Choir Of Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge, Geoffrey Webber - Set Upon The Rood

Published Tuesday 25th July 2017
Choir Of Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge, Geoffrey Webber - Set Upon The Rood
Choir Of Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge, Geoffrey Webber  - Set Upon The Rood

STYLE: Choral
RATING 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8
OUR PRODUCT CODE: 166719-25975
LABEL: Delphian DCD34154
FORMAT: CD Album
ITEMS: 1

Reviewed by Shireen Qureshi

Perhaps you know of the irregular verb game: I am a character, you are an eccentric, and he is a fruitcake. Listening to this CD made me think all three descriptions are apt - although not at the same time. Some background: in 2014 the piper Barnaby Brown collaborated with the ever innovative Choir of Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge to record the acclaimed 'In Praise of St Columba'. The same team are now joined by lyre player Bill Taylor and ancient brass specialists John and Patrick Kenny. All are members of the European Music Archaeology Project, whose own ongoing collaboration with Delphian Records has taken us back in time for glimpses of the sound of Europe's ancient instruments. Here, those extraordinary sonorities blend with and emerge around the singers' committed contributions in seven richly conceived new pieces. We open with a world premiere commission by Sir James MacMillan, Noli Pater, which sets up the Celtic theme. As we said in our review of the 'St Columba' collection, this is not the tartan for tourists Celtic world but something deeper, more mysterious, and to modern ears indescribably strange. Yet any new work by Sir James MacMillan is notable and will hopefully raise interest with many. John Kenny's sequence The Deer's Cry is the most other-wordly with the brass to the forefront, evoking perhaps the wild hunt or perhaps the battlefield but the words by St Patrick are more about the believer seeking a Saviour - or is it the Saviour seeking us? Listen for yourself and see if you can decide. Whether all this sounds intriguingly eccentric or repellently contrived no one can doubt the skill of the musicians. True, much of it does not conform to our modern expectations but the choral singing is excellent throughout and when vocals and instruments match up we get something magnificent. My favourite is Stevie Wishart's Iste Confessor although Stephen Bick's Set Upon The Rood runs it close and while some of the pieces did not work for me I am willing to concede that this may be my fault. It may be a strange analogy but perhaps some readers will know what I mean when I say this reminds me of the something the late John Peel would have played. Yes, it may sound eccentric but no one can doubt the commitment that went into it and if you enjoy exploring world music or have an interest in contemporary choral singing this could be for you.

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
Watering Hole
Be heard in your pain and needs and cry out to your God in our Prayer Room