A Christmas Fantasia: Carols and Fantasies

The publicity flyer for this CD reminds the listener that this is the third Christmas album issued by William Vann and the Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital Chelsea. (ALBCD035, A Vaughan Williams Christmas and ALBCD050, An Oxford Christmas). In this present disc, they explore several carols and fantasias by Ralph Vaughan Williams, his friends, and former pupils. The one exception is the new Carol by the choir’s current director of music.

There is a Little Door by Herbert Howells is a perennial favourite. This sets a text by Francis Chesterton, the wife of the poet and writer G.K. Chesterton. This carol was composed in 1918 at the end of the First World War. In the closing stanza, this seemingly pastoral verse undergoes a transformation - a shift from an idyllic countryside to the battlefield. The poet reimagines the Magi’s gifts not as symbols of peace but as offerings to the fallen.

No collection of carols would be complete without John Ireland’s The Holy Boy. Originally the third of Four Preludes for piano (pub.1917) it has been “dished up” in quite a few arrangements, including orchestral, chamber and brass ensemble. In 1941, Ireland set words by solicitor and gifted amateur musician, Herbert Sydney Brown, to the tune. It is always a pleasure to hear.

Two carols by Rebecca Clarke are included. The first, a vivid realisation of verses from the anonymous fifteenth-century English carol, There is no Rose (1928). The equilibrium between the solo baritone and the soprano-less choir is ideal. This is followed by a gratefully contrapuntal Ave Maria (c.1937) for sopranos and altos only, nodding to Palestrina.

The current director of the Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital Chelsea, William Vann contributes the simply titled Carol. This is a setting of the poet/composer Ivor Gurney’s poem “Winter now has bared the trees” from the volume Severn & Somme (1917). The liner notes admit that this is a pastiche of Gerald Finzi, Herbert Howells and RVW. Whatever its antecedents, this is a perfectly well-wrought and effective fusion of text and music, creating a perfect balance between the cold season and the “warmth and joy of Christian camaraderie.” No date of composition is given.

I guess few people will have heard Cecil Armstrong Gibbs Christmas cantata, A Saviour Born, however, many singers who use the ubiquitous Carols for Choirs I (1961) will be familiar with his While the shepherds were watching. Rhythmically vital and modally tinged this unaccompanied carol should be an indispensable part of the Yuletide playlist.

Gerald Finzi’s motet for baritone, double chorus and organ is a powerful meditation on Henry Vaughan’s poem The Brightness of this Day (1923) with its emphasis on simplicity and denial of excessive revelry, and concentration on the spiritual core of the Season. It offers echoes of the “grand choral works of Parry and his [Finzi’s] teacher Edward Bairstow.”

Christmas Day by Gustav Holst is a Choral Fantasy on Old Carols, written in 1910. These include old favourites Good Christian Men, Rejoice, God Rest You Merry Gentlemen and Come, Ye Lofty, Come, Ye Lowly. The liner notes point out that The First Nowell “was woven throughout as a counterpoint.” Despite Holst dismissing it as “poor stuff anyway and not worth doing” it has become a favourite. Well worth having on this CD in Holst’s sesquicentennial anniversary.

A new carol to me is Elizabeth Maconchy’s Nowell, Nowell, Nowell (1967) which sets an old English text dating from the fifteenth century. It is “light, joyful and elegant.”

About half of the CD playing time is given over to Ralph Vaughan Williams’s contribution to the Christmas Season.

Three numbers from the Twelve Traditional Carols from Herefordshire published in 1920 are heard. These were “collected, edited and arranged for voice and piano, or to be sung unaccompanied by Mrs E.M. Leather and R. Vaughan Williams.” The fieldwork was done during 1912-1913.

The first carol is Christmas Now is Drawing Near at Hand which contains a lot of theological moralising. It presents a lovely melody. God Rest You Merry, Gentleman, has a quite different tune to that popularly sung today. The final offering from this collection is On Christmas Day. The sentiment of this carol seems lacking charity, with Jesus striking down the ploughman who was working on Christmas Day to make ends meet. It is truly melancholy. The liner notes promise that a subsequent “companion album, Carols from Herefordshire, (ALBCD064) contrasts all twelve carols in both settings.” Most of the choral versions have never been recorded before.

I remember as a teenager listening spellbound to a wireless broadcast of RVW’s Hodie (1954). (It was on 24 December 1972). I accept that the complete cantata has been judged as a little uneven, yet for me it was (and still is) full of Christmas magic. Two of the Carols from that cantata are heard here, The Blessed Son of God and No Sad Thought His Soul Afright. The latter musically presents a chilly, frost-bound landscape.

RVW’s Christmas Hymn from the Three Choral Hymns (1929) presents a text after Martin Luther, by Miles Coverdale. This longish piece begins quietly, as a lullaby as it meditates on the crib in Bethlehem, but soon builds intensity as the poet meditates on the theological significance of the Incarnation. The Wassail Song was the last of the Five English Folk Songs completed in 1913. There is little theology here, just encouragement to enjoy a good drink.

Another work that epitomises the Season is the Fantasia on Christmas Carols composed in 1912 and premiered that year during the Three Choirs Festival in Hereford Cathedral. It is scored for baritone soloist, choir and either orchestra or organ. (A piano and solo cello edition exists). During the progress of this single movement, RVW weaves together English folk carols, including The truth sent from above, Come all you worthy gentlemen, and On Christmas Night. Fragments of other carols are heard. The choir is instructed to use “extended techniques” such as “humming” and singing ‘Ah.’  There are delicious harmonies throughout.

The liner notes are devised by John Francis with additional material from William Vann. They are helpful and provide information about each piece and its background. The texts are included. I would have liked the dates for all the composers to be given. Details of the choir, musical director, organist, and baritone solo are included. The booklet is well-illustrated with pictures of the composers and performers. The beautiful cover is based on stained glass in Holy Trinity, Sloane Square, designed and made by Christopher Whall in 1900.

It is redundant to comment on the faultless singing and organ accompaniment. The sound recording is excellent. This is a valuable Christmas offering that explores much lesser-known repertoire, with a few old favourites for good measure.

Track Listing:
Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)
Christmas Now is Drawing Near at Hand from Twelve Traditional Carols from Herefordshire (1920)
Herbert Howells (1892-1983)
Here Is the Little Door from Three Carol Anthems (1918)
Ralph Vaughan Williams
The Blessed Son of God from Hodie (1954)
John Ireland (1879-1962)
The Holy Boy (1913)
Rebecca Clarke (1886-1979)
There Is No Rose (1928)
Ave Maria (c.1937; pub.1998)
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Christmas Hymn from Three Choral Hymns (1929)
William Vann (?)
Carol
Cecil Armstrong Gibbs (1889-1960)
While the Shepherds Were Watching from the cantata A Saviour Born (1952)
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Wassail Song from Five English Folk Songs (1913)
Gerald Finzi (1901-56)
The Brightness of this Day (1922/23)
Ralph Vaughan Williams
No Sad Thought from Hodie (1954)
Gustav Holst (1874-1934)
Christmas Day: A Choral Fantasy on Old Carols (1910)
Ralph Vaughan Williams
God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen from Twelve Traditional Carols from Herefordshire (1920)
Elizabeth Maconchy (1907-94)
Nowell, Nowell, Nowell (1967)
Ralph Vaughan Williams
On Christmas Day from Twelve Traditional Carols from Herefordshire (1920)
Fantasia on Christmas Carols (1912)
Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital Chelsea/William Vann; Jamie Andrews organ; Ashley Riches bass-baritone.
rec. 12-13 February 2024, Holy Trinity Church, Sloane Square, London.
Albion ALBCD063