Reviewed by Steven Whitehead

Charles Wood (1866-1926) was born in Ireland at Armagh where he was later a choirboy but most of his professional career was spent in Cambridge where he was eventually elected Professor of Music. Along the way he was taught composition by Stanford and Parry and counterpoint by Frank Bridge and made a particular contribution to Anglican church music with liturgical settings that remain part of the cathedral choral repertoire. Wood's setting of the 'St Mark Passion' was made in 1920 to provide bigger parish churches with an alternative to the well known Passions of J S Bach that were considered too vast for even the best ordinary church choirs. Thus Wood's 'St Mark Passion' sat alongside Stainer's 'Crucifixion' although nowadays one is far more likely to hear Bach or Stainer than Wood at Eastertide. This is our loss as this excellent super-budget issue demonstrates. Wood knew what he was doing as he re-tells the greatest story of all in English and with some lovely hymns for choir and congregation interspersing the Biblical narrative. The soloists all deserve credit: they are Simon Wall as the Evangelist, James Birchall as Christ, the bass Edward Grint who plays the villains (the High Priest, Judas, and Pilate) and the soprano Ruth Jenkins who gives a beautiful solo in the hymn "My God, I Love Thee". Listeners who have any interest in traditional Anglican choral singing will greatly appreciate this CD.

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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