Reviewed by Steven Whitehead

This CD is issued to mark the 200th anniversary of Samuel Sebastian Wesley (1810-1876). He takes four of the eight tracks with the others being shared by three of his British contemporaries: Charles Steggall (1826-1905), Thomas Attwood Walmisley (1814-1856), William Crotch (1775-1847), plus Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847). Anthony Burton, in The Story Of British Classical Music labels the four British composers on this disc as "an intriguing group of organist-composers." He goes on to say that "Samuel Wesley had been a child prodigy, writing an oratorio at the age of eight, and was a prime mover in the revival of interest in J S Bach. He composed symphonies in the tradition of J C Bach and Haydn, and - presumably to the distress of his family, as he was the nephew of the founder of Methodism - a Mass and some large scale motets for the Roman Catholic liturgy. William Crotch had been an equally remarkable child prodigy, giving his first public performance at the age of three; his oratorio 'Palestine', first performed in 1812, was the most successful example of the genre since Handel. (A more unusual claim to fame is that in his boyhood he supposedly wrote the now familiar 'Westminster Chime'.) Thomas Attwood, organist of St Paul's Cathedral and later of the Chapel Royal, had studied in Vienna with Mozart, who predicted that he would prove 'a sound musician'; he composed theatre music, songs, and chamber music, but is best remembered as the composer of some distinctly Mozartian anthems." When one hears the offerings on this disc we soon recognise that this represents the best of what can be politely labelled as some second-rate composers and is of little more than historical interest. Burton also explains how in the first half of the 19th century British music was dominated by foreign visitors such as Mendelssohn and when we reach the closing track, the famous "Hear My Prayer" we hear an absolutely first-rate piece that relegates all that has gone before to mediocrity. However, it must be noted that the performances are first-rate throughout. The Choir Of York Minister with John Scott Whitely on the organ sound splendid and anyone who enjoys traditional male choral singing will be pleased to hear this. The boy treble who takes the wings of the dove is Master Billy Marshall and he is superb. This CD is difficult to grade. It deserves 10 out of 10 for the performance but rather less for the content.

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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