The theme of
the song is the story of the Nativity with the refrain emphasising the
theological interpretation that ‘Verbum caro factum est’ - ‘The Word was made
flesh’. This is the fundamental meaning of the events in Bethlehem both at the
time of Jesus’ birth and for the present.
The carol is
simplicity itself. William Kenneth Fulton’s (1981) dissertation provided me
with analytical information on this carol. The music beings with a setting of
the refrain in four parts. Walton has used the Mixolydian mode in A (scale
based on A with F#, C# and G natural). However he does make use of the G# in
the progress of the music.
The verses are
written in A Lydian mode (scale based on A with F#, G#, C# and D#). There is a
prominent octave leap at the beginning of each verse. The first three stanzas
are presented by sopranos, tenors and sopranos respectively using virtually the
same melody. Each time this is followed by the refrain. The final stanza is
sung by the full (S.A.T.B.) choir. The carol closes with the refrain and a
repeated ‘Verbum caro’. The harmony makes considerable use of parallel fourths
and fifths.
In a letter dated 9 October 1972
from La Mortella, Forio d’Ischia William
Walton remarked to Malcolm Arnold, ‘I’m glad you like the S.A.T.B piece [the carol
‘All this Time’] I’m getting to like it a bit myself & so[,] he writes me,
does the great B. himself.’ There is no doubt the ‘great B’ was in fact
Benjamin Britten. I was unable to find the reference in The Selected Letters and
Diaries of Benjamin Britten,
1913-1976, Volume 5, (2010) edited Donald Mitchell.
Over the years
there have been a number of recordings of William Walton’s ‘All this Time.’ At
present there are 10 listed in the Arkiv CD database. The earliest, in 1972, was by the Choir of
Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford conducted by Simon Preston. (Argo ZRG 725) This was part of an LP dedicated to Walton’s
Church Music. S.W. writing in The
Gramophone (November 1972) notes that the carol has already become popular
by its inclusion in the then recent Carols
for Choirs 2. Christ Church was the where the young Walton was admitted
aged 10, so this album was an appropriate present for his 70th
birthday.
In 1987 a
fascinating album of Christmas music by Holst and Walton was issued by Nimbus
records (NI 5098). Once again it featured the choir of Christ Church Cathedral,
Oxford, this time conducted by Stephen Darlington. It is still available from
record shops and online. The carol was included in the Chandos ‘complete’
cycle of Walton’s music in 1991 (CHAN 8998). It was coupled with the other
carols, the Coronation Marches (1937) and (1953) and In Honour of the City of London (1937) as well as some of the
liturgical works. Most recently it has
been featured on A York Yuletide: The
Choir of York Minster with the musical director Robert Sharpe. (Regent,
REGCD467). There is currently (accessed November 2015) a good version of ‘All
this Time’ on YouTube
sung by the Finzi Singers conducted by Paul Spicer.
Select Bibliography:
Craggs, Stewart
R, William Walton: A Catalogue
(Oxford University Press, 1990)
Ed. Craggs,
Stewart R, William Walton: Music and
Literature (London, Ashgate, 1999)
Fulton, William Kenneth, Selected Choral Works of William Walton (Ph.D. Dissertation, Texas
Technical University 1981)
Smith, Carolyn J., William Walton: A Bio-Bibliography
(Westport, Greenwood Press, 1988)
Tierney, Neil, William Walton: His Life and Music, (London,
Robert Hale, 1984)
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