Paul CARR (b.1961)
Requiem for an Angel (2005-6) [45:57]
‘i thank you God for most this amazing day’ (e. e. cummings) (undated) [9:42]
‘Holding the Stars’ (Carr) (2009) [5:51]
‘Now Beauty Comes’ (Carr) (2009) [4.44]
Sophie Bevan (soprano), Mark Stone (baritone)
Chorus Angelorum; The Bath Philharmonia/Gavin Carr
rec. 23-24 August 2010, St Jude-on-the-Hill, London. DDD
STONE RECORDS 5060192780048 [71:37]
Paul Carr is at pains to point out that he is not a writer of ‘light’ music.
He would regard himself as a ‘lyrical’ composer who considers that tunes and
largely conventional - but not predictable - harmonic language and formal
principles are an important part of his musical language. There was a time
when this approach to composition was frowned upon: when it was regarded as
being beneath contempt. In those days, it seemed, the less enjoyable a work
was the more profoundly it was regarded by the cognoscenti. I am not averse
to the music of the ‘serialist’ persuasion and certain of the avant-garde
from the last half of the twentieth century, but I will always rate Finzi
above Lutyens – at least from the music’s ability to move me, if not its technical
competence.
Developing from this antithesis between ‘lyrical’ and ‘art’ music was the
tendency to despise any work that relied on the influences of a composer from
certain previous eras or traditions. Without doubt, it was fine to claim inspiration
from Schoenberg, Webern, or Messiaen: it was regarded as passé to rely on
the musical ethos of an Elgar, a Rachmaninov or a Brahms. It was just not
done. Yet there have been many composers of great worth in British musical
history that have bucked this trend. One needs only think of William Lloyd
Webber and his gorgeous late-late romantic soundscape, or perhaps Percy Whitlock
and his massive Rachmaninovian Organ Symphony. Coming closer to the
world of this present CD, we have had two fine ‘popular’ Requiems from Andrew
Lloyd Webber and John Rutter, both of which have caught the public imagination
in a big way. And then there was the Liverpool Oratorio by Sir Paul
McCartney! Paul Carr has developed this approachable ‘classical’ music style
to a high degree.
The present Requiem was conceived as a tribute to the composer’s mother Una
Hale. She was from Australia and was highly regarded in the 1950s and 1960s
as a principal soprano at Covent Garden. Carr has touchingly stated that writing
this work ‘afforded me the opportunity of expressing my love and gratitude
through music and words to a woman who had given her life to music, to her
family, and given me everything.’
Two things need to be understood about the Requiem for an Angel. Firstly,
it is not a straightforward setting of the words from the Roman Missal. I
doubt that it would be used at a mass for the dead. This is not because the
composer has in any way destroyed the meaning and spiritual content of the
liturgy, but he has added texts of his own devising and some culled from the
works of saints and poets. This is exactly the approach taken by Johannes
Brahms in his masterpiece, the German Requiem. However Paul Carr has
retained much of the Mass text, the main omission being the Dies Irae,
the Day of Wrath. St Teresa of Avila and Arthur William Symons provide words
for a choral setting, but perhaps the most moving text are two lines from
Emily Dickinson – ‘The World feels dusty/when we stop to die’. A touch of
genius I feel, on Carr’s part. The fine poem ‘Do I love you?’ By the American
poet Jack Larson is an interesting touch. Quoting the composer, ‘with the
arguments over the acceptance of homosexuality in the Church, I also wanted
to include this essentially gay love song as an expression of my belief that
were Jesus alive today, he would embrace us all, as one.’ Food for thought,
indeed!
The second point to bear in mind is that the music is essentially listenable,
from the first note to the last. It may be easy to detect references and allusions.
Most listeners will feel that Gabriel Fauré’s masterpiece is never too far
away. Maurice Duruflé is there to a lesser extent. But my argument to anyone
criticising this ‘debt’ would be ‘So what!’ Paul Carr has written a frankly
popular work – witness the fact it has been taken up by Classic FM. He has
created a sound-world that is not Brahms, Fauré, Duruflé or anyone else: but
it follows a trajectory of romantic word-setting of liturgical texts that
lies along the line of development of those above named composers. In that
sense it is a major achievement. It manages to succeed as a work of art, and
most important of all it deeply moves the listener. It is never, ever pastiche.
Three short choral works make up the remainder of this very beautiful CD.
The setting of e.e. cummings ‘i thank you God for most this amazing day’ is
a minor masterpiece. It is dedicated to the composer’s father. ‘Holding the
Stars’ is a short work for unaccompanied choir utilising words by the composer;
it is a near-perfect combination of words and music. Finally Paul Carr commemorated
his sojourn in Mallorca between 2004 and 2009. He regards this as a ‘song
of farewell.’ At the end of this period, he left the island, ended a long
personal relationship and accepted the need to move professionally in a new
direction. This is a heartbreakingly lovely choral work that certainly brought
a tear to my eye. One thinks of Stanford’s ‘Bluebird’ and Sullivan’s ‘The
Long Day Closes’ as similar achievements in choral writing – and that is no
mean comparison. It is a poignant and fitting conclusion to a stunningly beautiful
CD.
On the details of the recording, the performance absolutely matches the quality
of the music. The sleeve notes, by Paul Carr, are extremely helpful and give
the listener a good understanding of the man and his music. An excellent introduction
by the composer with a sample of the music to this work can be seen and heard
on YouTube.
This CD will speak strongly to all those who love choral music at its very
best. This is a performance that entertains, sometimes challenges and most
importantly of all, moves the soul and gives encouragement and solace to the
spirit.
John France
see also reviews by John
Quinn and Rob Barnett
Entertains, sometimes challenges and most importantly of all, moves the soul
and gives encouragement and solace to the spirit.