Reviewed by Steven Whitehead

Psalms have long played a central part in Christian worship, assuming even greater importance in England following the Reformation when Psalms were preferred to "Catholic" chants. This CD, the sequel to 'Psalms For The Soul', offers a selection of Psalm settings written largely for the Anglican liturgy, with harmonised chants and more elaborate compositions, ranging from "Burial Sentences" by William Croft (1678-1727) through to Mozart's pupil Thomas Attwood (1765-1838) with his setting of Psalm 41 on to contemporary works by Bob Chilcott ("My Prayer" from Psalm 110), Matthew Larkin (Psalm 111) and Noel Edison (Psalm 137). Edison deserves a special mention as he is director of this busy Canadian choir. His contribution as composer sits well alongside the better-known writers having, to this listener's ears, something of Arvo Pärt about him that gives a welcome contrast to some of the other pieces. This is not intended as a criticism of this collection but it is perhaps inevitable that 15 Psalms set in the Anglican tradition and all performed by the same choir will end up sounding somewhat similar. The Choir of St John's, Elora, as befits one of Canada's top choirs, sings beautifully and the words, which surely must take precedence, shine out in their settings.

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.

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