Walton: Choral Music
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CD Details
Composer: William WaltonPerformer: Christopher Whitton
Edition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2002-03-19
Music Label: Naxos
Soundtracks:
- Magnificat
- Nunc dimittis
- Touch her soft lips and part (organ solo)
- Passacaglia "Death of Falstaff" (organ solo)
- Kyrie
- Sanctus and Benedictus
- Agnus Dei
- Gloria
Music reviews of Walton: Choral Music
Music Review: Great boy treble tradition resounds
Rating: 5 Stars
Over time even traditionally great choirs vary in their excellence, so in recent years the choir of St. John's College Cambridge has a sound that is again at its apogee. Choirmaster Christopher Robinson (now, alas, recently retired from St. John's) has nurtured a choral brilliance that reminds me of the years when George Guest directed the choir. It is a delight to see that the great tradition of men and boys choirs still resounds in the Anglican Church (at least in many of England's 'Collegiate' and Cathedral choirs). St. John's is one of two ancient male voice chapel choirs at Cambridge University (the other being King's College Chapel Choir) in which the boy trebles are actually in a sense 'professionals'. Each college, in whose chapel they sing daily services, operates a nearby boarding school where the young singers--chosen for prodigious talents at strict competition-- take a high level of musical training, along with the regular school curriculum. The men's voices consist of young university students attending Cambridge on 'choral scholarships'. And for me the often heard debate regarding the merits of boy trebles versus girls (or women's) voices in church music is not moot when it comes to the Anglican musical and liturgical tradition. There is a kind of effortlessness and artlessness to the singing of the English choirboy, at this level of selection and training, that produces a wistful, often plaintive sound. It is a sound that seems most perfect for the Anglican liturgical repertoire. A female singer often seems to me likely to 'interpret' the note more, probably by virtue of natural instinct, and interject themselves more into the musical meaning of the piece. The boy treble 'tends' to have a natural emotional detachment in his singing which for me more profoundly expresses the ineffable nature of traditional Anglican music (if the expression of the ineffable is not a contradiction in terms:-). Anyway, for many all this is arcane opinion. But for lovers of this musical tradition it is its arcane nature that fills us with joy and wonderment.
Description of Walton: Choral Music
St John's English Choral Music series for Naxos (this Walton disc is No. 4) has won golden opinions (and an award or two), but there has been nothing better than this. With Christopher Robinson nearing the end of his reign in charge of this world-renowned choir, there could hardly be a better testament to his work. The likes of "Drop, drop slow tears" and "Set me as a seal" are standards for choirs up and down the land, but pieces such as the remarkable "The Twelve" and "Where does the uttered music go?" require a particular virtuosity, which is more than evident here. Space doesn't permit an extolling of all the virtues--in brief, a sound fresh, rich, and natural; ensemble and balance of voices immaculate; solo contributions impressive. Christopher Whitton's organ playing also impresses, not least in arrangements of the two ubiquitous movements from Walton's film music for Henry V. The acoustics of St John's is caught just right--neither too dry nor too swimmy. As a chorister himself, Walton knew the musical traditions of the Anglican church inside out. St John's et al. show here they know his music just as thoroughly. Rush out and buy. --Andrew GreenGeneral CDs
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