Leonard BERNSTEIN (1919 - 1990)
Chichester Psalms [18:30]
Marcel GRANDJANY (1891-1975)
Aria in Classic Style for Harp and Organ, Op.19 [6:22]
Leoš JANÁČEK (1854-1928)
Otčenáš [15:36]
William MATHIAS (1834-1992)
Improvisations [5:37]
Benjamin BRITTEN (1913-1976)
A Ceremony of Carols (arr. Julius Harrison) [24:08]
Justin Lavender (tenor: Janacek); Léon Charles (organ); Frances Kelly
(harp); Cameron Sinclair (percussion)
The Choir of St. John’s College, Cambridge/Andrew Nethsingha
rec. 12-14 January, 2008, St. John’s College Chapel, Cambridge
Texts and English translations included
ST. JOHN’S COLLEGE SJCR105-2 [70:41]
These, I fancy, must have been the first recordings that Andrew Nethsingha
made with the St. John’s College choir after arriving at the college
as Director of Music in autumn 2007. They’ve been ‘in the can’
for quite a while - since before their contract with Chandos came into effect
- and I wonder why this interesting programme, which contains some unusual
repertoire, has not been issued earlier. It’s good that the college
has brought it out under its own imprint.
There’s one slight disappointment - and puzzle. I’m unsure why
Andrew Nethsingha has chosen to record A Ceremony of Carols in the
SATB arrangement that Julius Harrison made in 1955 at the request of the publishers,
Boosey & Hawkes. I can understand why the arrangement was made in order
to bring the work within the scope of adult choirs but it never seems to me
to work as well as the original trebles-only version. With the adult voices,
even when they’re as skilled as here, one loses something of the intimacy
and innocence that boys’ voices alone bring to the score. I’m
sure the St. John’s trebles would have given a very good account of
these carols. Nonetheless, if one wants to hear the work in this version then
this performance is a good one. To be fair, recordings of the work in its
SATB guise are far less frequent than recordings of the original version,
which may explain why the arrangement was chosen here.
Leonard Bernstein conceived his Chichester Psalms for all-male chorus
and it’s good to hear it done that way; the accompaniment is provided
in the composer’s own reduction for harp, organ and percussion. Andrew
Nethsingha leads an excellent performance. The unnamed treble soloist in the
second movement does very well. In the third movement, after Léon Charles
has given a very good account of the extended organ introduction, the choral
section flows beautifully. The melody in this part of the work is one of Bernstein’s
finest inspirations and the present performance is very polished as, indeed,
is the performance of the entire work.
The remainder of the programme takes us into less well-charted territory.
Otčenáš is a setting of the Lord’s Prayer in
Moravian which Janáček composed in 1901. Originally written for
accompaniment by piano and harmonium, the composer revised it for harp and
organ, as heard here, in 1906. The music is quite folk-influenced and, to
my ears, contains some pre-echoes of the Glagolitic Mass, not least
in the often ardent writing for the tenor soloist. The solo role is a demanding
one in terms of the tessitura and Justin Lavender does a fine job. Indeed,
since the retirement of John Mitchinson I’ve not heard a British tenor
capable of doing real justice to the tenor solo part in the Glagolitic
Mass and listening to Mr Lavender here makes me wonder if he could be
the man. It’s a good piece and a most enterprising choice. I’m
delighted that it’s been included here.
This enterprise extends to the two instrumental items. I’ve heard William
Mathias’s short, three-movement Improvisations for solo harp
before. How fitting that a Welsh composer should create such an interesting
and effective work for the harp. I love the rippling first movement and the
pithy little dance with which the suite concludes. In between comes a more
elusive and inward looking slow movement which, as Jeremy Summerly rightly
observes, is the heart of the work. Frances Kelly makes an excellent job of
this work. The music - and name - of Marcel Grandjany was completely new to
me. A Frenchman, who lived in the USA from 1926 onwards, teaching at the Juilliard
School from 1938 until his death, Jeremy Summerly tells us that he established
an international reputation as a harp virtuoso. From a little internet research
it seems that, unsurprisingly, most of his compositions were for his own instrument.
However, I’ve been unable to establish when the Aria in Classic Style
was composed. Jeremy Summerly aptly describes the work, which also exists
in a version for harp and orchestra, as a “neo-Baroque gem”. He
also comments that the work is underpinned by the spirit of Bach. It’s
a winning little piece, which I enjoyed very much. The combination of harp
and organ works well, certainly on disc, not least because the organ part
is quite subdued.
Everything about this disc is good. The repertoire is interesting and enterprising;
the performance standards are consistently high; the recorded sound is very
good; and the booklet notes by Jeremy Summerly are exemplary. This is a most
welcome release.
John Quinn
A most welcome release. Everything about this disc is good.
Discography & review index: Britten's Ceremony of carols