Samuel BARBER (1910-1981)
Reincarnations, Op. 16 [7:37]
Easter Chorale (1964) [2:50]
God’s Grandeur (1938) [6:40]
Let down the bars, O Death! (1936) [2:12]
Two Choruses from Antony and Cleopatra (1968) [6:37]
Two Choruses (1968)
Twelfth Night [4:12]
To be sung on the water [2:31]
The Monk and his Cat (1961) [2:25]
Under the Willow Tree (1961) [3:09]
A Stopwatch and an Ordinance Map (1940) [5:59]
Motetto from the Book of Job (1930) [8:59]
The Virgin Martyrs (1935) [3:35]
The Moon [2:06]
Sure on this Shining Night (1961) [2:29]
Ad Bibinem cum me Rogaret ad Cenam [1:50]
Heaven-Haven (A Nun Takes the Veil) (1961) [1:54]
Agnus Dei (1967) [6:37]
Birmingham Conservatoire Brass Ensemble; Ben Kennedy (piano); Matthew Firkins
(timpani)
Birmingham Conservatoire Chamber Choir/Paul Spicer
rec. 2014, Adrian Boult Hall, Birmingham Conservatoire
Texts included
SOMM CELESTE SERIES SOMMCD0152 [73:11]
Paul Spicer and his excellent Birmingham Conservatoire Chamber
Choir have been responsible for several fine discs already (review
~ review
~ review
~ review).
I’m delighted to find their attention now turning to the choral music
of Samuel Barber. This distinguished American composer had a great affinity
for the human voice – he was a very decent baritone himself –
and a discerning selector of texts. Those traits come out repeatedly in his
art-songs and they are much in evidence in this collection of choral pieces.
Spicer has trained his young choir well. There are 26 singers in the group
(9/5/6/6) and they sing with great commitment and no little skill. Occasionally
the basses sound a little short of tonal depth – these are young voices,
after all – but the only real concern I have is that, to my ears at
least, there is some evidence of edge in the soprano tone, especially at higher
volumes. However, there’s a great deal to admire in these performances,
as I’ve found from previous experience of this choir on disc.
A few of the pieces were new to me. I don’t recall hearing Ad Bibinem
cum me Rogaret ad Cenam previously. Like the Reincarnations
trilogy it’s believed to date from the late 1930s. Whilst it’s
good to hear it I don’t think it’s an especially memorable piece.
Much more interesting, I find, are the three Motteto, which are settings
of texts from the Book of Job. In his useful notes Daniel Galbreath observes
that this set of pieces “is clearly a young composer’s exploration
of styles.” I wouldn’t disagree but the writing is expressive
and already the responsiveness to words, which was to be such a Barber hallmark,
is well in evidence.
A few of the pieces that Paul Spicer has chosen are Barber’s own re-workings
of earlier solo songs. The Monk and his Cat is one of the Hermit
Songs, Op. 29, which Barber wrote in 1952/53. The music itself is thoroughly
engaging. However, despite the skill with which it’s performed here
I don’t really think it works in this format. In this arrangement one
vocal part is assigned the melodic line at any given time while the other
parts ornament it and fill out the texture. Sometimes they do so wordlessly,
sometimes they articulate the same words as we’re hearing sung to the
main melody. Frankly, it’s cluttered, especially since Barber retains
the piano accompaniment. Much the same can be said of Sure on this Shining
Night and that’s even more of a pity since that is one of the very
greatest art songs of the twentieth century. Just to reassure myself I went
back to the splendid DG anthology of all the Barber songs, curated by John
Browning and sung by Cheryl Studer and Thomas Hampson. As it happens, it was
Studer who sang both of these songs in that set. What a joy it is to hear
Barber’s marvellous original inspirations sung without the regrettable
accretions of his choral arrangements.
However, Barber’s arrangement of a third song, Heaven-Haven (A Nun
Takes the Veil) seems to be the exception that proves the rule. This,
like Sure on this Shining Night, comes from the Four Songs, Op. 13,
composed between 1937 and 1940. The music lends itself much better to a choral
arrangement; it’s suited to the homophonic treatment that Barber gives
it and perhaps it’s not without significance that this is the only one
of the three arrangements in which Barber dispensed with the piano accompaniment.
The Birmingham Conservatoire singers make a splendid job of it.
His most celebrated choral arrangement of an earlier work is the re-imagining
of the Adagio for Strings as Agnus Dei. Once again, I strongly prefer
the original but a good performance, such as this present one, can often weaken
my resolve.
The standout performance on this disc is the account of Barber’s extraordinary
A Stopwatch and an Ordinance Map. This mundane, even prosaic title
– the title of Stephen Spender’s original poem – belies
the intensity of the subject, a poem describing the death of a combatant in
the Spanish Civil War. And what a masterstroke on Barber’s part to use
timpani to accompany the singers! Here the singing is first class and the
timpani playing of Matthew Firkins is marvellously incisive – and recorded
with tremendous presence by the engineer, Paul Arden-Taylor. This is a gripping
performance.
The excellence of that performance is closely matched by the choir’s
rendition of Let down the bars, O Death! This solemn, melancholy
Emily Dickinson setting, which was sung at Barber’s own funeral, is
sung with great feeling by Spicer’s choir.
Barber extracted some choral pieces from his operas. Under the Willow
Tree comes from his 1958 opera Vanessa while two other choruses
were rescued from the much less successful opera Antony and Cleopatra.
The first of these, On the Death of Antony is for female voices.
It features a prominent solo soprano part and I’m sorry that the soloist
isn’t credited for she sings with great accomplishment. On the Death
of Cleopatra is for full chorus. This is a tragic, grief-stricken piece
and it’s sung intensely.
Most of the music on the programme is unaccompanied but six pieces require
a piano and the accompaniments by Ben Kennedy are stylish. The Birmingham
Conservatoire Brass Ensemble makes a sonorous contribution to Easter Chorale.
Here Barber holds back the brass until near the end of the piece and that’s
well judged because the brass thereby have much greater impact when they join
in.
This is another most welcome disc from
Paul Spicer and the Birmingham Conservatoire Chamber Choir. As I’ve
already indicated, the singing is very good and the repertoire choice is enterprising.
Somm’s documentation is right up to the mark and the recorded sound
is clear and present. More please.
John
Quinn
Support us financially
by purchasing this from |
 |