Handel began writing
for the Chapel Royal – essentially both a collection of people
and a building – towards the end of 1712. The first anthem written
was As pants the hart and it’s unique amongst the pieces
in this disc in not having been composed for a ceremonial event
– rather it was for use in ordinary services. In 1717 he retuned
to the anthem and added an orchestra. Seven years later he
raided his own larder yet again and produced another version
HMV251d, and then produced yet another, the fourth and final
version, confusingly numbered HMV251c. On this disc we have
the third, orchestral “-d” version and also two movements from
the “-a.”
It’s a compact twelve-minute
setting with a sextet, an alto solo, a duet for two altos, bass
recitative and two choruses. As with the remainder of the programme
it would be hard to argue that this is top-drawer Handel but
one hears nevertheless how adept and how adaptable Handel was
in his commissions. Especially noteworthy here is the balance
of the sextet and the alto/quartet balance in the second movement
Tears are my daily food. This applies equally to the
organ. One notes as well how well the two altos Michael McGuire
and – yes, he’s now a Gentleman-in-Ordinary – James Bowman blend
their tones in their fine duet Why so full of grief.
I will magnify
thee and Let God arise began life as anthems for
the Duke of Chandos at Cannons. After mutational work the former
anthem has its first and last movements essentially intact though
re-written. The middle four movements derive from three other
separate Cannons anthems, showing this inventive self-borrowing
at its most vividly intense. Once more we find buoyant rhythms
and a fine orchestral and choral balance. Let God arise
has only four movements – two choruses and two duets for bass
and alto. We hear from two basses – Maciek O’Shea who sings
with directness but whose voice is lighter than Andrew Ashwin;
to trade off Ashwin is a touch weak at the top of his range.
Lest one should overlook the orchestral contribution - a mistake
as the band plays with real verve and sensitivity – one can
listen in particular to the splendid oboe playing in the opening
movement of the anthem O Sing unto the Lord where Bowman
takes the first solo.
We don’t find out
who comprise the Musicians Extra-ordinary but it would be nice
to know. They sound like an expert group of specialists. They
and the chorus, so adeptly directed by Andrew Gant are especially
felicitous. None of the soloists are outstanding but they all
acquit themselves well. There are first class and unusually
lengthy notes by Gant – necessary for elucidating the sometimes
tortuous compositional history of the anthems. And the authentic
setting of the Chapel Royal is a final fillip.
Jonathan Woolf
see also Review
by Max Kenworthy
Choir of the
Chapel Royal 
