Gramophone – September 2019

gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE SEPTEMBER 2019 101

Tchaikovsky’ssetting

oftheLiturgyhasa

fundamentalplace

inthehistoryof

Russiansacredchoralmusic.Itwas

publishedin 1879 byJurgensonwithout

theauthorisationofthecensorsofthe

RoyalChapel,somethingthathad

beenindispensablesincethetimeof

Bortnyansky,andthusopenedtheway

forcomposerstomoveinnewstylistic

directions,especiallywithregardtothe

RussianOrthodoxChurch’smusicalpast.

WhileTchaikovskyhimselfwouldlater

workmoreseriouslywithearlychant,the

Liturgyisfreelycomposed.Itisaworkof

tremendousrichness,withmanymemorable

moments;IdonotthinkIknowamore

impressivesettingoftheTrisagion,for

example,andtheCherubicHymnechoes

inone’smindlongafterithasfinished

sounding.Andechoiswhatthisrecording

does:Kl,avaisutterlyunafraidtochoose

veryslowspeedsformanyofthesections

ofthework,butneveroncedoeshelose

sightofthestructureorletgoofthe

dramatictensionwhichissomuchapart

ofTchaikovsky’smusic,evenhisliturgical

settings.TheLatvianRadioChoirare

superbinthisrepertoireandthedecisionto

includethe‘cues’ofthepriestanddeacon

isaverygoodone:ittiesthewholework

togetherandremindsthelistenerthatthe

dramahereisplacedwithinaliturgical,not

aconcert,context.Inaddition,thechoir’s

dictionissuperb:Idonoteverremember

hearingthelongtextoftheCreedso

clearlyarticulated.

TocomplementtheLiturgy,Kl,ava

hasaddedtheNineSacredChoruses,

writtenin1884-85,whichincludesomeof

Tchaikovsky’sfinestmusic.Therearethree

settingsoftheCherubicHymn,threeother

settingsfortheDivineLiturgy(Tebepoem,

DostoynoestandtheLord’sPrayer),Da

ispravitsyamoyafromtheLiturgyofthe

PresanctifiedGiftsandtwosuperbmotet-

likeworks,Blazhenniyazheizbralfromthe

memorialserviceandNinesilinebesniya,also

fromtheLiturgyofthePresanctified.The

LatvianRadioChoirsingthemallwith

passionateintensity,andtheengineering

isofexemplaryclarity.IvanMoody

‘MessesdeBarcelone

etd’Apt’

‘SacredVocalMusicfromthe14thCentury’

AnonymousMessed’Apt.MessedeBarcelone

interspersedwithhymnsandmotets

EnsembleGillesBinchois/ DominiqueVellard

EvidenceFEVCD060(64’• DDD• T/t)

Thisprogrammeis

builtaroundtwoMass

settingsandtwo

manuscriptsthought

topreservepolyphonicmusicfromthe

PapalliturgyatAvignonaround1400.The

firstMassistheMessedeBarcelone:while

notacyclicMass,itcontainstwotroped

movements,GloriaandSanctus,which

createapleasingsymmetryarounda

substantialCredo(tantalisinglylabelledas

by‘Sortes’).Performinginacombination

ofvoices,viellesandgittern,Ensemble

GillesBinchoiscultivateanattractively

unhurried,broodingquality;particularly

inthehymnlikeKyrie,whichshowcases

therichvocalqualityofthesingers.

Comparedwitharelativelyrecent

performancebyCapelladeMinistrers

underCarlesMagraner(CdM,8/15),

thisisaconservativebutsensitiveoffering.

TheGloriahasanicelyvariedtexturewith

surprisinglymellifluoustropesgivenover

tocountertenorandvielles.TheCredois

performedwithalternatinggroupsoflower

voices,emphasisingthegravitasofthis

largecentralmovement.Characterisedby

gentle,reedycountertenorsandbright,

lighttenors,thisensemblehavelotsof

vocalpersonality;theykeepphrases

buoyantwhilegenerallyavoidingan

accelerationtowardsthosedelightfully

angularArsNovacadences.

ThesecondMassisamodernassemblage

fromtheAptmanuscript,anideaborrowed

fromoldscribalpractices.Herethereisa

tropedKyriewithfabulousflowingphrases

takenbycountertenor,afterwhicharetwo

namedmovementsbyDepansis(Gloria)

andTapissier(Sanctus),composersabout

whomweknowfrustratinglylittle.

Finally,turningtothemotets,

deVitry’sCollajugo/Bonaconditstands

outforDominiqueVellard’sgentlypaced

instrumentalperformance.Remembering

thesprightly,chattering(vocal)recording

bySequentia(DHM,1/92),withitstop

voicebubblingoverwithafast-moving

text,theseperformancesbyEnsemble

GillesBinchoisaredeterminedlyunfussy

comparedtotheexciting,freneticstyle

oftenassociatedwithdeVitry.EdwardBreen

‘ThePillaroftheCloud’

‘FiveCenturiesofOxfordAnthems’

L BerkeleyOthatI oncepastchangingwere

HarrisBringus,OLordGodHarwoodOhow

gloriousisthekingdomLeightonLetallthe

worldineverycornersingNicholsonOpray

forthepeaceofJerusalemParryCrossingthe

BarRoseLord,I havelovedthehabitationof

thyhouseRubbraThereisa spiritSheppard

TheLord’sPrayerStainerLead,kindlylight

TavernerChristeJesu,pastorboneTomkins

AlmightyGod,thefountainofallwisdom

WaltonA LitanyWeelkesWhenDavidheard

ChoirofMagdalenCollege,Oxford/

MarkWilliams

OpusArteFOACD9045D(61’• DDD• T)

Appointed music

director at Magdalen

College, Oxford, in

2017, Mark Williams

is only now making his fi rst statement with

the choir on disc. ‘The Pillar of the Cloud’

is a mixed recital that pays tribute to

Oxford’s many composers, whether

graduates – Weelkes and Tomkins or,

more recently, William Walton and

Lennox Berkeley – or those with longer

professional associations such as William

Harris, Leighton, Parry and Rubbra.

There’s some wonderfully, unfairly

unfashionable repertoire here. What a

joy to fi nd Basil Harwood, Rubbra and

Magdalen’s own Bernard Rose here

alongside more core Oxbridge choral

fare. Magdalen’s sound has always had

an unmannered, forthright quality to it,

something Williams celebrates in the

jagged, ecstatic dance of Leighton’s Let

all the world and the surging unison swell

of the Harwood.

The trebles’ naturally bright tone

illuminates Berkeley’s O that I once past

changing were but is turned deftly down to

achieve the softer blend of Parry’s Crossing

the Bar and Sheppard’s setting of the Lord’s

Prayer. The extended opener Lead, kindly

light is nicely paced and calibrated for

drama, with an outstanding solo from tenor

Maximilian Lawrie, while Rubbra’s There is

a spirit puts the fi ne treble Thomas

Pennington-Arnold in the spotlight.

There’s real generosity, directness and

energy from these singers, but that can just

sometimes work against them. Walton’s

A Litany lacks, for me, that spare edginess

that can bring out both its extraordinary

harmonies and the text’s fragile exhortation

(though the basses give a wonderful

anchor), while the Rubbra feels just

a little too earthy, lacking that cloudy

impermanence, that sense of the ‘spirit’

that animates the verse.

The tradition may be a long one but

Williams, who recorded this at the end

of his fi rst year in post, is still just at

the beginning with Magdalen. It will be

interesting to see where he takes the choir

and its sound over the next few years.

Alexandra Coghlan

VOCAL REVIEWS

PHOTOGRAPHY:

GIULIA PAPETTI