The Choir of the
King’s Consort http://tkcworld.organd and
The King's Consort are among the leading choirs and period instrument
orchestras in the world. Founded in 1980 by Robert King www.robertking.eu , they have toured in five continents
and appeared in almost every European country, in Japan, Hong Kong and the Far
East, as well as North and South America. With more than one hundred CDs in the
catalogue, selling in excess of one and a half million copies, The King's
Consort is one of the world's most-recorded historical instrument orchestras. In
recent years they have built up an impressive catalogue of recordings for Vivat
Music www.vivatmusic.com .
Due for release on 7th
October 2016 is a new recording from Vivat Music www.vivatmusic.com with The
Choir of the King’s Consort entitled A
Voice from Heaven - British Choral Masterpieces that features works from
Parry and Stanford through to James MacMillan and Thomas Hewitt Jones.
 |
| VIVAT 113 |
After studying at the Royal College of Music under Sir Walter
Parratt, Charles Wood and Sir Henry Walford Davies, William Henry Harris (1883-1973) worked as organist at New College,
Oxford and later St. George’s, Windsor. The
choir of the King’s Consort bring a very fine, rich textured opening to his
setting of John Donne Bring us, O Lord
God, rising to some wonderful moments with the subtle use of dynamics and
part writing making this something of a gem. We jump forward from 1959 to 2010
for another setting of Bring us, O Lord
God by James MacMillan (b.1959) www.boosey.com/composer/james+macmillan with some lovely harmonies as the choir emerges, rising and falling
through beautifully shaped passages, finding poetry as well as passion.
The other work here by William
H. Harris is his setting of Edmund Spenser, Faire is the heaven that brings lovely subtle harmonies in the
opening before rising through some finely turned phrases, this wonderful choir
finding every little nuance. The music grows in passion centrally, before a
quite lovely coda.
Herbert Howells’
(1892-1983) Take him, earth, for cherishing is something of a modern classic.
Here the choir deliver a finely paced opening, subtly expanding in textures as
the female voices enter with Howells’ lovely harmonies. This choir cuts to the
core of this wonderful work, finding perfectly the moments where Howell’s
reaches for ecstatic exuberance. Robert King’s control of the moments when the
voices hold a phrase before being overlaid by another section of the choir are heart
stopping. It was perhaps brave of John
Tavener (1944-2013) http://johntavener.com to set the same text given the popularity the
Howells’ Take him, earth, for cherishing
but how uniquely fine it is, wonderfully phrased and paced, revealing
Tavener’s exquisite harmonies and with the lovely effect of distance female
voices.
Solo soprano, Julie Cooper opens Charles Villiers Stanford’s (1852-1924) I heard a voice from Heaven with
the choir soon joining in this very fine setting. This soloist brings some
superb moments with the most glorious harmonies caught spectacularly well in
the acoustic of St. Jude’s. The choir finds a soft glow and when the soprano
solo rises out of the choir it is a spine tingling moment.
It is tenor, Tom Robson who opens Herbert Howells’ I heard a voice from Heaven to which the choir
responds beautifully. One needs no convincing of Howells’ stature as a composer
but here the music is elevated even higher. When baritone Andrew Rupp rises out
of the choir it is another fine moment. This choir finds a lovely ebb and flow with
superb harmonies and weaving of the choral tapestry.
Though Kenneth
Leighton (1929-1988) did not achieve the profile of some of his
contemporaries he was, nevertheless, a very fine composer. Here the choir bring
lovely sonorities to his setting of the 17th century Phineas
Fletcher’s verse Drop, drop, slow tears with
Robert King allowing his singers space to breath with a lovely gentle flow.
Charles Hubert H. Parry’s
(1848-1918) Lord, let me know mine end is beautifully phrased with naturally
varying tempi. The choir find a spontaneity in this distinctive setting with
some brilliantly incisive, dramatic singing at times and some particularly fine
part writing.
They show more of Charles
Villiers Stanford’s fine choral writing with his Justorum animae, rising wonderfully in the more dynamic passages
and finding a lovely sonority in the gentle moments. Lennox Berkeley’s
(1903-1989) setting of Justorum
animae is beautifully shaped with some lovely, distinctive harmonies, this
choir finding a lovely flow.
Herbert Murrill
(1909-1952) is another name that may not be familiar to listeners. He
studied at the Royal Academy of Music and Oxford before working for the BBC and
becoming Professor of Composition at the RAM. The choir brings some sumptuous
harmonies to his setting of The souls of
the righteous revealing some lovely moments particularly at the end where
the basses are heard to great effect.
Thomas Hewitt Jones
(b.1984) www.thomashewittjones.com is
an award-winning composer and winner of the 2003 BBC Young Composer Competition.
Here he sets the same text as Kenneth Leighton, Drop, drop, slow tears. The choir gently rises and falls through
some lovely passages, this choir finding rapt, glowing textures with occasional
vibrant outbursts in this very fine piece.
John Tavener’s Song
for Athene, takes its text from Shakespeare’s Hamlet and the Orthodox
Funeral Service. The choir rises from the depths on the word ‘Alleluia,’ creating
a tremendous atmosphere as the choir take the text over a deep choral drone.
The idea of ‘Life: a shadow and a dream’ is so well conjured here with the choir
of the King’s Consort bringing a stunning atmosphere, quite entrancing, finding
light as the music rises in the most glorious textures before a quiet coda.
These are outstanding performances that bring a wonderful
line up of British composers, some well-known, others less so. The equally
outstanding recording from producer Adrian Peacock and recording engineer David
Hinitt made at St Jude’s Church, London, UK is an equal star in this production.
There are excellent notes from Robert King as well as full
English and Latin texts with translation.
This could well be the finest choral disc of this year.
See also:
No comments:
Post a Comment