Trad.
English, arr. P. HALLEY
What Child Is This? [3:28]
13th
century, arr. P. HALLEY
Angelus Ad Virginem [3:23]
13th
century, arr. A. CARTER
Angelus Ad Virginem [3:08]
Appalachian
melody, arr. P. HALLEY
Jesus, Jesus, Rest Your Head [3:10]
Trad. French,
arr. K. LEIGHTON
O Leave Your Sheep [4:36]
Ralph VAUGHAN
WILLIAMS (1872-1958)
The Blessed Son of God [3:07]
Trad. English,
arr. S. PRESTON
I Saw Three Ships [1:53]
Tomás
Luis DE VICTORIA (1548-1611)
O Magnum Mysterium [3:13]
Paul HALLEY
(1952)
Agnus Dei [1:51]
Trad. English,
orig. arr. J. STAINER, arr. P. HALLEY
The First Nowell [4:28]
Sergei RACHMANINOV
(1873-1943)
Bogoróditse Devo [3:15]
Trad. English,
arr. P. HALLEY
It Is Winter Now [3:00]
Melody from
Piae Cantiones, arr. P. HALLEY
Good King Wenceslas [3:14]
John TAVENER
(b.1944)
A Nativity [3:10]
John IRELAND
(1879-1962)
The Holy Boy [2:48]
Trad. English,
arr. VAUGHAN WILLIAMS
O Little Town of Bethlehem [3:28]
John WARLOCK
(1894-1930),trans.
A. CARTER
Lullaby My Jesus [3:08]
Trad. Irish,
arr. P. HALLEY
Beannacht Leat A Mhuire [2:08]
Trad. English,
arr. P. HALLEY
Infinite Light [2:49]
African-American
Spiritual, arr. P. HALLEY
Go Tell It On The Mountain [3:17]
Trad. American,
adapt. & arr. P. HALLEY
Watt’s Cradle Hymn [3:55]
I must confess that
the title of this CD conjured up yet
another collection of Yuletide perennials,
which, like some Christmas puddings,
can be nice and fruity but potentially
stale. But — tidings of great joy —
I couldn’t have been more wrong!
Paul Halley was born
in England and grew up in Canada. His
pedigree is impressive, having been
awarded an organ scholarship at Trinity
College in Cambridge where he studied
composition and performance and won
first prize in his examinations. He
was later Organist and Choirmaster at
St. John the Divine in New York City
and a principal member of The Paul Winter
Consort. He currently lives in Connecticut
from where he multi-tasks as conductor,
composer, arranger and teacher, of sacred
music.
There are reasons why
this matters. For starters, one can
appreciate his seminal experience in
choral music while at Trinity College:
Both choirs, Chorus Angelicus (children’s
choir), and Gaudeamus (adult ensemble),
sing with the precision and clarity
that is a hallmark of the English choral
tradition. Having said that, they sound
relaxed and at ease, without ever losing
reverence for the religious settings
of most of the pieces. Another reason
is that Mr. Halley arranged more than
half of the works on this disc, and
the results are innovative, even unexpected,
but never strident or narcissistic.
The Agnus Dei on track 9, firmly grounded
in early church music yet harmonically
contemporary, is his own composition.
I like this collection
for the vast span of time it covers
and the unusual variety of sources and
countries from which it draws. I also
enjoy the unexpected pieces: From Spain,
instead of the ubiquitous "Riu,
riu, chiu" we hear Victoria’s "O
Magnum Mysterium" (O, Great Mystery),
a responsorial chant from the Christmas
Matins, reminiscent of Tallis’s Tunes
for Archbishop Parker’s Psalter; From
the Russian Orthodox Liturgy, Rachmaninov’s
Bogoroditse Devo (Rejoice, Virgin Bearer
of God) is an unusual and welcome addition;
And from Ireland, the traditional "Beannacht
Leat A Mhuire", (Praise to you,
O Mary), is a beautiful blessing at
any time of year.
The accompanying booklet
has credits and all the words, but —
and this is my only minor complaint
— there is no information about the
pieces themselves, which is too bad
in such a varied and unique collection.
Miguel Muelle
Chorus Angelicus and Gaudeamus/Paul Halley
(music director, organ) 
