Plum Pudding
Wassail Song (trad. arr. Ralph Vaughan Williams)
Tomás Luis de VICTORIA (1548-1611) O Magnum Mysterium
William BYRD (c.1543-1623) This Day Christ Was Born
Kenneth LEIGHTON (1929-1988) Lully, Lullay
Rhian SAMUEL (b. 1944) Jolly Wat the Shepherd
Max REGER (1873-1916) Virgin Mary's Slumber-Song (arr. Peter
Broadbent)
Peter CORNELIUS (1824-1874) The Three Kings (arr. Ivor Atkins)
Samuel BARBER (1910-1981) Twelfth Night
Francisco GUERRERO (1528-1599) Virgen Sancta
Esta Noche (trad. arr. Andrew Carter)
The Holly and the Ivy (trad. arr. Walford Davies)
Deck the Hall (trad. arr. Peter Broadbent )
The Twelve Days of Christmas (trad. arr. Andrew Carter)
Franz Xaver GRUBER (1787-1863) Silent Night
Readings: John Clare: 'December'; 'God’s Speech' [from: The
Wakefield Plays]; Anon: 'I Sing of a Maiden'; TS Eliot: 'The Journey of the
Magi'; Laurie Lee: 'Christmas in Seville' (excerpt); Dylan Thomas: 'Memories
of Christmas'; EV Lucas: 'Christmas Decorations'; John Julius Norwich: 'The
Twelve Days of Christmas'; Capt. RJ Armes: 'Christmas Truce (A Letter)'; Leonard
Clark: 'Singing in the Streets'
Felicity Lott (soprano)
Gabriel Woolf (reader)
Joyful Company of Singers/Peter Broadbent
rec. Music Room, Champs Hill, Sussex, 30 November 2002. DDD
CHAMPS HILL RECORDS CHRCD 013 [77:44]
This festive CD was originally released on the ASV White Line (CD WHL 2150)
in 2003, and repackaged and reissued last year by Champs Hill. It goes without
saying that it is still widely available on the internet, and doubtless will
be for many Christmases to come!
Though the CD itself does not advertise the fact, Plum Pudding consists of
a mixture of unaccompanied songs and readings. The selection is generous and
varied - "rich and well-spiced fare", as the liner-notes put it
- spanning four centuries and mainly but not exclusively British in origin.
This is also a live recording, as becomes quite patent with the audience laughter
and applause during Dylan Thomas's 'Memories of Christmas'.
Felicity Lott's star billing - compounded by a double-page biography in the
booklet, as much as Woolf and the Joyful Company combined - is understandable
in marketing terms but unfair to prospective buyers and to her fellow performers:
she does not appear until track 6, and then only sings on four or five tracks
in all. Most of the singing is multi-part and done - done beautifully (though
the 'Fith day of Christmas' is a bit of a jar) - by the Joyful Company
of Singers directed by Peter Broadbent. Gabriel Woolf's acting talents are
put to good use, and his readings, though manifestly 'stagy', are likely to
appeal to all and sundry - with the possible exception of his rather luvvy
rendition of John Julius Norwich's dated 'Twelve Days of Christmas'. His regional
accents too, it must be said, are a little lacking in authenticity: though
he makes a reasonable attempt at a Northamptonshire accent for John Clare's
poem, his Swansea lilt for Thomas's 'Memories of Christmas' is a bit on the
'ropy' side, and his vowels an approximation that locals may find comical.
Similarly his accent for the reading from the Wakefield Mystery Plays, though
poignantly done, is a generic northern one much favoured by southerners.
The CD booklet has a brief note on every item, but that is about as good as
it gets: apart from the lack of dates and sometimes even names attached to
composers and arrangers, the absence of song or poem texts is a big disappointment,
and a puzzlement, given that there are no obvious copyright issues. Track
timings are missing too, and the track-listing in small white text on a bright
red background pushes legibility close to the limits. There are a couple of
carnal typos as well, such as 'da Victoria' and 'T S Elliot'.
However, some leniency should be shown at Christmas, and sound quality is
very good, as it almost invariably is at Champs Hill. This is a CD which,
like plum pudding, is best consumed at Christmas, but as festive CDs go, it
is certainly one of the most appetising.
Byzantion
Collected reviews and contact at reviews.gramma.co.uk
see also review by Ian
Lace
Best consumed at Christmas, but as festive CDs go, it is certainly one of
the most appetising.