The Cambridge Singers, John Rutter - This Is The Day: Music On Royal Occasions
STYLE: Choral RATING OUR PRODUCT CODE: 126291-19171 LABEL: Collegium COLCD136 FORMAT: CD Album ITEMS: 1
Reviewed by Steven Whitehead
Two risky statements to start - but both probably true. I would be hugely surprised if anyone interested enough to read this review had never heard any of the music on this CD and equally surprised if you have heard all of it before. In other words, this is a well selected compilation under the rubric of "music for royal occasions". As with all Collegium releases this is well presented in a beautiful sleeve and with extensive notes. Our singers are John Rutter's own Cambridge Singers with Rutter himself conducting. Also featured are the Aurora Orchestra led by Thomas Gould plus organist Andrew Lucas. We open with Rutter's own "This Is The Day" which was composed for the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton with texts taken from various Psalms. We close with Handel's "Let The Bright Seraphim" and "Let Their Celestial Concerts All Unite" as sung at the wedding of Price Charles and Lady Diana. In between we get music from six other royal weddings, two funerals plus Richard Rodney Bennett's "These Three", written for the diamond wedding anniversary of Her Majesty and Prince Philip and a selection of choral dances from Benjamin Britten's 'Gloriana', written in honour of the Queen's coronation. So we get some lovely choral music, all of it well sung and all of it carrying a certain weight of history. Of the pieces you may already have in your collection I want to note Tavener's "Song For Athene" that made such an impression at the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales. Here it is given a sumptuous performance that is well worth hearing, even if you own other recordings. Of the pieces you may not have heard - unless you were paying close attention on the day - I found "Holy Is The True Light" by William Harris the most moving. It was used at the funeral of Her Majesty the Queen Mother in 2002 and I found it particularly poignant when I read that Harris had once been the piano teacher of Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret Rose. As John Rutter says in his notes, this is a "personal and partial selection" and we think it a very well chosen one.
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