This programme includes some of the most glorious anthems in
the English church repertoire. It opens with Parry’s magnificent
Milton setting – in my humble opinion, one of the finest of
all English anthems. Organist Jeremy Filsell plays a key role
in the success of this performance and I was pleased to note
how properly attentive he is to Parry’s dynamic markings. So,
for example, the very opening is loud, as it should be, but
by bar 7 Filsell has reduced the volume significantly, as Parry
requires. I admired also the way in which he brings out so much
of the detail in Parry’s writing – notice the little subsidiary
figures in bars 10 and 12, for instance.
Broadly, Jeremy Backhouse ensures that the performance follows
the composer’s directions, though I was a little disappointed
that he doesn’t appear to move the pace forward when the choir
goes back into eight parts at “To live with Him” (8:58). I see
that my colleague, Kevin Sutton, was troubled by an excessively
bright-toned tenor in this piece (review).
I agree that the first tenor part does come through at times,
though I didn’t find this happened to such an extent that it
marred my enjoyment. What I did feel, however, was that the
alto lines and, even more so, the bass parts, didn’t register
quite as strongly as I would have expected. In this piece Parry’s
part-writing for all the voices is wonderful but both the first
tenors and first sopranos spend a lot of time in their upper
ranges. I wonder if the problem in this performance is that
the lower parts – alto and bass – are a little under strength
numerically? I don’t know how many singers were involved in
this recording but the rather distant booklet photograph suggests
a choir of between thirty and, at most, forty voices and for
much of the work Parry writes in eight parts.
Both in the Parry and in the Stanford Magnificat that follows
– and which is also in eight parts – the choral sound is often
quite bright. I think both composers gave their sopranos and
tenors prominent lines but did so in the expectation that the
choir would be evenly balanced. For whatever reason it doesn’t
seem to me that the lower voices in the Vasari Singers register
quite sufficiently in these two pieces though, oddly, I found
the remaining works in the programme were satisfactorily balanced.
Overall, I enjoyed both the Parry and Stanford’s fine a cappella
Magnificat very much. In the latter I liked the energy that
the singers bring to the more extrovert passages, such as the
opening and ‘Fecit potentiam’, but I also admired the way in
which the several more reflective stretches of music were shaped.
Stainer’s anthem is no masterpiece – it’s music of its time
– but both choir and organist are appropriately assertive at
the start - and the choral bass line is more satisfyingly in
evidence. Later on, the lyrical section (“O Trinity, O unity”)
is launched beautifully by the sopranos and the other sections
follow their lead as they join in one after the other. The anthem
by Edward Woodall Naylor - why didn’t Naxos give his full name?
- offers some dramatic opportunities, which the performers grasp.
However, I particularly admired the way in which Naylor’s use
of contrast is brought out in this performance. The lovely final
pages feature a delicate soprano solo and, at the very end,
a pleasing light tenor soloist makes his mark.
Unfortunately Naxos don’t supply any texts – these are available
from their website, but that’s not the same as having them readily
accessible in the booklet. This is a particular handicap in
the Naylor and Finzi pieces, both of which have unfamiliar words,
the former in Latin. It’s even more of a handicap in the case
of Walton’s The Twelve, ‘An anthem for the Feast of any
Apostle’, since the text is a complex one by W.H. Auden, which
one really needs to follow. In his note, Jeremy Backhouse suggests,
quite fairly, that the piece might be regarded as a mini-Belshazzar’s
Feast. I know what he means. The men deliver the opening
declamation powerfully and the whole first section, which has
several dramatic moments, is well done by the choir. Here, and
throughout the work, Jeremy Filsell gives a marvellous account
of the demanding and vital organ part. The reflective central
section (between 4:43 and 7:33) features excellent contributions
from two soprano soloists.
The programme starts with a masterpiece and closes with another
in the shape of Finzi’s Lo, the full final sacrifice.
The mysterious opening is rendered with the utmost sensitivity
by Jeremy Filsell. For me, this organ introduction seems to
conjure a vision of a church interior illuminated by shafts
of afternoon sunshine, perhaps cutting through traces of incense
lingering from an earlier service. That’s just what is achieved
here before the choir’s first hushed entry. The piece is very
complex with many changes of tempo and metre. In a successful
performance all these changes should be achieved seamlessly,
so that the listener can concentrate on the beauties of Finzi’s
harmonies and melodic lines and on Richard Crashaw’s synthesis
of words by Aquinas. Judged by that criterion, this is
a successful performance. It’s also successful in terms of the
excellence of the singing and playing and once again Jeremy
Backhouse ensures that his performers obey the composer’s instructions.
A good pair of soloists, tenor and baritone, deliver the duet
“O soft, self-wounding Pelican” very sensitively (10:23) and
the final, seraphic 8-part Amen (from 14:36) is beautifully
achieved.
The music on this disc represents the English church music tradition
at its finest and the performances are admirable. I have not
spotted the Vasari Singers in the Naxos catalogue before now
so perhaps this release marks the start of a new partnership
between this very proficient choir and one of the most enterprising
labels around. We must hope so. In particular, it would be very
good news if Naxos were to expand further their already excellent
support for recent British choral music by inviting the Vasaris
to record the Requiem for unaccompanied choir by Gabriel Jackson,
which they commissioned and first performed a couple of years
ago. I’ve not heard that piece yet but the other choral music
by Jackson that I’ve heard to date makes me think it could be
a significant addition to the CD catalogue.
John Quinn
See also review
by Kevin Sutton
Vasari Singers/Jeremy Backhouse 
