Ohio Light Opera - Jerome Kern: The Cabaret Girl

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Music reviews of Jerome Kern: The Cabaret Girl

Music Review: Explore a unique sound world
Rating: 4 Stars

The disc opens and closes with bell-ringing: this is something not often heard on recordings of sacred music, and it is a really nice touch. York Minster in fact was the first cathedral in England ever to boast a diatonic set of bells (i.e. eight possible notes can be played), so these tracks have historical significance as well as adding to the musical dimension.

Which brings us neatly to the programme. It is not perhaps as long as it could have been (the whole disc runs for about 55 minutes), but the choice of music is bold and awe-inspiring, especially in the Minster's legendary five-second acoustic. Choral items include the "Dies Irae" from Mozart's "Requiem," Benjamin Britten's short and spine-tingling "Hymn of St. Columba" and motets by Thomas Tertius Noble and Edward Bairstow, two former masters of music who were justly acclaimed in life and after death, having left a generous corpus of sacred music behind them. The current Master of Music, Philip Moore, is himself a composer (indeed I recently had the pleasure of discussing his music with him as part of a degree submission) and his lovely setting of "Through the day" is beautifully and clearly rendered as are all the other items (although certain items sound a little too muddy in places - an unfortunate drawback of the generous resonance in the Minster).

The organ works, played by organ scholar (of the time) Sean Farrell and by the long-serving assistant organist, John Scott Whiteley, are equally splendid. John Stanley's "Trumpet Tune" deserves special mention as it showcases the celebrated 'tuba mirabilis' of the Minster organ. The famous closing movement of Charles-Marie Widor's "Fifth Symphony" is also here, rounding off the musical programme with a joyful climax before the bell-ringers play the disc out with "Plain Bob Triples."

This is of course not the only recording made by the Choir and organists of York Minster, but it is certainly one of the more diverse and interesting, particularly for the casual listener. Clearly, a lot of thought went into the programme, and I find that to be the disc's best attribute alongside the performance. This is certainly worth a try if you want a REAL sample of the English cathedral tradition in progress...

Description of Jerome Kern: The Cabaret Girl

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