ALL IN THE APRIL EVENING
'Laudibus' cond. Michael Brewer
CD Hyperion £14.00
72 minutes
The discerning reader may have noticed by now that this is the third review in a row that I have written on choral music of one sort or another. If you suspect a certain favouritism, you would be right! I hope you will not be bored!
The 'Hyperion' record label has acquired an excellent reputation in recent years for the high quality of its recordings, particularly of choral music. They have some outstanding choirs 'on their books' and this one is no exception, although I must confess that 'Laudibus' is a new name to me. Choral music is a field which has recently been rather dominated by a smallish group of professional, hand-picked choirs names such as 'the Tallis Scholars' and 'the Sixteen' come to mind) whose sound, whilst a joy to listen to and technically perfect, can be almost too good to be true.
'Laudibus', on the other hand, give every indication of being a 'real' choir; this excellent collection feels like a recital that one might hear in a concert, and will reward the careful listener with some superb singing. They are, in fact, the chamber choir of the National Youth Choir, and it is clear that they sing together on a regular basis, such is their technical excellence.
The programme on this CD is designed as a tribute to the great Glasgow Orpheus Choir which, conducted by Sir Hugh Roberton, did so much for the fine British tradition of choral singing in the early part of this century; many of the pieces were made famous by the Orpheus, and a number are arrangements by Roberton. (Incidentally, it was Roberton who once famously told the male section of his choir, after a horrendous mistake in rehearsal by the sopranos and the altos, that, should they ever think of getting married, they should 'steer clear of this lot'!). However, this background does not have any real bearing on one's enjoyment of the music.
It is a varied programme, beginning with a group of folk songs, mostly Scottish, followed by some madrigals, and then a fairly extensive series of 20th-century songs and arrangements by the very best of British composers - Elgar, Vaughan Williams, Stanford, Parry and Sullivan. I would particularly recommend the settings of three Shakespeare sonnets by Vaughan Williams, which have a haunting beauty all of their own. Some listeners will also greatly appreciate Stanford's 'The Blue Bird'.
Tucked in among all this is a hymn - The Lord's My Shepherd (Tune: Crimond), which will be of obvious interest to the Christian listener. 'Church music' is also represented by William Byrd's 'Ave Verum' and 'Never weather beaten sail' by Hubert Parry.
Perhaps I could sum up this recording by describing it as a good honest recording of fine choral music, and one which I can heartily recommend.
