Paul Fisher, Proteus Ensemble, Stephen Shellard - The Mystery Of Things

Published Thursday 6th June 2019
Paul Fisher, Proteus Ensemble, Stephen Shellard - The Mystery Of Things
Paul Fisher, Proteus Ensemble, Stephen Shellard  - The Mystery Of Things

STYLE: Choral
RATING 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
OUR PRODUCT CODE: 176049-
LABEL: Regent REGCD520
FORMAT: CD Album

Reviewed by Steven Whitehead

Apologies to anyone who feels I have misled them by categorizing this CD as 'Choral'. It most certainly contains some excellent choral singing by Stephen Shellard's Proteus Ensemble but out of a total of one hour of music 20 minutes, give or take, is devoted to organ music played by Richard Cook at Worcester Cathedral. I expect that even the most devoted collector of contemporary organ music would think twice about investing in this CD solely for the organ music, especially as some of it has been recorded before but for those interested in choral music skipping one third of the content may seem too much. Not, I hasten to add for the record, that there is anything wrong with the organ sections on this CD and if the playful "Birthday Moods" does not bring a smile to your face on first hearing then you must be rather a sad person. However the joke may not bear repetition. So this collection stands or falls by the choral music. The record company's blurb tells us that "Paul Fisher's music has an immediately approachable melodic quality, allied with a masterful technical control, producing music of quality and lasting worth" and I would not disagree. This selection of his choral music includes his Evening Canticles setting for Bradford Cathedral, movements from his large-scale requiem, "Black Light - A Requiem For Times Of War And Destruction", and a group of varied anthems. Rev Fisher was a Bass Lay-Clerk at Bradford Cathedral from 2003 to 2008 and it was here that he first began to compose choral music. For me this "Bradford Service" is the weakest of his compositions but we all have to start somewhere and, to be fair, if this is the least on offer it suggests that what follows is going to be well worth hearing. The excerpts from the "Black Light" Requiem left me wanting to hear the full work and if the Proteus Ensemble gets to record it so much the better. Other standouts for this listener are a reading by professional actress Gabrielle Bullock of "The White Tiger" by R S Thomas and the closing "God, You're Misbehavin'" subtitled "A Psalm Of Protest In American Spiritual Style For Soprano Solo, Choir And Organ". The soprano soloist is Jennifer Walker who also takes the solo in the Sanctus of "Black Light", another highlight. So the proverbial mixed bag. When it is good it is very, very good and when it is less memorable it is forgivable. Paul Fisher took early retirement in 2000 to allow more time for musical composition. I hope we do not have to wait another 19 years before we hear more.

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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