Richard HARVEY (b.1953)
Anthem: All I am is Thee [4:56]
Kyrie for the Magdalene [4:02]
O be joyful [3:58]
O Mother Earth [5:04]
Recordare [6:13]
Evanescence [3:33]
Carol: Eventide [2:20]
Ye Dying Gales [5:03]
Of a Mountain [2:29]
In Paradisum [2:28]
The Calm Hours [3:09]
Amy Howarth (soprano), Tui Hirv (soprano), Nicholas Trapp (boy soprano)
Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, Latvian Radio Choir
Sinfonietta Riga, Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra/Kaspars Putnins, Sigvards Klava, Tomasz Szymus, Richard Harvey
rec. Latvia Radio Studios Riga, Polish Radio Studios Warsaw - no other recording information supplied
ALTUS RECORDS ALU0012 [43:12]
This is the third disc in a row I have reviewed where music
and music-making of no little quality is let down by presentation and documentation
of depressing inadequacy.
Here, a disc of choral music by Richard Harvey comes with little more than
packaging and a moody picture on the cover. Harvey's music is probably
better known by ear than his name is familiar. This is because he has worked
a lot in the field of music for TV and film. According to his bio in the Internet
Movie Database, "Richard Harvey recently scored the music for Mark Osborne's
'The Little Prince' (2015/16) with long term collaborator and
Hollywood legend Hans Zimmer. Alongside a very proactive writing output over
the last few years, he is perhaps otherwise best known for his work on The
Da Vinci Code (2006), Eichmann (2007), Interstellar (2014), Les deux mondes
(2007), Arabian Nights (2000). He is a frequent collaborator with Hans Zimmer
and won a British Academy Award for his collaborative effort with Elvis Costello
on Alan Bleasdale's G.B.H. (1991)."
Collectors might also have spotted his name as the skilled soloist on a series
of discs of baroque recorder concerti. My favourite Harvey work remains the
two-brass pieces he wrote that featured on an old ASV disc. It was variously
titled but I remember it as "Brass at la Sauve-Majeure". As well
as directing that disc, Harvey wrote L'Homme armé and La
Citadelle which still sound absolutely stunning in the thrillingly rich
acoustic of the abbey of Sauve-Majeure.
So it was with considerable expectation that I approached this disc. The music
is as one would expect of a composer well-versed in film. In no sense do I
mean this disparagingly to say it is skilfully written, easily attractive
and strong on moody atmosphere. The performances are uniformly good and the
resonant recordings make the most of the beguilingly lush and rich harmonies.
But that is about as good as it gets. The disc comes with no texts at all.
This is a significant problem because the downside of the lush recording style—and
possibly a consequence of using a choir for whom English is not their first
language—the words sung remain stubbornly unintelligible. About the
only information the liner notes provide is the sources of the texts where
the words have not been written by Harvey himself. But having sought the texts
in vain on Harvey's own site I gave up. As an aside: Harvey's
own site is as unforthcoming about this disc as the disc itself. It even manages
to give the timing as two minutes shorter than it actually is.
If the producer of the disc makes no effort to help the listener gain any
wider comprehension of the music they are listening to then frankly I do not
see why I should have to try too hard to achieve an understanding. Stripped
of text and context—there are no dates of composition let alone why
any piece might have been written—all that remains is a mellifluous
flow of golden choral tone. In isolation it is rather lovely if somewhat unvaried
but very much in the style of Eric Whitacre out of John Rutter. Again, that
is not a statement that carries any implied criticism, just one that is necessary
in the splendid isolation in which this music is presented.
The liner lists four conductors without saying who conducted what—because
it really did not matter I assume. The bulk of the orchestral accompaniments
are by the Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra who play perfectly well given the
pretty straightforward and undemanding nature of their parts. Not that it
is clear who plays what, but I assume by a process of elimination that it
is the Sinfonietta Riga who accompany Harvey's best-known choral work.
This is the Kyrie for the Magdalene [sorry: no text and cannot hear
the words so you will have to guess what this is about] that was part of the
soundtrack for the Da Vinci Code. Again this work is strong on shadowy
melancholy and mood without having any real sense of a "greater"
meaning beyond the requirements of a film score. Harvey is good at using choral
writing tricks of closely written high soloists and sepulchral bass lines.
Always effective but hardly original.
Elsewhere, Ye Dying Gales [sorry again: no text for this (written
by Harvey) so no idea what they are singing about] is an atmospheric study
in clashing close vocal harmonies. In Paradisum is quite happy to
doff a cap of homage to Fauré. The eleven tracks run to just over forty minutes,
so this is not anything like good value on that score either. There is no
apparent structure to this programme. Put your CD player onto random play
and you will get as satisfying a sequence of music, whatever the order. My
frustration is that Harvey is a very skilled composer, and presented differently,
with more diversity, this could have been a very enjoyable disc. As it is,
it feels like an easy-listening, middle-of-the-road, ask-no-questions, turn-the-lights-down-and-fall-asleep
high-quality background music compilation.
Nick Barnard
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