A very attractive collection of songs and anthems by Peter Lea-Cox on Divine Art

The English organist and composer Peter Lea-Cox  http://lecosaldi.homestead.com  studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London www.ram.ac.uk before becoming, from 1967 to 1972, Assistant Music Master at Oundle School, Northamptonshire. From 1973 to 1986 he was on the staff of the Royal Academy of Music where he taught choral conducting, sight singing and harmony.  From 1973 to 1986, he was Director of Music at St. Jude-on-the-Hill Church in Hampstead Garden Suburb in London www.stjudeonthehill.com and has served as organist at St. Mary-at-Hill Church in the City of London www.stmary-at-hill.org  From 1987 to 2004 Lea-Cox served as Director of Music at the Lutheran Church of St. Anne & St. Agnes in the City of London www.stanneslutheranchurch.org.uk .

Lea-Cox is an accomplished recitalist who has given organ concerts in Britain, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and the United States.  He made his twenty fourth organ recital tour of Denmark in 2011.  In 2011 he made his eighteenth musical tour to the United States and, earlier that year, was guest director of the De Swaen Barokensemble www.barokensembledeswaen.nl performing Bach Cantatas and other works at the Oude Lutherse Kerk in Amsterdam www.luthersamsterdam.nl/oudeluthersekerk .  He has given organ recitals at Westminster Abbey www.westminster-abbey.org  and St. Paul’s Cathedral in Londonwww.stpauls.co.uk as well as Washington’s National Cathedral www.nationalcathedral.org .

He has also performed with the Lecosaldi Ensemble at Westminster Abbey and Canterbury Cathedral www.canterbury-cathedral.org .  In October 2004, he gave the twenty seventh annual recital in the distinguished Paul D. Wickre Memorial Concert Series at St. Luke Lutheran Church in Silver Spring, Maryland http://saintluke.us .  He has broadcast on Britain’s Radio Three www.bbc.co.uk/radio3 as well as making recordings of organ and instrumental music. Lea-Cox conducts the Camden Chamber Choir www.camdenchamberchoir.org.uk and other choral societies as well as serving as a tutor at the annual Oxford Baroque Week www.baroque-week.org.uk    

He has composed many vocal and instrumental works as well as compositions for organ.  He uses the pseudonym “Lecosaldi” when composing in the baroque style of Handel and Telemann and uses “Lea-Cox” when composing in a contemporary idiom.

Divine Art Recordings www.divine-art.co.uk have just released a new recording of songs and anthems by Peter Lea-Cox performed by the soprano Lesley-Jane Rogers and pianist Jennie-Helen Moston. 

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Peter Lea-Cox’s Six Songs of Gerald Manley Hopkins opens with Hurrahing in Harvest, with a lovely flourish on the piano and a very spring like feel, very much in the English tradition of song writing, with an attractive slow central section. Spring is a very attractive setting, whilst Pied Beauty is an extremely striking setting of verses that must have been a challenge to set. Thee, God, I come from, to thee go is a hymn like setting that has an Elizabethan and even a Vaughan Williams feel. As Kingfishers catch fire is an evocative setting and the final song in this set The Windhover returns to a faster tempo with a lovely piano part from Jennie-Helen Moston. Lesley-Jane Rogers has a lovely pure voice but does seem rather strained in the upper register.

This is a quintessentially English song cycle which gains so much from the thoughtful and effective piano writing. These songs deserve to be included in English song recitals.

Noël Nouvelet is the first in this collection of Eight Seasonal Anthems, a terrific Easter anthem that deserves to be in constant use. Again the piano part is so effective. Lesley-Jane Rogers is particularly beautiful in the quieter second verse. Behold, the Herald’s voice is calling opens with repeated, gentle chords sensitively played. Here Rogers is most effective in this lovely Advent piece. Crown Him, Lord of Lords is a rousing Ascension anthem and God’s Word is our great heritage is for Reformationtide, a timelessly English piece.  A beautifully peaceful Baptised into your Name, most Holy is so fine in its simplicity. Saviour, when in dust to you is a Lenten anthem, somewhat melancholy, in another fine setting that rises up in the middle. Come before the Saviour’s table has a lovely simplicity, more a song than anthem in feel, but lovely nevertheless and again with some lovely piano phrases. Rejoice, rejoice this happy morn is an uplifting Christmas anthem to end this collection of anthems.

Jennie-Helen Moston plays a short piano work by Peter Lea-Cox entitled Cathedral at night which is a quiet, effective, atmospheric piece.

Finally on this disc are eight Collected Songs commencing with Let the Season lift your spirit, a setting of verses by Katherine Foyle, a song that highlights Lea-Cox’s ability to vary the music to create the exact feeling for the words. The Clod and the Pebble is a setting of Blake, beautifully done, again with such an effective piano part. The same applies to Lea-Cox’s setting of T S Eliot, Winter Prelude that completely conjures up the feel of winter. Afterwards is an accomplished Hardy setting with such feeling and sensitivity for the words, whilst Sailing to Byzantium, a setting of W B Yeats, has a jaunty, even jazzy opening before moving to a more thoughtful tempo. Interestingly, in verse four, Lea-Cox almost hints at the Londonderry Air, no doubt touching on Yeats’ Irishness. Like the touch of rain, a setting of Edward Thomas, is exquisite with a lovely piano part. Garlic and Sapphires is another setting of T S Eliot, again showing such sensitivity to the text.  Baby Sleeping ends this attractive collection and is a lullaby on the Christmas story, a really charming song.

This is a very attractive collection of songs and anthems that deserve to be included in the repertoire. As usual from Divine Art, the booklet is beautifully produced with notes by Lesley-Jane Rogers and Peter Lea-Cox together with full texts. The recording is excellent. Though I have certain reservations about certain aspects of Lesley-Jane Rogers’ voice on this recording, her singing is often really lovely in the quieter and more gentle passages. I do urge all those interested in English song and church anthems to hear this disc.