This lovely CD was not at all what I expected. The image I had of
church music was of a genre that is conventional and safe. Neither
composer represented here falls into place on either count. I suspect
many a church choir would see these pieces as very challenging.
The scene is set with Filsell's Tomorrow shall be my dancing day
which is lively and thoroughly entertaining and makes it obvious that
the Vasari Singers are a very classy group indeed. The Epitaph
which follows is also enjoyable and musically interesting including
some lovely effects for double chorus. If God build not the house
is again lively and has a positively triumphant opening. The organ
part is not for the fainthearted. Here it is in safe hands, those
of the composer himself, who is a virtuoso organist of the highest
standard. The prayerful central section tickles the ear with unexpected
harmonies. This is a big piece in every respect except length: it
has a real sense of structure as well as scale. The ending is appropriately
quiet and contemplative, setting the words 'And draw the curtain to
his sleep'. The registrations chosen by Filsell on the organ in quiet
passages draw attention to the first class engineering of this spacious
and true stereo recording: I say true because it sounds believable
and accurate, high praise coming from me. Filsell's canticle Magnificat
is the first of four selections from his so called Windsor Service,
and includes a highly ornamented organ part. One cannot but note the
composer's sensitivity to the words and he varies the music substantially
given its short duration of less than five minutes. The canticle Nunc
Dimittis treads slowly from quiet to loud music, again with extensive
ornamentation in the organ part. The ending is triumphant. The
Transfiguration is mostly slow music punctuated by a mixture of
decorative figurations and dramatic outbursts from the organ. The
biggest of Filsell's pieces on this disc is the Te Deum. In
this and the following Jubilate the composer aims for brevity
and in common with the preceding pair of canticles the organ indulges
in yet more decorative ornamentation. There are a lot of words to
fit into a mere nine and a half minutes - think how long Berlioz and
Bruckner took - but it never sounds rushed. Again Filsell displays
much skill and imagination in reflecting the meaning of the words
and uses the full dynamic range of these thirty excellent voices.
The Jubilate contains appropriately joyful sounds from singers
and organ ending with haloes of sound.
Briggs is no less absorbing a creative artist. The Pange lingua
is a cappella, a commission from these singers. The crunching
opening chord makes one really sit up. A beautiful, lyrical outpouring
follows making many demands on the singers. The linked organ improvisation
is serenely beautiful. The final work is also the most substantial.
Briggs' Missa pour Saint-Sulpice is almost twenty-seven minutes
long: a big work with grand gestures but also much uncertainty. To
my ears this music is not a confident expression of faith but a quest
for understanding. The Kyrie is introduced by the organ with
the choral appeals for mercy expressed quietly, quite unlike many
mass settings. The Gloria proper, after the intonation,
is introduced by the organ - and I should note that here too the organist
is the composer, like Filsell, Briggs is a superb musician with a
reputation to match. The Et in terra pax is a rather serious
first statement before a big choral outburst on Laudamus te. Domine
Deus is more pensive than confident. Again like Filsell, Briggs
is very aware of the words and has a definite take on the meaning.
The music grows more impassioned towards the Quoniam which
is impressive and tense. The four lines of the Sanctus text
move carefully from muted praise towards a single cry of 'Hosanna
in Excelsis.' This shows remarkable restraint when one considers how
many 'Hosannas' get multiple repetitions elsewhere in the choral literature.
This is a clever compositional ploy injecting a different feeling
into the words. The Benedictus is quiet and contemplative with
a muted second Hosanna not at all like Bach or Vivaldi. The
Agnus Dei is very obviously an appeal for mercy: it grows in
intensity through repetition and finally subsides to the last call
for peace. Here Briggs gives the high voices a striking line to close
the work.
I enjoyed this disc enormously and would urge music-lovers to buy
it at once and wash away their preconceptions. I can't say what it
will do for their sins but it will grace their listening time.
Dave Billinge
Previous review: John
Quinn
