This is a thoroughly charming CD. Recitals such as this tend
to be unique by the composition of the programme rather the
content itself. So it proves here. All of the repertoire is
well known and easily available on a mixture of other CDs. Yet
for sheer quality of execution and musicianship this new disc
must be considered the equal of most. John Rutter's justly famous
There is Sweet Music - English Choral Songs 1890-1950
disc from Continuum with his Cambridge Singers sets the standard
for this type of recital and although the engineering now sounds
less appealing than some the content and execution remains a
touch-stone for excellence.
I had not heard the choir Musica Beata before and they are yet
another group to have sprung from the fertile musical soil of
the Oxford and Cambridge universities. Certainly they share
with other similar choirs a beautifully blended and refined
tone allied to a sensitive awareness of the text. The liner
lists just thirteen singers; three to a part in the standard
SATB division with a fourth bass. None of the music is rare
but all is a pleasure to hear again. Moeran's Songs of Springtime
open the disc and gives it its title. This seven-song cycle
is Moeran's tribute to the Elizabethan madrigalists. The texts
are all taken from that time, yet set with just enough bittersweet
harmony to show its 20th century roots. They are an acknowledged
masterpiece in the genre and receive an excellent performance
here. As mentioned the choir are fully sensitive to the nuances
of the music and text but this never tips over into an overly-arch
or knowing manner. I would count this the most satisfactory
of the three versions I know - the Finzi Singers on Chandos
(as part of a Moeran/Warlock recital which importantly includes
Moeran's other cycle Phyllida & Corydon) and the
City Chamber choir on BMS who add some very interesting Benjamin
and Leslie Howard. All three performances are fine in their
own right but Musica Beata shade the field.
The inclusion of all three Op.18 part-songs by Elgar is welcome
although they are not a 'set' as such. If the scale of the choir
was ideal for the Moeran there is an argument that says a larger
group can pay dividends in this Elgar. The Finzi Singers again
provide comparison and they choose a less blended more overtly
Romantic approach - here I find the choice harder to make. I
prefer Musica Beata's sound but the Finzi's style. Next is a
little triptych of Stanford which as so often show him to be
a composer of real craft and skill. Again these are beautifully
performed and relatively rare. Of considerable interest is the
inclusion of a pair of pre-20th century works. Robert Pearsall's
Lay a Garland from 1840 pays a debt of musical gratitude
to Renaissance Italian music rather than the English Madrigal
tradition. This is an absolute gem and is performed with some
brilliance by the choir. I like very much the way they mould
their collective tone to suit this markedly different style
- it’s an altogether more austere yet sensuous. Again
the carefully balanced and blended choral sound pays major dividends.
My only sorrow is that it lasts less than three minutes! John
Bennet's All Creatures Now is his well-known contribution
to Thomas Morley's Triumphs of Oriana. Itprovides
the listener with a reference point from which most of the rest
of the programme sprang.
The disc closes with the glorious Three Shakespeare Songs
by Vaughan Williams. Although the total time is less than seven
minutes in performance these form a miniature masterpiece which
crystallises the very best of both the composer and the genre.
Dating from 1951 they are yet another product of the composer's
extraordinary Indian Summer. They also reflect Vaughan Williams'
genius for selecting apposite texts both for their suitability
and interest as lyrics and for their intrinsic beauty. From
the outset the word-painting, with its depiction of tolling
bells is masterly. Rutter's Cambridge Singers are unsurpassed
here. If anything this is the only time Musica Beata disappointed
me. Rutter's singers keep a brighter and more pert sound on
the consonant 'n' of "Ding" - and the music shimmers and sounds
more well ... bell-like. Musica Beata allow their sound fractionally
to sag and the moment is lost. The central song: The cloud-capp'd
towers contains one of Vaughan Williams' great sequences
of chord progressions. The text for this song comes from The
Tempest and contains the famous lines "We are such stuff
as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a
sleep." Again - Rutter's choir must take the laurel as they
do in the closing quick-silver Over Hill Over Dale. The
larger choir and more distant recording give the work that mercurial
wispy elusiveness it surely requires. For all the skill of their
singing Musica Beata sound too literal and earthbound. So that
means a slightly disappointing close to a fine recital. Collectors
of this repertoire will accept duplication of music as par for
the course so they are likely to already possess alternatives
for most of the music here.
Other factors to consider are a good but quite close recording,
a brief almost pointless liner lacking enough information for
the newcomer and any depth for those already versed in the field.
The booklet cover does have an appropriate and rather appealing
detail from a Van Gogh painting. Of greater concern is a meagre
playing time of less than fifty-five minutes. With so much repertoire
to choose from I would have thought an extra quarter hour's
worth at least could have been programmed. Quantity for quantity's
sake should never be sanctioned but this 'feels' short in the
listening. Overall though a most enjoyable set of performances
of beautiful music.
Nick Barnard
Track Listing
Ernest John MOERAN (1894-1950)
Songs of Springtime (1930) [16:16]
Edward ELGAR (1857-1934)
Three Choral Songs Op.18 (1890) [10:40]
Charles Villiers STANFORD
(1852-1924)
My Love's an Arbutus [2:06]
Peace Come Away [3:23]
Phoebe [2:56]
Edward ELGAR (1857-1934)
The shower (1914) [2:56]
Robert PEARSALL (1795-1856)
Lay a Garland (1840) [2:56]
Edward ELGAR (1857-1934)
How calmly the evening (1907) [4:36]
James BENNET (c.1575
- after 1614)
All creatures now (1601) [2:09]
Ralph VAUGHAN WILLIAMS (1872-1958)
Three Shakespeare Songs (1951) [7:05]
Musica Beata/Peter Hanke, Paul Hedley (Pearsall) 