This CD is not designed to be
listened to from end to end. The main event is the Communion Service in
G minor which lasts for nearly half an hour. Another liturgical piece is the Te
Deum in G. The remainder of the programme is made up of hymn tunes,
anthems, motets and a secular, but deeply spiritual, setting of Walt Whitman. I
explored items grouped together by genre. I began with the hymns, all of which
were arranged/written for the 1906 edition of the English Hymnal.
I was introduced to For All the Saints Who from Their Labours Rest and RVW’s glorious tune Sine Nomine at school assembly. It has remained a favourite ever since. That said, Mrs Gallacher did not take it quite as fast as the present singers. And if I recall correctly, some of the eight verses were omitted. That said, this is surely one of the best-loved hymn tunes of all time. He Who Would Valiant Be set to Monks Gate is an ever-popular setting of John Bunyan’s powerful words. The tune is based on the folk song The Captain Calls all Hands. The English Hymnal version of this text is used. Sadly, Bunyan’s “hobgoblins nor foul fiend” are omitted. I heard the voice of Jesus say, is set to Kingsfold. The liner notes explain that this tune was “collected” from the streets of Westminster. Over the years it has been paired with several texts. The present words are by Horatius Bonar who was a Church of Scotland minister.
The beautiful Let all mortal
flesh silence keep, was one of several texts that RVW set to a melody of
French origin. Picardy derives from a carol Jésus-Christ s’habille en
pauvre, dating from the 17th century. The words are translated
from the Greek liturgy. Vaughan Williams used the folk song Diemen’s Land
or Young Henry the Poacher for G.K Chesterton’s hymn O God of earth
and altar. No introduction to Down Ampney is needed. Named after the
composer’s birthplace, this powerful melody compliments Bianco de Siena’s (translated
by Richard Frederick Littledale) well-known words. It is usually regarded as one
of RVW’s greatest hymns.
I turned to the motets and anthems. O clap your hands (1920) is a choral warhorse. It sets four verses from Psalm 47 from the Authorised Version of the Bible. The musical style is characterised by a clarity of texture. It is heard here in its version for choir and organ. An expanded edition that includes brass and percussion was made by the composer.
In this year of Her Majesty the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, it is good to have included the flawless miniature O Taste and See (1953). This motet originally followed the Sanctus in the Coronation Service. A.E.F Dickinson has stated that its perfect “sense of proportion and singable quality…made it, sung during the Queen’s Communion, such a moment of truth in the ceremony.”
The clue to an appreciation of RVW’s Prayer to the Father of Heaven is found in the dedication: “To the memory of my master Hubert Parry, not as an attempt to palely reflect his incomparable art, but in the hope that he would have found in this motet (to use his own words) something characteristic.” It was completed in 1948, the 30th anniversary of Parry’s death. The text is by the Tudor poet John Skelton. The result is sonorous and dignified, “radically different” from the Five Tudor Portraits where RVW had set more earthy words by Skelton.
I am never sure about the wisdom of performing Ralph Vaughan Williams’s Antiphon from his Five Mystical Songs (1911) as a standalone piece. Yet, I accept that it is a very common practice. Whatever the listener’s view on this matter, it is a powerful and uplifting song of praise. The words “Let all the world in every corner sing: my God and King,” is the triumphant refrain. The text is by the seventeenth century poet, mystic and priest George Herbert. Perhaps this should have been placed as the final number on this disc.
Valiant for Truth is a spin off from Vaughan Williams near-obsession with John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress. This motet for mixed chorus was written in 1940 in memory of the composer’s friend Dorothy Longman, who had died in June that year. There is no doubt that world events influenced RVW’s choice of words: Coventry had been blitzed and thousands of people had been imprisoned in the Warsaw Ghetto. It ends with the moving and optimistic lines “So he passed over, and all the trumpets sounded for him on the other side.”
The opening track features the Te Deum in G. This was composed for the enthronement of Dr Cosmo Gordon Lang as Archbishop of Canterbury on 4 December 1928. The progress of this setting is characterised by unison passages counterbalanced by the antiphonal Decani and Cantoris all supported by the organ. This means members of the choir sat on the Dean’s side of the choir stalls “compete” with those on the Precentor’s side. It surprises me that this setting is not more popular in choirs and places where they sing.
No special pleading is needed for Vaughan Williams’s Mass in G minor (1922). James Day has summed up this magnificent choral work: “The soft richness of the Pastoral Symphony and the solidity and power of the Tallis Fantasia are here pressed into the service of the liturgy, and from the stylistic point of view an excursion is made into the remote past in order to create something new.” The problem for Anglicans who were enamoured with this work was that RVW had set the Roman Catholic Tridentine text. What was needed was an English version that matched the incomparable prose and poetry of the Book of Common Prayer. In 1923, the pianist, composer and conductor Maurice Jacobson came to the rescue. With a minimum of fuss he adapted it for the English words. The movements are rearranged, and new music was added to accompany the Ten Commandments, or Decalogue. The liner notes ponder over the Communion Service’s lack of traction in cathedrals and parish churches. I guess that as many churches have junked the Prayerbook Eucharist service, the batting order will no longer be appropriate. Even when the traditional words are retained, most will use a “Rite B” derivative which mirrors the order of Roman Catholic Mass. For better or worse, the Commandments are rarely sung in Churches these days. In this recording, they are read by the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams.
It functions remarkably well: I
would love to hear it in action during a special “retro” Communion Service. This
is the premiere recording of this version.
The final track is Nocturne: By the Bivouac’s Fitful Flame which was an early setting of a Walt Whitman poem from his collection Drum Taps. This a cappella choir work strangely began life a Ballade for string quintet. Two years later, it was revised as a Nocturne for the same ensemble. At some point, RVW made this present choral setting. It was duly lost and remained undiscovered until 2000. Heard here, this is a thoughtful and introspective setting matching Whitman’s meditation about death and injury during the American Civil War.
The singing is faultless throughout and is complimented by a great sound quality. The booklet is typically excellent, with detailed notes by John Francis on each piece. No dates are provided in the track listings and sometimes this information is not obvious/provided in the programme notes. I have collated the dates to Michael Kennedy’s essential Catalogue. All the texts have been provided, and they have been conveniently grouped with the relevant note. Biographical details of the choir, director, organist and former Archbishop are included. The cover photograph features a fresco from behind the high altar in St Jude-on-the-Hill church. It was painted by Walter Percival Starmer. There is no mention of the splendid organ in the notes. Originally installed by Father Willis in St Jude’s Church, Whitechapel, it was moved to its present location in 1924. It was subsequently rebuilt in 1934 by Hill & Son & Norman & Beard. In 2002 the organ was overhauled and refurbished, with some additional stops.
This is a wonderful compendium of RVW’s choral music, featuring some well-known pieces and a few rarities. Explore slowly.
Track Listing:Ralph VAUGHAN WILLIAMS (1872-1958)
Te Deum in G (1928) [6:47]
For All the Saints Who from Their Labours Rest (1906) [4:23]
O Clap Your Hands (1920) [3:06]
Monk’s Gate: He Who Would Valiant Be (1906) [2:00]
Communion Service in G Minor, adapted by Maurice JACOBSON (1896-1976) (1922/23) [29:37]
Kingsfold: I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say (1906) [2:15]
O Taste and See (1952) [1:25]
Picardy: Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence (1906) [3:03]
Prayer to the Father of Heaven (1948) [5:25]
King’s Lynn: O God of Earth and Altar (1906) [2:12]
Antiphon: Let All the World in Every Corner Sing (1911) [3:07]
Down Ampney: Come Down, O Love Divine (1906) [3:16]
Valiant-for-Truth (1940) [5:50]
Nocturne: By the Bivouac’s Fitful Flame (1904/06) [5:39]
Leah Jackson (soprano), Joshua Ryan (organ), Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital Chelsea/William Vann
rec. 22-23 October 2020, 17 June 2021, St Jude-on-the-Hill, Hampstead Garden Suburb, London.
ALBION RECORDS ALBCD051 [78:05]
With thanks to MusicWeb International where this review was first published.
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