much more reined in, with little to remind one of the composer’s avant-garde experimentation 15 years earlier. It is, nevertheless, a fine work, whose stern spirituality speaks for itself. Hymne an der heiligen Adalbert references a bishop who was martyred, in the 10th century. The stark but impressive brass and choral writing play off each other to good effect. This is much closer to Górecki than “old” Penderecki; it’s even (gasp) tonal. Still, it’s tough and demanding in its own way, and I don’t think anyone could reasonably suggest that Penderecki lost his nerve as he passed through middle age—he simply became more appreciative of tradition.


The Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir, whether they are conducted by Wit or someone else, can be depended upon to bring authenticity and fire to Penderecki’s music. Despite my preference for Markowski’s Kosmogonia , I really have no reservations about these performances. In fact, this Canticum Canticorum Salomonis is the most impressive I’ve heard, eclipsing the composer’s own recording on EMI. (Wit’s slower tempos emphasize the music’s sensuality.) Texts, with the exception of Kosmogonia , are available online. I am looking forward to hearing what Wit does with the Magnificat.


FANFARE: Raymond Tuttle

While during most of the 16th c. vocal polyphonic music had steadily focused on a four-part structure, around the 1570s the number of parts underwent a remarkable increase, particularly in sacred music, all over Italy. A typical example is the Concerti by Giovanni Gabrieli, published 1587, and one of the cornerstone works of the second half of the 16th c. The structure of these pieces is not particularly complex. Their appeal consists chiefly in the pursuit of grandeur, the dynamic play of choral masses, the restless rhythm of the chord sequences and the search for a sound rich in harmonics.

These early Baroque songs are an outstanding selection of dance forms, chaconnes, and passacaglia, which all honor the Iberian musical art. The composers featured here, Andrea Falconieri and Filippo Coppola, both served as master of the Royal Music Chapel of Naples during the early 17th century. This fresh interpretation offered by the Cappella Musicale di San Giacomo Maggiore in Bologna and the choir of the Accademia dello Spirito Santo in Ferrara shines with their informed historical performance practice.

Founded in 1988 by artistic director Francisco J. Núñez, the Young People's Chorus of New York City is an internationally renowned multicultural youth chorus with a reputation for superb virtuosity and brilliant showmanship. Transient Glory is a series conceived by Núñez in 2001 to spotlight the YPC as a creative source of inspiration for the works of the world's leading composers. For the superb third collection from this series, composers Terry Riley, Meredith Monk, Michael Gordon, John Corigliano, Paquito D'Rivera and Bora Yoon were commissioned by YPC for performances that form another rich chapter in their groundbreaking repertoire.

Gerald Finzi's choral music never has achieved popularity on the level of works by composers such as Stanford, Vaughan Williams, or Elgar, and in general this is because by comparison it's not as well-organized, the inner structural details aren't as carefully developed, and the balance of text with musical ideas isn't as facile. As a result, many of Finzi's choral pieces sound just a bit labored, a bit more difficult than they need to be, the structural edges a bit rough, the overall concept unpolished. Just listen to any of Finzi's partsongs against, say, Stanford's motet Beata quorum via or Elgar's As torrents in summer, or Finzi's Lo, the full, final sacrifice next to Vaughan Williams' Toward the unknown region, and you'll see what I mean.


Not that Finzi is a careless or inept craftsman. Rather, in his vocal music he is a wonderful miniaturist (just listen to his exquisitely wrought 10 children's songs or to his fine solo songs with piano, for example--not included here) whose more expansive efforts just tend to have an unfinished quality that's often allied to an excessively text-bound style that hinders the flow of such pieces as the Magnificat and the anthem Welcome sweet and sacred feast.


And that's too bad, because Finzi's works are packed with beautiful moments, lovely melodic snippets, and delightful quiet sections followed by thrilling climaxes. All of those things are present among these pieces, which provide an excellent introduction to this composer's choral oeuvre. In spite of its structural faults the Magnificat remains a powerful and interesting piece--and the cathedral anthem Lo, the full, final sacrifice is bound to rouse any congregation or audience with its grand singing and organ accompaniment. The seven partsongs are not particularly memorable, for all their effortful dramatic qualities.


Nevertheless, the singing on this disc is very fine--of course, this is a choir that you can count on to have such repertoire down cold--and it's always impressive to hear trebles sing with such solidity of tone and brilliant, never harsh, high notes, perfectly blended and balanced with the lower voices. While there are times that some choral sections stand out a bit too prominently, the organ is exceptionally well recorded. If you're interested in Finzi's choral music, you won't go wrong here--however, if you want the sound of an adult mixed choir in this same repertoire (with a few additional selections), very beautifully recorded, try the reference disc, with the Finzi Singers on Chandos.
--David Vernier, ClassicsToday.com

REVIEW:

Almost every year a first rate choir records a traditional program of sacred Christmas music--and this year it looks as if it's the Choir of Trinity Church, Wall Street's turn. The ensemble and its excellent organist certainly uphold the standard set years ago by their British counterparts, particularly those at the various Cambridge University colleges--King's, Trinity, and St. John's, to name the more notable. And even though this New York City church can't boast as many centuries' existence as those revered English institutions, there is something especially charming about the fact that it hosted the New World premieres of both Messiah and the hymn Silent Night, the latter performed by a Tyrolean ensemble on Christmas Eve, 1827.

For those familiar with the famed King's College Choir carol services, the programming here will ring a few bells, from the opening, processional-style Once in Royal David's City to the closing Hark! the Herald Angels Sing. In between are one after another of the now-standard Christmas carol, hymn, and anthem selections in their best-known settings--Peter Cornelius' "The Three Kings", Patrick Hadley's "I sing of a maiden", David Willcocks' arrangement of "Of the Father's heart begotten", Philip Ledger's arrangement of the "Sussex Carol", William Mathias' "A babe is born", Gustav Holst's "Lullay, my liking", the English hymnal harmonization of "O come, all ye faithful", the Vaughan Williams/Forest Green version of "O little town of Bethlehem", and a lovely Ledger a cappella setting of "Silent night".

The choir sings with warmth, precision, purity of articulation (you can hear every word), and great care in balance and blend. There is one thing however in which the choir failed: as much as they tried (according to director Owen Burdick) to "not sound British", they do, but in the very best way possible--beauty of tone, clarity of diction, and fully committed, sincere singing. Yes, Americans can do these things too. And as for this umpteenth program of already well-represented pieces, the fact is, those who love Christmas and singing (and how can these not go hand in hand?) never tire of this music, these lovely, characterful, joyous, hopeful tunes--and this recording and its fine performances capture them all as well as any choir ever has. The sound gives a realistic impression of the church's acoustic space while giving ideal clarity and depth to the singing. [10/17/2001]
--David Vernier, ClassicsToday.com

"This release heralds a new association between Opus Arte and the Magdalen College Choir, Oxford, under its director, Daniel Hyde Dietrich Buxtehude's Membra Jesu Nostri is considered to be the first Lutheran oratorio Renowned soloists include John-Mark Ainsley and Robin Blaze Features Gramophone Award-winning instrumental group Phantasm"