Stainer’s Crucifixion
is a work which nowadays, as a rather
naïve example of Victorian religiosity,
is held in fairly low esteem in certain
quarters. In the last few years I’ve
taken part in several performances,
sometimes as a member of the chorus,
sometimes as a soloist. A reasonable
acquaintance with the piece has convinced
me that while it has its weaknesses
it is still a good and sincere work.
Moreover, it fills a particular function
in that it can be sung by a church choir
of a reasonable standard, provided they
have two decent soloists and a good
organist. Thus it can still serve Stainer’s
original conception as a religious celebration
for the average parish community.
Here it is sung by
a choir of far better than reasonable
standard, directed by an imaginative
conductor, and the soloists and the
organist are very good indeed. Incidentally,
this is very much a Clare College effort
since both Simon Bailey and Stephen
Farr are alumni of the college. Only
James Gilchrist, an Oxford man, is not
connected with Clare. And if it was
desirable to record the work in a venue
other than the chapel of Clare College
then what a good idea to use Guildford
Cathedral, where Stephen Farr is the
organist since, of course, he will have
an intimate knowledge of the organ and,
presumably, will have been able to advise
as necessary on the acoustics.
I might as well deal
first with what for me is the major
weakness of Crucifixion. There
are three significant choruses in the
piece and two of them are, frankly,
pretty dreadful. Unfortunately, they’re
also the longest movements in the work.
Indeed, that’s a big part of the trouble.
As music both ‘Procession to Calvary’
(track 3) and ‘The Appeal of the Crucified’
(track 18) strike me as pretty uninspired
but this is magnified greatly by Stainer’s
repetitiousness. "Fling wide the
gates" sing the choir in the first
of these. Unfortunately, they fling
open gate after gate as the same material
is stretched way beyond its limits.
At least, however, that chorus is fairly
lively, and the choir sing it here with
some purpose. However its companion
is just plain dull, even more repetitive
and it’s also rather maudlin into the
bargain. Both outstay their welcome
significantly, even when in the very
capable hands of Timothy Brown and his
singers.
Happily, the third
chorus, the well known ‘God so loved
the world’ is a completely different
matter. This is sincere and thoughtful
music and it’s a genuinely memorable,
not to say moving, setting. Not for
nothing has it become a frequently performed
anthem in its own right. Brown’s choir
sing it sensitively and beautifully.
They also engage our interest in the
several hymns, which occur at various
points in the work, performing a function
similar to that of the chorales in Bach’s
Passions. Some of these are rather good
tunes even if the words can be a bit
outdated. Timothy Brown makes a number
of sensible editorial decisions about
the hymns, some of which can otherwise
be rather long. The first of them, ‘Cross
of Jesus, Cross of Sorrow’ (track 5)
consists of ten verses. Brown omits
three of these (verses 6 – 8) and he
also breaks up the verses by allotting
some to male voices only (singing the
tune in unison) and some to the higher
voices. He also has one verse sung unaccompanied.
This all provides necessary contrast
and he follows these principles in the
other hymns, all of which are sung in
full. I must mention one lovely touch
in the hymn ‘Jesus the Crucified’ (track
13). Here, in the last of the four verses
the sopranos sing the tune while the
three lower voices hum their parts.
It’s a most touching effect.
The soloists both have
major contributions to make, the tenor
in particular. Both James Gilchrist
and Simon Bailey sing very well. Gilchrist’s
opening phrases in the very first number
are sweetly voiced. He’s appropriately
warm and romantic in the solo interlude
that breaks up the ‘Fling wide’ chorus
and he gives a quite splendid account
of the tenor’s Big Number, ‘King ever
glorious’ (track 7). He commands attention
in that demanding solo, whether with
heroic, ringing tone or in the more
sensitive and reflective passages. Here.
as throughout the work, his diction
is crystal clear and every note that
he sings is hit squarely in the middle.
My one very slight criticism is that
there are a few occasions, most of them
in this particular aria, where he rolls
his letter "r"s a shade too
long.
Simon Bailey sings
with a rich, full tone and his contributions
have dignity. Some listeners may feel
that he sings with a bit too much vibrato
though I can’t say that I found this
to be overdone. Like Gilchrist, his
diction is admirably clear. The bass
soloist doesn’t have a big aria of his
own but both soloists combine in the
duet, ‘So thou liftest Thy divine petition’
(track 12). This is the one part of
the performance with which I have an
issue. In the vocal score the tempo
is marked as crochet = 70 and Timothy
Brown is virtually spot-on. Whilst this
is undoubtedly correct I personally
prefer a slightly quicker speed. Partly
this is because the music sounds too
slow at that basic tempo. More seriously,
however, Stainer marks several easings
of this already slow tempo, all of which
are fully observed here. The result,
while entirely faithful to the score,
sounds a bit laboured and sentimental
to me despite the undoubted artistry
of the musicians.
But that’s really the
only quibble I have with this performance
and it’s one that other listeners may
not share. For the rest the performers
do Stainer proud. Stephen Farr plays
the organ part splendidly and the choral
singing is alert, responsive and a pleasure
to hear. The acoustic of Guildford Cathedral
is a resonant one but I find the sound
quality to be perfectly satisfactory.
Naxos provides full documentation, including
a good note and the full text.
This is one of the
releases with which the 18th
anniversary of the Naxos label is being
marked. My copy was accompanied by a
second CD of seventeen tracks (62’22"
in total), which are extracts from a
number of Naxos’s very fine recordings
of English church music. However, I
believe this bonus CD may be a limited
edition.
Naxos has done English
choral music proud in the last few years
and this is another fine release, which
I’m very happy to recommend.
John Quinn
see also review
by Michael Cookson
James Gilchrist (tenor); Simon Bailey (bass);
