Cambridge Choir Of Gonville & Caius College, Geoffrey Webber - Dormi Jesu: A Caius Christmas

Published Sunday 16th November 2014
Cambridge Choir Of Gonville & Caius College, Geoffrey Webber - Dormi Jesu: A Caius Christmas
Cambridge Choir Of Gonville & Caius College, Geoffrey Webber - Dormi Jesu: A Caius Christmas

STYLE: Choral
RATING 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9
OUR PRODUCT CODE: 154164-
LABEL: Delphian DCD34152
FORMAT: CD Album
ITEMS: 1

Reviewed by Steven Whitehead

The reviews of the Choir of Gonville & Caius College already posted show us how consistently good it is, thanks in no small part to its outstanding conductor, Geoffrey Webber who ensures that while singers come and go, as is inevitable in a college choir, the standard remains the same. Thus we can take the excellence of the musicianship as a given and can be equally confident of the audio quality when we see that the release is on Gramophone magazine's Label Of The Year for 2014, namely Delphian Records. With these boxes ticked the only remaining question is over the content, where getting the balance right is crucial. This, too, is excellent with a near perfect mix of old and new. Personally I find a disc of entirely new Christmas compositions almost disconcerting; one of the joys of Christmas worship is giving some of all-time great hymns their annual performance, so a CD with nothing recognisable is a disappointment. But, on the other hand - no doubt you can see where this is leading - a collection consisting of nothing but old favourites can soon seem as stale as a week old mince pie. Happily Geoffrey Webber gets the balance just right on 'Dormi Jesu'. We open with Jan Sandström's sublime deconstruction of Michael Praetorius' "Es Ist Ein Ros Entsprungen" and journey on to the Venetian lushness of Gabrieli's "O Magnum Mysterium" and the distilled purity of Webern's title track, "Dormi Jesu". This is a seasonal collection which is sprinkled with unexpected gems of more recent provenance such as Edward Higginbottom's jazz-infused take on the traditional "Rocking Carol", Thomas Hewitt Jones's eloquently expressive "What Child Is This?" and the small miracle that is Matthew Owens' re-imagined setting of "The Holly And The Ivy". A personal favourite, and one that was a most pleasant surprise to hear in this context and performed so well, is Webber's own arrangement of "Hills Of The North, Rejoice". All in all this is an interesting collection brilliantly sung with genuine warmth throughout.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

Interested in reviewing music? Find out more here.

Be the first to comment on this article

We welcome your opinions but libellous and abusive comments are not allowed.












We are committed to protecting your privacy. By clicking 'Send comment' you consent to Cross Rhythms storing and processing your personal data. For more information about how we care for your data please see our privacy policy.

NAVIGATION
CONNECT WITH CROSS RHYTHMS
SIGNUP

Connect with Cross Rhythms by signing up to our email mailing list

A Step Change...
Cross Rhythms Media Training Centre
MORE ARTICLES
DISCOGRAPHY
ARTIST PROFILES
Artists & DJs A-Z
# A B C D E F G H I J K L M
N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z #
Or keyword search

 

PRAYER ROOMS
Incinerator
Be genuine and real and incinerate your attitudes and apathy in our Prayer Room