Many people all over
the world know Westminster Abbey, even
if they have never set foot on British
soil. During centuries many state occasions,
royal weddings, funeral services and
coronations have taken place there,
and in the television era many millions
of people have been able to see the
Abbey on their screens. One of the key
figures in the history of the Abbey
was King Edward, who ascended the throne
in 1042, after being in exile in Normandy
since 1013 with Britain under Danish
rule. He died in 1066, which caused
a conflict over the succession. The
battle of Hastings in that same year
resulted in the Norman conquest of Britain.
It is thought a monastic
community was founded at the site of
the present Abbey in about 959. It was
Edward who built a new Abbey church
around the middle of the 11th century.
The Abbey as it is now was built in
Gothic style by Henry III. Since then
the status of the Abbey was enhanced,
which was also reflected in the musical
practice. Polyphony and organ music
were introduced, and a professional
musician was appointed to direct the
singers of the church.
The remains of King
Edward are enshrined in Westminster
Abbey and as he is the Abbey's patron
he is commemorated every year. "This
disc contains music you might hear if
you visited Westminster Abbey on the
Feast of the Translation of Edward,
King and Confessor, which falls on 13
October. Naturally the Abbey accords
this festival particular significance
and observes it with great solemnity,
including special prayers and devotions
at the Saint's shrine. The disc follows
the structure of the three major choral
services of a great feast day, all of
which have their roots in the monastic
Offices that took place in the Abbey
since its original foundation", writes
James O'Donnell in the booklet. So we
find here music for the Matins (Morning
Prayer), Eucharist (Mass) and Evensong
(Evening Prayer).
Regular listeners to
Choral Evensong on BBC Radio 3 will
recognize the characteristic aspects
of choral services which are common
in the Church of England. For instance,
the Preces, with the text: "O
Lord, open thou our lips, and our mouth
shall shew forth thy praise", and the
Responses, including The Lord's
Prayer. And then there are the Services,
with Te Deum and Benedictus,
or Magnificat and Nunc dimittis.
Conductors can draw from a vast treasury
of settings of these texts, and here
we hear music by two of the most popular
composers of liturgical music, Henry
Purcell and Sir Charles Stanford.
Britain is one of the
rare countries where modern composers
write music for liturgical use. The
main reason is that cathedral and college
choirs regularly commission new works
from them, often for specific occasions.
Two of these are included here: Jonathan
Harvey composed his Missa brevis
at the demand of the Abbey's Dean
and Chapter in 1995. The other was written
by Philip Moore, director of music at
York Minster, in 2005 for the millennium
celebrations for St Edward. The text
of this anthem, The King and the
Robin, was written by the Poet Laureate
Andrew Motion. The disc concludes with
an organ piece by Jeanne Demessieux,
one of the most famous organ virtuosos
of her time. It is written for the French
symphonic organ of the 19th century,
and pieces like this fare very well
on English cathedral organs, which are
stylistically very much alike the French
symphonic organ.
This disc not only
gives a good idea of what a service
in a British cathedral is like, the
choir of Westminster Abbey also belongs
to the best in the United Kingdom, as
this disc shows. The liturgical pieces
- the Preces and the Responses
- and the Psalm settings are very
well sung, as are the compositions by
Stanford, Harvey and Moore. In Moore's
anthem the solo parts are given excellent
performances by the baritone Julian
Empett and the treble Benjamin Gerrans.
The light, somewhat vulnerable voice
of Master Gerrans suits the role of
the robin very well.
But it is in particular
in the compositions by Purcell that
the typical sound of the Westminster
Abbey's trebles is unsatisfying. Purcell's
vocal parts are influenced by the Italian
style, and require a more declamatory
performance than they receive here.
The solo sections in particular should
be more sharply articulated, and there
should be greater differentiation between
the notes, for example in dynamics.
This asks for stronger voices, more
experienced in singing solo parts. Exemplary
in this repertoire is the complete recording
of Purcell's sacred music by Robert
King - also on Hyperion.
These critical remarks
notwithstanding I wholeheartedly recommend
this disc to anyone interested in English
liturgical music, even those who - such
as I - are not very keen on contemporary
music. Another interesting feature of
this disc is the performance of music
by little known composers like Robert
Stone - his setting of the Lord's Prayer
is very nice in its simplicity - and
William Morley. All lyrics are included,
and James O'Donnell's programme notes
are very informative and well written.
Johan van Veen
The Choir of Westminster Abbey/James O'Donnell
