Sanctus
Robert ALLWORTH
(b.1943) Six Voluntaries
for Organ in Honour of Saint Catherine
Laboure and the Immaculate Conception
of the Blessed Virgin Mary (1)
Giovanni Pierluigi
da PALESTRINA (1525 – 1594) Sanctus
and Benedictus from Missa Aeterna Christi
Munera(2)
Camille SAINT-SAËNS
(1835 – 1921) arr. Colin
SAPSFORD Gospel Procession
(3)
Dom Gregory
MURRAY Interlude XX1 (3)
John KEBLE
(1792 – 1876) Ave Maria Blessed
Maid (4)
Lawrence BARTLETT
(1933 - 2002) Ceremonial
Te Deum (5)
Colin BRUMBY
(b.1933 ) All Glory, Laud
and Honour (6)
Ann CARR-BOYD
(b.1938) Saturn (7)
Dulcie HOLLAND
(1913 - 2000) Salute to Jacques
(8); Lonely Valley (9)
Eric GROSS
(b.1926) Triptych for Solo
Violin Op. 189 (10)
Derek STRAHAN
(b.1958 ) Suite No. 1 for
Solo ‘Cello (11)
Richard AUSTIN
(b.1943) Impromptu No. 4
(12)
Charles Dale (tenor) (4)
Lawrence Bartlett (organ) (1, 6)
Colin Sapsford (organ) (3)
Brandby Byrne (organ) (5)
David Pitt-Owen (organ) (4)
Ann Carr-Boyd (piano) (7)
Gagliano Quartet (Fiona Zeigler (violin),
Leonie Ziegler (violin), Greg Ford (viola),
Pierre Emery (cello)) (8)
The Sydney Mandolins (Paul Hooper (mandolin),
Adrian Hooper (mandolin), Joyce Bootsma
(mandola), Barbara Hooper (guitar))
(9)
Alexey Guliyanitsky (violin) (10)
Georg Pedersen (cello) (11)
Richard Austin (piano) (12)
Choir of Christ Church, Saint Lawrence,
Sydney/ Colin Sapsford (2)
The Phoenix Consort/Colin Sapsford (4)
Choir of Saint Andrew’s Cathedral Sydney/Michael
Deasey (5)
Recorded: November 1989, Church of Saint
Michael, Vaucluse, Sydney (1); 1979,
Christ Church Saint Laurence, Sydney
– Live recording (2); 1979, Christ Church
Saint Laurence, Sydney – Live recording
(3); 1983, Church of St. Mary’s Immaculate,
Waverly, Sydney (4 ; 31/1/1988, St.
Andrew’s Cathedral, Town Hall Square,
Sydney – ABC recording (5); 25/6/1997,
Church of Saint Michael, Vaucluse, Sydney
(6); 20/1/1996, Studios 301, Australia
(7); 22/2/1998, Studio C, Australia
(8); 4/4/1996, Australian Broadcasting
Corporation (9); 1988, Yalta, Ukraine
– Private Recording (10); 20/11/1998,
Uniting Church, Turramurra, Australia
– Live recording (11); 20/3/1998, Studio
C, Australia (12)
JADE JADECD1081 [71.06]
This disc, showcasing
music by a number of Australian composers,
is issued by Jade Records, the company
formed by composer Robert Allworth.
It is one of a remarkable number of
discs that Jade has issued dedicated
to the Australian contemporary scene.
Allworth says that
he draws much inspiration in his composition
from the sacred aspects of Roman Catholicism.
This is evident in the first piece on
the disc, a group of six voluntaries,
written in honour of Saint Catherine
Laboure and the Immaculate Conception
of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Again, Allworth
uses a very effective mixture of slow,
held chords against plainchant-like
themes. It is only in the later voluntaries
that the fuller tonal palette of the
organ comes in to play.
The next item is the
first of three curiosities, an historical
track from 1979 of the Sanctus from
Palestrina’s ‘Missa Aeterna Christi
Munera’ recorded live. The choir, singing
in English, give a creditable performance
but there is quite a bit of tape hiss
and ambient noise. This item is really
limited interest to the general listener.
The next curiosity
is an organ piece written for the Gospel
procession, arranged from an extract
from Saint-Saëns’ Third Symphony.
This tuneful extract has had the misfortune
to be catchy enough to be taken out
of context for various purposes, even
for a pop song. The Gospel procession
is completed by a short voluntary by
Dom Gregory Murray. A final curiosity
is a short hymn by John Keble from the
19th Century St. Alban’s
Tune Book.
Lawrence Bartlett’s
‘Ceremonial Te Deum’ is a lively attractive
work for choir and organ. It was commissioned
as part of the Australian Bicentennial
celebrations and sung at a service on
31st January 1988 in the
presence of the Prince of Wales. This
recording was made at that occasion.
The choral part is rather syncopated
and rhythmically interesting, supported
by spicy harmonies. It sounds fun to
sing and would be a most useful piece
in a choir’s repertoire.
Colin Brumby’s ‘All
Glory, Laud and Honour’, a lively choral
prelude based on the well known hymn,
is the last sacred piece on the disc.
All the remaining ones are of a secular
nature.
Ann Carr-Boyd plays
here own piano solo, ‘Saturn’. A piece
with exposed melodic lines over percussive
chords. You almost feel that a work
for instrumental ensemble is trying
to break out. Dulcie Holland’s string
quartet, ‘Salute to Jacques’ is an attractive,
well-made piece in a melodic, rather
English manner. In fact Holland studied
at the Royal College of Music in the
1930s, with John Ireland. Later, in
the 1950s, she studied in London with
Mátyás Seiber. Holland’s
other work on the disc, ‘Lonely Valley’,
is for an ensemble of mandolins. To
her credit, Holland has constructed
an atmospheric work which manages to
avoid all suggestion of the Russian
balalaika ensemble.
Eric Gross’s three
movement piece for solo violin, ‘Triptych’,
is quite a strenuous work. Rather chromatic
and expressionist, it nonetheless displays
considerable melodic power. Violinist
Alexey Guliyantsky gives a brilliant
performance which was recorded during
a concert tour in Yalt, Ukraine.
For his suite for unaccompanied
cello, Derek Strahan has gone back to
the baroque era for inspiration. Where
Bach based his instrumental music on
contemporary dances, Strahan has done
the same. But in this case, he uses
popular 20th century dances
so that the movements are Prelude-Riffs,
Tango, Boogie-Woogie, Blues, Soft-Shoe
Shuffle, Fugal Jive, Coda. The opening
prelude is rather expressionist, but
soon becomes jazz-inspired in its rhythm
and harmony. In all the movements, the
rhythm and harmonic structure of the
original are never far away. But Strahan
occasionally leaves these behind and
creates looser episodes. Georg Pedersen’s
playing is stunning, as in movements
such as the tango and the boogie-woogie.
He manages to include both melody and
accompaniment in a way that has you
struggling to believe that there is
only one player.
The final piece on
the disc is a short piano piece played
by the composer, Richard Austin. Pleasantly
reflective, it forms a quiet close to
what is a fascinating disc.
Robert Hugill
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