Paul Paviour, Worcester Cathedral Chamber Choir, Stephen Shellard - The Guest: Choral And Organ Music Of Paul Paviour

Published Thursday 13th February 2014
Paul Paviour, Worcester Cathedral Chamber Choir, Stephen Shellard - The Guest: Choral And Organ Music Of Paul Paviour
Paul Paviour, Worcester Cathedral Chamber Choir, Stephen Shellard  - The Guest: Choral And Organ Music Of Paul Paviour

STYLE: Choral
RATING 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
OUR PRODUCT CODE: 149654-
LABEL: Regent REGCD410
FORMAT: CD Album
ITEMS: 1

Reviewed by Steven Whitehead

Paul Paviour was born in Birmingham in 1931 and settled in Australia in 1969 where he is now a well-established composer with an output that is both substantial and varied. This is the first disc entirely devoted to Paul's compositions and most of the works are receiving their first recording. Recorded in Worcester Cathedral by the Cathedral's Chamber Choir under Stephen Shellard, this collection presents a broad overview of Paviour's work for smaller choral ensembles, including works written for a royal visit, the dedication of a new organ, carols for Christmas and Easter and an organ piece, "Ruminations", based on Worcester's own Edward Elgar's only psalm chant, played by Christopher Allsop. The singing and organ playing are both good, the recording quality is excellent and the artwork features some beautiful paintings of Worcester Cathedral by local artist, the late Craig Letourneau. So there is much to applaud and, regrettably, one failing: the music is well constructed but the overall impression is of blandness. Nothing to make me reach for the "skip" button and certainly no reason to press "eject" but at the end of the 65 minutes there was little that stayed in my memory. Having said that, the Easter carol "I Know Christ Lived" would be worth adding to any choir's repertoire and the Christmas carols "Mary's Child" and "I Sing The Birth" are both worth considering if you are planning a Carols Around The World concert. But the rest is merely nice.

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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