Reviewed by Steven Whitehead

The four pieces on this disc span three decades of Giles Swayne's choral music, their striking echoes of Latin plainchant, Tudor polyphony and traditional African music providing contrasting and complementary strands characteristic of this much-travelled composer. "Magnificat I" from 1982 and the only piece on this disc that has been previously recorded draws on the music of the Senegalese Jola people and the Ba-Benezele of the Congo. Indeed, track one is a field recording made in Senegal by Swayne for the British Library. The way in which he turns this raw material into a striking choral work has to be heard to be believed. Swayne's moving threnody, "The Silent Land", scored for 40-part chorus and solo cello played brilliantly by the reliable Raphael Wallfisch, combines words from the Requiem Mass and Christina Rossetti's poetry, while "Stabat Mater" is dedicated to the grieving mothers of Israel and Palestine and uses texts from Christian, Islamic, and Jewish sources in a way that suggests Swayne has been dipping from the same well as Sir John Tavener. The singing from The Dimitri Ensemble is superb and we salute the soloists: Sophie Bevan (soprano), Kate Symonds-Joy (mezzo-soprano), Ben Alden (tenor), and Jonathan Sells (bass). Listeners with any interest in contemporary choral music should seek out this recording at their earliest convenience and rejoice in the fact that it is available at a very reasonable price.

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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