RECORDING OF THE MONTH
Herbert HOWELLS (1892-1983)
Jubilate Deo (1967) [4:29]
Thee Will I Love (1970) [5:47]
The Winchester Service (1967) [10:25]
Rhapsody No. 4 (1958) [6:52]
Come, my soul (1972) [4:29]
Te Deum (1965) [12:02]
Coventry Antiphon (1961) [4:49]
A Flourish for the Bidding (1969) [3:20]
Antiphon (1976) [4:03]
The Fear of the Lord (1976) [5:46]
Exultate Deo (1974) [6:22]
Simon Bell (organ); Winchester Cathedral Choir/Andrew Lumsden
rec. 22-25 March 2010, Winchester Cathedral, U.K.
HYPERION CDA67853 [68:30]
A glance at the label, repertoire and performers is enough to tell us that
this disc will be a winner, and so it turns out to be. It seems almost impudent
to review it.
The title of the collection is “The Winchester Service and other late
works”. There are nine choral works, some with organ accompaniment,
and two pieces for organ alone. The music Howells composed towards the end
of his long life has been neglected, and even admirers of the composer will
probably find some new things here. His music became more uncompromising in
later life, with harsher dissonances and fewer allowances made in respect
of difficulty, either for the performers or the audience. What remains, however,
is the acute ear for choral and organ textures, the generous and eloquent
response to words, and that famous soaring quality that has so often been
described as ecstatic.
Typical of Howells’ later style is the Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis
he composed in 1967 for Winchester Cathedral. Pretty much gone are the harmonies
based on piled up thirds and sixths, to be replaced, in music no less grand
and sonorous, by a strangely potent mix of richness and austerity. The work
begins with a long passage for the trebles alone, and once the other voices
enter the music soon rises to considerable dramatic heights. The Doxology
(“Glory be to the Father”) of the Magnificat ends with a spectacular
cadence, and that of the Nunc Dimittis would seem to be heading in the same
direction, except that Howells reserves a surprise for us. Less immediately
attractive than the Services for King’s, St John’s or, one of
my own favourites, New College, Oxford, this is just as satisfying in its
own way, and is, like all the music on this disc, an essential element in
understanding the whole of Howells’ output.
From the same year comes a Jubilate Deo, composed for the Chapel Royal. I
had never heard this work before, and its startling originality and near-ecstatic
Doxology and final Amens were enough to make me play it again straight away.
Thee Will I Love, to words by Robert Bridges, a dramatic affirmation
of faith with a particularly ravishing final cadence, will be another welcome
discovery for many. The unaccompanied motet Come, my soul was dedicated
to Howells’ friend and Royal College of Music colleague Richard Latham.
The text, by John Newton, is another affirmation, the speaker serene in the
knowledge that Christ will welcome him into Heaven. Even so, it is the final
line that receives the full treatment: “Lead me to my journey’s
end” closes the work in quiet contemplation of that journey wherein
even those secure in their faith will feel apprehension at what lies ahead.
The Te Deum Howells wrote to celebrate the restoration of the church of St
Mary Redcliffe in Bristol is spectacular in scope, effect and the demands
made of the performers. One expects a shattering major chord finish, then
a minor chord seems to be on the way, but the composer adds another mysterious
minute or so to close the work with no third, major or minor, at all.
Another exquisite cadence, and music closer to Howells’ earlier style,
closes the Coventry Antiphon, composed for the consecration of Coventry
Cathedral. Not so Antiphon, composed for the Bach Choir and first performed
by them in 1977. Composed to George Herbert’s familiar words “Let
all the world in every corner sing”, this is Howells at his most uncompromising,
to the point that many might have difficulty recognising the composer in it.
It sounds fiendishly difficult too. The Fear of the Lord, despite its
title, reflects on that faith that brings “rejoicing”, “gladness”,
“a merry heart” and “a long life”. The first half
of the piece is forceful, but even more striking is the extraordinarily eloquent
second half, wherein the eighty-four year-old composer sets the words “Whoso
feareth the Lord…shall find favour in the day of his death.” The
programme closes with the gloriously festive Exultate Deo Howells composed
in 1974 for the enthronement of the Bishop of Lincoln.
Slightly allergic to organ music, I feel less qualified to comment on the
solo pieces. The Rhapsody is the last of a series of four, though the preceding
three were all composed in the second decade of the twentieth century. Where
the earlier pieces tend to be pensive, even pastoral in atmosphere, this one
is dramatic and striking. The spiky A Flourish for a Bidding is more
dramatic still. We learn from Paul Andrews’ excellent booklet note that
this last piece was composed in aid of the Royal College of Organists, and,
as the title might lead us to think, the manuscript was auctioned. The lucky
bidder was the publisher Novello, at £21, a remarkable bargain, one
might think, even in 1969.
The two organ solos are splendidly played by Simon Bell. Articulation, choice
of registration, the fabulous acoustic of Winchester Cathedral or all three
make for admirably clear textures, something my admittedly prejudiced ears
do not always find to be the case. The performances of the choral works are
quite simply beyond praise and require no further comment from me. The recording
is beautiful, bringing us fairly close to the choir whilst retaining a strong
sense of the building. For seasoned Howells admirers, and, with the occasional
health warning, for those beginning their Howells journey too, this disc is
an absolute must.
William Hedley
A superb, unmissable recital of Howells’ later choral and organ works.