Sing, ye Heavens.
HYMNS FOR ALL TIME.
The Cambridge Singers,
Thelma Owen (harp), John Scott (organ),
The City of London Sinfonia Brass,
Directed by John Rutter.
Recorded Church of St. Alban the Martyr, Holborn, London.
8 & 11 February 2000. DDD
Collegium Records. COLCD
126
[76.45]
Crotchet
Amazon
UK
1. O God, our help in ages past. (Croft arr. Rutter)
[4.35]
2. The King of love my Shepherd is. (Irish Trad arr. Rutter)
[4.08]
3. A mighty fortress is our God. (Martin Luther arr. Rutter)
[4.48]
4. Veni, Creator Spiritus. (Gregorian Chant) [3.35]
5. Lo! He comes with clouds descending. (18Cent English arr.
Rutter) [4.11]
6. Love Divine, all loves excelling. (R.H.Pritchard arr. Rutter)
[3.40]
7. Pange Lingua. (Gregorian Chant) [3.52]
8. Let all mortal flesh keep silence. (French carol arr. Rutter)
[3.31]
9. Vexilla Regis. (Gregorian Chant) [3.23]
10. Drop, drop, slow tears. (Orlando Gibbons) [1.46]
11. When I survey the wondrous Cross. (E,Miller arr. Rutter)
[3.20]
12. Christ the Lord is risen today. (From Lyra Davidica
(1708) arr. Rutter) [4.12]
13. Be thou my vision. (Irish arr.Rutter) [4.39]
14. All things bright and beautiful. (English arr. Rutter)
[2.20]
15. Morning has broken. (Gaelic arr. Rutter) [1.41]
16. Amazing grace. (American arr. Rutter) [4.16]
17. We plough the fields, and scatter. (German. J.A.P.Schulz
arr Rutter) [2.38]
18. Glory to thee, my God, this night. (Thomas Tallis) [2.42]
19. The day thou gavest, Lord, is ended. (C.C.Scholefield arr.
Rutter) [3.18]
20. Eternal God. (John Rutter) [3.07]
21. Christ is made the sure Foundation. (Purcell arr. Rutter)
[5.30}
I have just spent a splendid hour and a quarter listening to this brand new
release. John Rutter has compiled a collection of twenty-one "Hymns for all
Time" - under the title "Sing, ye Heavens". My conscience tells me that I
must admit that at first glance it didn't seem a particularly enticing CD
but I was proved completely wrong and am happy to say so. What he has done
(I assume he initiated the project and made the selection), is to gather
together hymns from the last fifteen centuries of Christian Europe. Those
are his own words on the contents of the disc in which he admits that there
is no attempt made to include examples from all the multi-stranded history
of hymnody. Certainly it would be better to refer to this selection as Western
European - Eastern Europe is not represented except where the universality
of Catholicism in pre-Reformation Christian Europe would have made the Gregorian
chant selections normal in countries further east and still within the Roman
Church.
John Rutter admits that the selection was made was from the Anglican viewpoint.
Certainly this will make many of the hymns familiar to listeners and as one
brought up in the Anglican tradition I found myself joining in the singing
as memories of years ago came flooding back - Sunday School, Sunday evenings
in chilly churches and words that I didn't think I could still remember.
With the exception of Rutter's own composition contemporary trends are absent
with no attempt to incorporate anything from the "happy clappers" of today.
Inevitably with its Anglican predominance much is made of the Hymns Ancient
and Modern and later the impact that Ralph Vaughan-Williams as Editor of
The English Hymnal of 1906 had. Some of the selection of tunes to go with
the words was by R V-W and his wide-ranging selection and open mind as to
sources left their mark.
Hymns from the Psalms is the opening section of the seven groupings. Croft's
great melody O God, our help in ages past was a rousing opening
with a brass Fanfare, organ and drums. An Irish traditional melody with a
simple harp accompaniment was used for "The King of love my Shepherd is "
from Psalm 23. Luther's A mighty fortress (Eine Feste Burg) was
given a suitably martial arrangement with organ and brass.
Invocations, the second grouping, has three works, Veni, Creator
Spiritus, in Gregorian Chant with the mixed choir alternating verses,
Lo, he comes sounds magnificent with brass and organ in the big church
acoustic with its resonances. Love Divine, all loves excelling, set
simply against organ is another of those tunes that won't go away, sung here
in another John Rutter arrangement that allows the hymn to be sung unadorned
for two verses and then the higher voices to soar in a splendid ending.
For the examples from the Eucharist, the Gregorian Chant Pange
lingua again uses the mixed chorus in alternating verses, the full grouping
coming together at the end. Let all mortal flesh keep silence is an
old French carol using a translated Fourth Century text. The marriage of
tune to words was an unlikely but inspired one by Vaughan-Williams and a
hauntingly simple tune with organ and choir is delightful. The next category
Passiontide and Easter, had more plainchant with Vexilla Regis,
and a little gem by Orlando Gibbons Drop, drop, slow tears sung a
capella by full choir. Tradition returned in When I survey and Christ
the Lord is risen today (this with the full Victorian effect of
brass and organ).
The Folk Hymns selection rightly avoided any big-scale boosting of
these simple tunes, with light textures and regular use of womens' voices
only set against the harp. The ravishingly haunting Be thou my vision
(an old Irish tune Shane), All things bright and beautiful in
a light, airy, speeded-up arrangement of the famous tune, Morning has
broken (that's the one that appeared in the charts a few years back),
and Amazing Grace from the US made up a delightful group. The old
harvest hymn We plough the fields I now learn was originally German
dating from 1800. Glory to thee, my God - sublime, serene melody based
on Thomas Tallis' canon is an undoubted masterpiece and The Day
thou gavest, Lord made up the brief Evening Hymns section - the
latter ending with some fine descant and organ support. John Rutter's own
Eternal God, a pleasant tuneful work that is perfectly at home among
so much that is already well-known, and Purcell's Christ is made the sure
Foundation made a rousing conclusion with full chorus, brass and organ.
I like John Rutter's arrangements very much. He seems to avoid overdressing
inherently good melodies and lets the original appeal speak for itself. The
Cambridge Singers are magnificent. Their diction is impeccable and they have
subtlety and refinement as well as power when called on. How refreshing to
hear a choir singing with spirit and not in the prissy, mannered style that
so often typifies Church singing in this country. The recording is full and
clear and the big acoustic and reverbaration add to the appeal. The organ,
harp and the Brass playing give excellent support on this splendid CD.
Whatever one 's views on religion today, our culture would be losing something
irreplaceable if the tunes and words, so closely wedded as they are, from
this great mass of material in our country's traditions and national psyche
were allowed to wither away. A very warm welcome for a fine disc that already,
with months to go, could be a good suggestion for a Christmas present.
Reviewer.
Harry Downey
