Reviewed by Steven Whitehead

There is much to applaud on this debut recording by the Pembroke College Girls' Choir and any 'buts' that a critical critic might utter should be overlooked when we appreciate the context of the recording. Pembroke is the third oldest college at the University of Cambridge although the Girls' Choir was founded as recently as 2018. The 18 girls, aged between 11 and 18, sing as part of the full choir in addition to singing as a separate choir twice a week in the college chapel. The Conductor, Anna Lapwood, is also a virtuoso organist and a passionate advocate for musical outreach and in particular for her support for women in music (#playlikeagirl). So what could possibly go wrong? The one-word answer is, of course, lockdown and the story Ms Lapwood tells in the CD booklet is well worth reading. Having risen to the challenges of keeping a new choir going through remote rehearsals, social distancing, track and trace pings and everything else we had to get used to it is remarkable that this collection is so listenable and so well sung. And, having written that last sentence, I realise that it sounds patronising when I intended it to be appreciative so I will move on and note the content. It is a wide-ranging collection of mainly but not exclusively sacred choral music arranged for upper voices and with either an organ or piano accompaniment. We get some old favourites such as Mendelssohn's "O For The Wings Of A Dove" and Gounod's arrangement of Bach's "Ave Maria" but the emphasis is on contemporary works such as John ("Johnny") Dankworth's "Light Of The World" and a particular standout in Eric Whitacre's haunting "The Seal Lullaby" from a poem by Rudyard Kipling. Church choir directors looking for material may be interested in the two settings of the Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis on show here, both well worth hearing: one set by Wayne Marshall and the other, "The Ely Canticles", by Ben Parry. By the time you read this review, the senior girls will have moved on to complete their education elsewhere, to be replaced by the next cohort and they - and we - should be grateful that we have a record (sorry) of what they have achieved in the most trying of times. I look forward to hearing more from the next generation.

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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