Gramophone – September 2019

gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONESEPTEMBER 201993

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Stephen Layton

Theconductorreflectsonhislifelongloveofthe

choralmusicofGeraldFinzi,anditsenduring

powertomoveperformersandlisteners

Yourprogrammecloseswith

Lo,thefull,inalsacriice.Do

youseethisastheculmination

ofFinzi’schoralwriting?

Yes,I thinkthisis theinestof

allFinzi’schoralsettings.It has

a complexorganpartwhich

I learnedtoplayfora special

serviceinKing’sCollegeChapel.

In 1988 thechoirsofKing’sand

StJohn’sCollegescombinedinourchapel

tosingthisanthemunderthedirectionof

DrGeorgeGuest.I revelledinhisintense

passionforthismusic.GeorgeGuestsaid

inrehearsal,inhislaconicway:‘It is notany

oldsacriice,butonethatis bothfullandinal’,

biddingeveryonetophraseina manner

thatwasalmostbeyondthepowersof

speechinthefaceofRichardCrashaw’s

awesomedescription.

Doyoufeelthere’sa timelessquality

toFinzi’schoralmusic?

Absolutely.AsI returntothismusic,no

longera carefreechoirboyinWinchester

Cathedral,orevena slightlymorecareworn

Cambridgeorganscholar,I amthoughtful

whenI read,‘OdearMemorialofthatDeath,

whichlivesstillandallowsusbreath’.

Crashaw’stextandFinzi’smusicareas

oneastheyconjureuptheredemptive

poweroflove.Whatis it aboutthatinal

‘Amen’belovedbysomanysingers?Why

doesit alwaysseemtobringustoour

knees?It glidesalongwithanextraordinary,

etherealbeauty,butintheclosingseconds

hasa momentaryharmonicquestion

mark– a doubt– butthenultimatelyit

indsitspositivemusicalanswerintheinal

chord,orasCrashawpoeticallysays,‘Rich

Royalfood,bountifulbread,whoseuse

deniesustothedead’.

WhatirstdrewyoutoFinzi’smusic?

It startedwhenI wasa child.AscensionDay

1977:thesoundofthetubastopontheorgan

is heardandwithin 15 secondsevery

choristeris givingeverylastounceofenergy,

almostshouting,‘Godis goneup’.Earlierthat

day,wehadalreadyexcitedlyclimbedtothe

topofthecathedraltowertosingStanford’s

Coelosascendit, butit wasthispieceofFinzi

thatI andmyfellowchoirboyswerereallyon

irefor.Whatanextraordinarilylife-givingand

energisingtimethatallwas.Inthemid-1970s,

MartinNearydirecteduschoristersinthe

irstperformancesofTavenerandHarvey

(I lovetheLord,MagniicatandNuncdimittis),

someoftheirst‘baroque’BachPassionswith

theAcademyofAncientMusic,Bruckner’s

E minorMass,Stravinsky’sSymphonyof

Psalms. Andyes,inthesameelevatedlist,

themusicofGeraldFinzi,wholater,while

a Cambridgestudent,I heardrather

disdainfullyreferredtobya facultymember

asa composerwhowaspartofthe‘English

cowpatschoolmuchcelebratedinLyrita-

land’.(Lyritabeingthepioneeringrecording

labelthatissuedthissortofmusic.)

Trinityattheirabsolutebest)butalsoin

itsshapeandprogramming.Anall-Finzi

recitalsoundsstraightforwardenough;

butinopeningwiththeMagnificatand

closingwiththemonumentalanthem

Lo,thefull,finalsacrifice,StephenLayton

transformsitfromacollageintoacycle.

Wemovefrombirthtodeath,

IncarnationtoCrucifixion,from

theanticipationoftheAnnunciation

tothefulfilmentoftheEucharist.

Thecomposer’ssecularmusicisalso

carefullyfoldedintothissacrednarrative.

Thefragilityandbrush-awayslightness

ofFinzi’sRobertBridgessettingsand

thepart-song‘White-floweringdays’

comeintotheirownhere–portraits

ofaworldalreadyrecedingintothe

distance,theCalvaryCrossrisingup

intheforeground.

Hemayhavegivenusconcertosand

anthems,cantatasandchambermusic

butFinziis,aboveall,asongcomposer.

TrinityandLaytonneverletyouforget

thatinperformancesinwhich 30 voices

singasone,wherecollectivestatements

becomeprivate,lyricutterances.There’s

alightnesstotheunisons(arecurring

Finzigesture)andanorganic,blossoming

qualitytothecounterpointthatgivesthese

choralworksafirst-personimmediacy.

Whichmakesitallthemorestartling

whenthecongregationdoesburstin,

remindinguswhereweare.

Youhavetohearthefilmy,rhapsodic

lightnessoftheHenryVaughansetting

‘Welcomesweetandsacredfeast’to

reallystartleatthearrestingopening

of‘Godisgoneup’(wherethechoirare

joinedbyTrinityBrass,ledbynoless

thanDavidBlackadderontrumpet)–

atrickLaytonplaysagainbycutting

fromthebrillianceofthelithe,ecstatic

‘Whereforetonightsofullofcare’into

thesober,muttereddarknessofLo,the

full,finalsacrifice.

Finzi’sMagnificatfamouslylackseither

aGloriaoranansweringNuncdimittis.

RatherthanuseHolst’sfamiliarsetting

ofthelatter,Laytoninsteadgivesus

David Bednall’s graceful 2016 setting.

It’s a work with too much of its own

voice for straight pastiche, but which is

absolutely steeped in Finzi’s language –

an affectionate, serious musical homage

that takes the composer as a jumping-off

point for its own lovely invention. Along

with the beautiful cover art – an image of

Gloucester Cathedral’s Finzi Memorial

Window – and excellent booklet notes

by Francis Pott, it’s just another bonus

from this outstanding release.

Alexandra Coghlan

Handel

Brockes Passion, HWV48

Ana María Labin, Johannette Zomer sops

David Erler counterten Rupert Charlesworth,

Sebastian Kohlhepp tens Tobias Berndt bar

NDR Chorus; Göttingen Festival Orchestra /

Laurence Cummings

Accent F (two discs for the price of one) ACC26411

(151’ • DDD • T/t)

Recorded live at the Stadthalle, Göttingen,

May 25, 2017

VOCAL REVIEWS

PHOTOGRAPHY:

KEITH SAUNDERS PHOTOGRAPHY