I enjoyed this CD despite minor
reservations about its raison d’être. The CD advertising blurb states that this
‘recording features sacred and secular choral music from many areas of the
British Isles traditionally regarded as having Celtic roots.’ In addition, several works by English
composers ‘writing on a variety of Celtic and other folk themes are included.’
The CD producers posit that an
imaginative way of evoking national identity is to listen to the musical
language that has been used in that nation over the centuries, in both its
religious and its social settings.’
One or two anomalies do creep in.
Do we regard the Unionist, Charles Villiers Stanford born in Dublin, as a
‘Celtic’ composer or as a British one? And what about Cornwall and the Isle of
Man? They are not included composer-wise.
Charles Villiers Stanford’s ‘The
blue bird’ is one of my desert islands discs. It is a perfect fusion of music
and words and is given an ideal performance here. As an aside, other works that,
for me, fall into this ‘perfect’ category include Arthur Sullivan’s ‘The Long
Day Closes’, Frederick Delius’ ‘On Craig Ddu’, John Ireland’s atmospheric ‘The
Hills’ and Olivier Messiaen’s ‘O Sacrum Convivium.’ Others will disagree! Stanford is also represented by two masterly anthems:
‘For lo, I raise up’, which sets a difficult apocalyptic text by the Prophet Habakkuk
and the restrained ‘Beati quorum via’ taken from Psalm 119.
English-born Parry’s ubiquitous
setting of Welshman Henry Vaughan’s inspiring ‘My Soul, there is a Country’ is
given yet another outing. It is well sung here.
I did wonder if yet another recording
of John Rutter’s popular ‘A Gaelic Blessing’ was a wise choice. Are there no
other settings sourced from Gaelic texts or tunes that could have been included?
I love Rutter’s piece, but there are more than 20 versions in the current
catalogues.
Nearly as popular, is Benjamin
Britten’s ‘A Hymn of St Columba’, composed in 1962 as part of the 1400
celebrations of the Celtic Saint’s arrival at Iona. This is a short but complex
piece that majors on the Day of Judgement.
Paul Stopford’s ‘Do not be afraid’,
based on a passage from the Prophet Isaiah, ‘offers reassurance in our troubled
times.’ It is effective and quite simply lovely. But I wondered what the Celtic connection is? It
is quite simply English-born Stopford’s seven-year tenure as Director of Music
at the beautiful St Anne’s Cathedral in Belfast…
The main novelty on this disc for
me are the Four Welsh Folksongs,
op.39 by Welsh composer William Mathias. They were composed in 1968 (not 1983
as stated in the liner notes: this is when they were published) and dedicated
to the Cardiff Polyphonic Choir. As would be rightly expected, they are sung in
Welsh with an English translation provided in the insert. They are thoroughly
enjoyable numbers that present a song in praise of holly, a meditation on
homecoming of a prodigal son or daughter and a quarrel between a lazy wife and
her feckless husband.
William Mathias is also
represented by his anthem ‘As truly as God is our Father’ (1987) which is a
remarkable setting of a prayer by Mother Julian of Norwich.
Other Welsh composers featured in
this CD include Geraint Lewis’s peaceful anthem ‘The Souls of the Righteous’.
This is a sustained meditation on the ‘peace which passeth all understanding’
and is the reward of the ‘faithful’, is truly gorgeous.
Paul Mealor’s ‘Ubi Caritas’ was
heard by millions of people who tuned into the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s
wedding in 2011. This is a lovely setting of the Antiphon from the Washing of
the Feet at the Mass of the Last Supper. Subtle techniques make this a subtle
synthesis of ‘harmonic suspensions of a Morten Lauridsen or Eric Whitacre’ and
plainsong.
Cornwall is represented by a
single number: ‘I love my love’ which is a traditional song arranged by the
English-born, Latvian/Swedish/German ancestry composer Gustav Holst. They were
originally part of his Six Choral
Folksongs. Were there no native Cornish composers from whom an anthem could
be found? (George Lloyd, David Willcocks or Derek Holman). The other Holst work
here is his setting of ‘Swansea Town’ from his Six Hampshire Folksongs.
The Scottish selection of ‘Afton
Water’, to a text by Robert Burns arranged by David Willcocks hardly seems to
reflect the Celtic element of Scotland. With one or two exceptions the text of
this song is written in standard English by a poet who hardly regarded himself
as a Celt.
The final song on this CD is
fairly and squarely in the Welsh camp.
The maudlin ‘Dafydd y Garreg Wen’ or ‘David Of White Rock’ arranged by
Robert Court.
The Cantemus Choir based in
Cardiff ensures that the Welsh nation is well-represented here by some fine
music, all of which is well-sung under the direction of Huw Williams. And do
not forget the excellent contribution from organist, Peter King. The liner
notes include a good introduction to the music, give the texts and
translations, and the biographies of the performers. Dates for all the pieces are not included: I
have given them in the track-listing where provided.
This is an imaginative CD that explores music
from the four corners of the United Kingdom. Whether the Celtic connection
proposed by the advertising is fully achieved is a matter of opinion (as noted
above). There are some beautiful anthems and delightful folk songs here, several
of which are premiere performances.
Track Listings:
Charles Villiers STANFORD
(1852-1924) For lo, I raise up, op.145 (1914)
Geraint LEWIS (b.1958)
The souls of the righteous (1992)
Charles Villiers STANFORD
Beati quorum via (pub. 1905)
Paul MEALOR (b.1975)
Ubi caritas (2011)
John RUTTER (b.1945)
A Gaelic blessing
Philip W J STOPFORD
(b.1977) Do not be afraid
William MATHIAS (1934-92)
As truly as God is our Father (1987)
Charles Hubert
Hastings PARRY (1848-1918) My soul, there is a country (1916/18)
Benjamin BRITTEN (1913-76)
A hymn of St Columba (1962)
Charles Villiers STANFORD
The blue bird (1910)
William MATHIAS Four
Welsh folk songs (1983): Y Gelynnen (The Holly Bush); Robin Ddiog (Lazy Robin);
Hobed o hilion (The Wistful Wanderer); Dadl dau (A Quarrel for Two)
Cornish trad, arr. Gustav
HOLST (1874-1934) I love my love]
Scottish trad, arr. David
WILLCOCKS (1919-2015) Afton Water
English trad, arr. Gustav
HOLST Swansea Town
Welsh trad, arr. Robert
COURT (b.1954) Dafydd y Garreg Wen (David of White Rock)
Cantemus Chamber Choir/Huw Williams, Peter King (organ)
Rec. The Chapel of Keble College, Oxford 7-8 January 2017
REGENT REGCD 502
With thanks to MusicWeb International where this review was first published.
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