For many people all over the world the Choir of King's College, Cambridge
is synonymous with Christmas, especially through the BBC's broadcast of the
annual Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols. It's perhaps not surprising,
therefore, that though the College's own label has not been in existence for
too long this is already the second Christmas album to be released. We've
already had a recording of the entire 2010 Christmas Eve service (
review). This is rather different in that there is no
attempt to replicate the service. So, for example, when the lone choir boy
sings the first verse of
Once In Royal David's City neither
he nor the choir are in the antechapel. There's no procession into the
chapel itself nor is there a congregation to join in any of the carols.
The programme lives up to the title of the album. Most of the standard
well-loved carols are here. Some are heard in very familiar arrangements.
These include Vaughan Williams' arrangement of
O Little Town of
Bethlehem with the Armstrong descant and Charles Wood's arrangement of
Ding! Dong! Merrily on High. Stephen Cleobury, the present Director
of Music has contributed several arrangements and descants but
O Come,
All Ye Faithful shows just how durable are the descants by his
predecessor, Sir David Willcocks.
One or two of the arrangements are rather less familiar. I loved Simon
Preston's perky and joyful arrangement of
I saw Three Ships and the
arrangement of
Joy to the World is florid and exuberant.
In the booklet note we are reminded that since the Festival of Nine
Lessons and Carols was instituted at the college in 1918 by the Dean, Eric
Milner-White there have been just five holders of the post of Organist - now
re-titled Director of Music. Four are represented here, the only absentee
being the earliest of them, A H Mann. In addition to Cleobury and Willcocks
we hear from Boris Ord - his justly popular arrangement of
Adam Lay
Ybounden - and Sir Philip Ledger, whose fine arrangement of
Sussex
Carol is rightly standing the test of time.
A couple of twentieth century classics find a rightful place here:
Howells'
A Spotless Rose and Darke's
In the Bleak
Midwinter. In such a collection it's perhaps unsurprising that the
college's excellent tradition (since 1983) of commissioning new carols is
not widely represented. It's worth noting that the choir has recorded all of
them: most are on an EMI album,
On Christmas Day. New Carols from
King's (5580702) while with one exception the remainder were included
as an appendix to the aforementioned recording of the 2010 Festival of Nine
Lessons and Carols. However, two commissions are included here. One is Bob
Chilcott's
The Shepherd's Carol - a commission for the 2000
Festival, if I remember correctly. It's a lovely, evocative piece. The
other, perhaps inevitably, is by John Rutter. His name has become as
synonymous with Christmas as has that of the King's Choir and when you hear
All Bells in Paradise it's not hard to see why. The tune flows
easily, the music is immediately attractive and the refrain lodges in the
memory. Rutter's music is disparaged in some quarters but there's genuine
craftsmanship here and also a natural ability to communicate, a precious
gift for a composer.
If you want a disc of well-loved carols and one which offers the
'imprimatur' of the King's College Choir then this disc will serve you well.
The choir is on fine form, the three Organ Scholars between them provide
expert accompaniments to many of the carols and the performances have been
well recorded. Personally, though I like all the pieces included here, I
find this programme is a little bit too 'safe'. However, it's a generous
selection of mostly traditional seasonal fare and if the programme appeals
then you'll find it satisfyingly performed.
John Quinn
Track-listing
Once In Royal David's City, descant Stephen Cleobury
Ding! Dong! Merrily on High, arr. Charles Wood
Herefordshire Carol, arr. Ralph Vaughan Williams
Adam Lay Ybounden, arr. Boris Ord
Sussex Carol, arr. Sir Philip Ledger
In Dulci Jubilo, arr. Robert Lucas de Pearsall
Joy to the World, arr. Hugh Keyte & Andrew Parrott
Gabriel's Message, arr. Edgar Pettman
The Holly and the Ivy, arr. Henry Walford Davies
O Little Town of Bethlehem, arr. Ralph Vaughan Williams
A Spotless Rose, Herbert Howells
The Shepherd's Carol, Bob Chilcott
Angels from the Realms of Glory, arr, Reginald Jacques
Silent Night, arr. Stephen Cleobury
It Came Upon the Midnight Clear, arr. Arthur Sullivan, descant Stephen
Cleobury
In the Bleak Midwinter, Harold Darke
I saw Three Ships, arr. Simon Preston
While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks, descant Stephen Cleobury
The Three Kings, Peter Cornelius, arr. Ivor Atkins
Coventry Carol,
God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen, arr. Sir David Willcocks
Away In a Manger, arr. Sir David Willcocks
All Bells in Paradise, John Rutter
Hark! the Herald Angels Sing, Felix Mendelssohn, descant Stephen
Cleobury
O Come, All Ye Faithful, arr. Sir David Willcocks
