No ragged edges or raging anger here, although we know from his
St Cuthbert, his opera
Brune
l and
The Blackened Man that both - and more - lie within Will
Todd's expressive compass.
The title of the disc is a faithful reflection of the content. Here are
fourteen choral pieces ranging in duration from 6:24 to 2:03. They are
discreetly accompanied by orchestra and/or organ or piano. The style is
accessible - perhaps a little commercial and soft focus at times but by no
stretch of the imagination facile. The settings honour the words rather than
riding roughshod over their landscape.
Tenebrae is a professional chamber choir and this shows in every cooling
bar they sing here. The music moves from the softly consolatory and
undulating ripple of
Remembrance, which is both instantly
accessible and touching, to the greater complexity and intricate balance of
For Peace. This latter is notable for a slow eruption of
exaltation. It also has a truly effective instantaneous acceleration of the
pulse towards the close and then a falling away.
These pieces often deploy a slow and plangent ostinato patterning - a
cooling pulsation in the piano, played here by James Sherlock who also plays
the organ. There are many telling moments but I also single out, in
Encircled, the quietly lovely burred singing from the men and later
the use of a sweetly intoned solo violin. There's a fluttery
jazziness in the outstanding
Tidings which has the bright, eager
way of Geoffrey Bush whose songs have just been celebrated afresh in a
Lyrita CD. In
Sanctus we hear a downy softness.
Lux Beata
has a plainchant patina although an organ is present to accentuate the
monastic coolness of the music. By the way, the organ also takes a role in a
Celtic Blessing. More than once Todd snatches precious moments with
dizzily high and numinous bluebird notes which light the way.
The words are included in the booklet with the Latin texts also shown in
English translation.
Signum have been a haven for Will Todd’s music and
The Call of Wisdom, featuring music commissioned for HRH
The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee service in St Paul’s Cathedral in 2012 serves as
testimony. The larger Will Todd Ensemble has also recorded
Mass in Blue with the Vasari Singers for
Signum.
Todd premières over the last decade have included the
Requiem for choir, soprano and electric guitar, commissioned
and premiered by the Fairhaven Singers in 2009;
Te
Deum for the Vivace Chorus under Jeremy Backhouse
and
Jazz Concerto for Clarinet – a new clarinet concerto
for Emma Johnson. Plans include a setting of Keats'
Ode to a
Nightingale for Hertfordshire Chorus and the New York première
of
Mass in Blue at the Lincoln Center for the Performing
Arts.
I do hope that Signum will give us more Todd. We need to hear his Violin
Concerto as well as the two symphonic tone poems:
Keats and
Dylan Thomas not to mention the astonishingly impressive grand
opera
Brune
l and his more recent
Alice's Adventures in
Wonderland.
Meantime don't miss this movingly accessible and genuinely
sensitive choral collection.
Rob Barnett
Interview with the composer
