Choir of Jesus College, Cambridge, Mark Williams - The Evening Hour

Published Sunday 6th March 2016
Choir of Jesus College, Cambridge, Mark Williams - The Evening Hour
Choir of Jesus College, Cambridge, Mark Williams - The Evening Hour

STYLE: Choral
RATING 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8
OUR PRODUCT CODE: 160556-
LABEL: Signum Classics SIGCD446
FORMAT: CD Album
ITEMS: 1

Reviewed by Steven Whitehead

This most enjoyable release features different combinations of the Choir of Jesus College, Cambridge. In order of appearance: the College Choir (nine pieces), the Chapel Choir (four pieces), the Choristers (just Richard Rodney Bennett's "Song At Evening"), and the Combined Choirs (three tracks). Bertie Baigent and Benjamin Morris contribute organ accompaniment as required. The theme of the collection is, as is clear from the title, music for the evening with the added focus of confining the repertoire from the 16th and 20th centuries. While it is easy to comment on what has been omitted - this reviewer has a soft spot for Arthur Sullivan's "The Long Day Closes", for example - we should instead enjoy what has been included. We open with Philip Radcliffe's "God Be In My Head" and Edward Bairstow's "Save Us, O Lord" for the 20th century although both, it has to be said, have more than an echo of the 19th. Then we go back to the 16th century for John Sheppard's "In Manus Tuas". Already we can see a pattern emerging: if the title is in Latin the composer is from the 16th century, a theory that holds up until we get to Orlando Gibbons' "Behold Thou Hast Made My Days". By and large the music from the two eras sits comfortably together and, for this listener, the only time the two ages clashed was when we moved from Richard Rodney Bennett's "Song At Evening" ("Matthew, Mark, Luke and John / Bless the bed that I lie on") which is sweet to the point of sickliness and is followed by William Byrd's magnificent "Misere Mihi Domine". (Note to self: next time I play this CD, programme the Tudors as one sequence to be followed by the moderns). The mood throughout is reflectively contemplative, descending at points into melancholy but always worth hearing because of the craftsmanship of the composers allied to the excellence of the singing.

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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