Thomas TOMKINS (1572-1656)
Anthems & Canticles
Choir of Magdalen College, Oxford/Daniel Hyde (organ*); Phantasm Viol Consort/Laurence Dreyfus
rec. 30 March - 1 April 2015, Chapel of Merton College, Oxford, UK DDD
OPUS ARTE OACD9040D [65:19]
Thomas Tomkins belongs among the last generation of English
composers before the Commonwealth. In 1596 he had been appointed organist
of Worcester Cathedral and he occupied this post until 1646. In that
year the city surrendered to the Parliamentary forces, and as a result
cathedral services were almost completely discontinued. This also meant
that Tomkins lost his job. Fortunately that happened when he was already
at an advanced age. For several decades before that, he had been a most
respected composer and organist who was mainly connected with Worcester
Cathedral as well as the Chapel Royal.
There were two kinds of anthems in the liturgy of the Church of England:
the full anthem and the verse anthem. The former is
entirely written for 'choir', whereas the latter includes
passages for solo voices. In church, the verse anthem was usually accompanied
by the organ, but in the Chapel Royal there was the alternative option
of the viol consort. It was also at the court that the verse anthem
had its origins: it developed from the secular consort song, a piece
for solo voice and viols.
The present disc includes five verse anthems which have survived with
an accompaniment for a consort of viols. That makes it likely that they
were intended for performance at the Chapel Royal. They usually begin
with an episode for solo voice; the opening verse is then repeated by
the choir. In the anthems on this disc the main solo parts are for lower
voices: tenor and bass. In Sing unto God the booklet indicates
only one soloist, the bass Jonathan Arnold, but there are also contributions
from one of the treble soloists, probably Max Langdale. Arnold has a
nice voice but the lowest notes are a little too weak. Here and in the
other anthems Langdale sings well but the slight vibrato is regrettable.
Tomkins is not badly represented on disc but most recordings include
the same pieces, such as When David heard that Absalom was slain
and I heard a voice from heaven. The pieces recorded here are
probably less familiar and that makes this disc a useful addition to
the discography. That also concerns the consort pieces which are not
often included in concerts or CD recordings. The pieces selected here
are different in character. Notable are the Fantasia XVII a 6
and the Pavan VI a 5 for their abundant use of chromaticism.
That is all the more remarkable as there are no traces of harmonic experiments
in the anthems. These are dominated by imitative counterpoint, as is
the Pavan VII a 5. Whereas most consort pieces are rather serious
in nature and sometimes have something sad about them, the Alman
a 4 is a light-hearted dance, vividly played by Phantasm, which
also performs most of the other consort pieces.
Considering Tomkins's lifelong activities as a professional organist,
his oeuvre includes relatively few organ pieces. In this respect he
is not different from organist-composers in other parts of Europe, such
as northern Germany and Italy. Organists used to improvise and there
was no real need to write anything down, let alone to publish organ
pieces. The three items on this disc, nicely played by Daniel Hyde,
give some idea of Tomkins's skills in this department.
All in all I am satisfied with these performances: the choir produces
a beautiful sound and the text can be clearly understood. Its members
deliver good performances of the solo episodes. The anthems included
here also appear on a disc which Harmonia Mundi released in 2003, with
Fretwork and an ensemble of singers which includes Emma Kirkby and Charles
Daniels. As there is no choir there, the anthems are sung with one voice
per part, which is a nice alternative to the present disc. Another interesting
aspect is the use of historical pronunciation, something which is seldom
practised in recordings of English anthems.
Johan van Veen
www.musica-dei-donum.org
twitter.com/johanvanveen
Contents
Fantasia XVIII a 6 [02:33]
Sing unto God [06:04]
A Fantasy* [03:01]
Thou art my king [04:35]
Fantasia XIV a 3 03:13]
Above the stars [03:35]
A substantial verse* [04:23]
Pavan VI a 5 [03:50]
Fifth Service:
Magnificat [05:09]
Pavan VII a 5 [02L44]
Fifth Service:
Nunc dimittis [02:41]
Alman a 4 [01:20]
O Lord, let me know mine end [05:57]
For Mr Archdeacon Thornburgh* [02:14]
Fantasia XVII a 6 [03:05]
Pavan and Galliard XVIII a 6 [04:30]
Rejoice, rejoice and sing [06:18]
