Reviewed by Steven Whitehead

When I think of the Roman Catholic cathedrals of England I suppose it is Westminster that comes first to my mind followed by the thought that all the ancient cathedrals from Canterbury to Durham started as Catholic ones until Henry VIII nationalized them. Thus it was a surprise to me that there is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Southwark, south of the Thames in London and has been since the 1840s. The musical tradition which currently thrives at St George's dates from 2000, when Nick Gale was appointed Director of Music. He built up a choral tradition based on a group of professional lay clerks and boys from various Catholic schools within the Diocese of Southwark, and also north of the Thames. With these forces Solemn Mass was established as the main weekly choral service, with Gregorian Chant and polyphony at its heart, and with all Mass settings and motets sung in Latin, by a wide range of composers. The Girls' Choir was founded shortly afterwards, recruited from a variety of London schools, initially singing their own repertoire. Over the years the Boys' and Girls' Choirs have developed to the point where they exchange roles, and sing together for special services, thus enjoying equal status within the Cathedral's musical life. This collection gives us a varied selection of choral music for Christmas, built around some familiar hymns: "O Come All Ye Faithful", "While Shepherds Watched", "Silent Night", "O Little Town Of Bethlehem"' and "Once In Royal David's City". Yes, you have almost certainly heard all of them before and probably have versions in your collection - but there is more, including six Gregorian antiphons for the two main Masses of the nativity celebration: Christmas Midnight Mass and the Mass for Christmas Day. I would file these under interesting without necessarily wanting to hear them again but those from a Catholic background will appreciate them more than I. However, the twin highlights for this listener are not as well-known as they deserve to be: John Tavener's "God Is With Us - A Christmas Proclamation" with some rousing organ work from Frederick Stocken and James MacMillan's motet "In Splendoribus Sanctorum" with its virtuoso trumpet interludes here played by Simon Desbruslais. To sum up, we hear a mixture of old faithfuls along with some lesser known material, all in a Roman Catholic context marking a worthy conclusion to the ministry of Director Norman Harper who retires from the Cathedral at Christmas 2018.

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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