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The St Nicolas, Pevensey, 2016 Events Programme

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Talks

May 18th 7:00 PM, ‘Archaeological History of St. Nicolas Church’ with a description of exhibits from recent excavations on church land, by Dr. Scott McLean, Professor of History and former Head of Field Studies at Herstmonceux Castle. £7.50

October 14th 7:00 PM (Battle of Hastings 950th Anniversary Day),                     ‘Untold consequences of the Battle’ an entertaining and informed talk by the Curator of Pevensey Museum, Peter Harrison, followed by soirée drinks hosted by              Carr Taylor Wines £10.00

Concerts

January 23rd  7:00 PM: NOTEworthy– New Eastbourne choir sing a programme of church music through the ages £6 each or £12 Family

April 23rd 7:00 PM —St. George’s Day: Harvey’s Brass – East Sussex based Symphonic 10-piece Brass ensemble of experienced musicians, £10

May date tba: Organ Recital, by John Collins, Royal College of Music, & Royal College of Organists lecturer £7.50

May 28th 7:00 PM : Pasadena Roof Orchestra ‘Hot Five’ – Jazz Night, £12.50

June 11th 7:00 PM: Hailsham Choral Society with pupils from Pevensey &  Westham School choral concert including an especially composed St. Nicolas celebration choral cantata ‘The True St. Nicolas’, and Haydn’s St. Nicolas Mass. £10 adult/£5 child

June 26th 4:00 PM ‘Tea Concert’: Catherine Rimer, a baroque music specialist,    Royal College of Music Tutor and member of The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment – ‘Cello recital £10

July 9th 7:15 PM: Canterbury Cathedral Boys Choir, cathedral choral music programme £12.50

August 6th 5:00 PM: Chamber Music for Flute & Harp. Musicians from The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and London Symphony Orchestra £10

September 3rd 7:00 PM: Eastbourne Symphony Orchestra ensemble perform English compositions for strings to show off the wonderful church acoustics. £10

October 21st 7:00 PM:  The King’s Singers – internationally renowned ‘a cappella’ vocal ensemble sing a programme of secular and contemporary ‘pops’. £20

December 4th  2:30 PM: Vivace! Seasonal Concert Ditchling based ‘a cappella’ choir who only sing for Charitable causes – their fifth annual visit to St. Nicolas. £10.

 

Figaro Forever – Opera Trilogy for Welsh National Opera’s Spring Season

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One opera trilogy, three established directors and two of Britain’s most celebrated theatre designers are just some of the ingredients for two new productions and a world premiere in Welsh National Opera’s forthcoming spring season.

For over 200 years the character of Figaro has remained one of opera’s most theatrical creations. Welsh National Opera will celebrate the story of this wily character with his lust for life and a desire for matchmaking and mischief in a trilogy of operas in their spring season Figaro Forever.

The season of operas, all sung in English, features new productions of Rossini’s The Barber of Seville and Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro together with the World Premiere of Figaro Gets a Divorce by Russian born British composer Elena Langer with a libretto by WNO’s Artistic Director David Pountney.

The exceptional design team for the trilogy will be set designer Ralph Koltai CBE RDI and costume designer Sue Blane MBE. Koltai is generally acknowledged as the principal innovator of British Theatre Design and has designed some 250 productions of opera, dance, drama and musicals throughout the world. His contemporary set for the WNO productions will feature in all three operas in a unique design system evoking the changing worlds in which Figaro must operate.

Sue Blane is one of the UK’s leading film and theatre costume designers who has been at the forefront of the European theatre scene for over forty years and is particularly well known for her original designs for the iconic Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Beginning the story is The Barber of Seville with its much loved characters and music inspired by the comedy by Beaumarchais. The Barber of Seville will be directed by young British theatre director and comic opera specialist, Sam Brown, making his WNO debut with Welsh National Opera Orchestra conducted by James Southall. Australian born baritone Nicholas Lester also makes his WNO debut and takes on the role of the scheming Figaro.  Andrew Shore reprises his recent role with English National Opera as Bartolo, whilst British soprano Claire Booth will sing the role of Bartolo’s young ward Rosina. Tenor Nico Darmanin takes the role of her lover Count Almaviva with Richard Wiegold as Basilio.

Mozart’s ever popular The Marriage of Figaro continues with the spirited characters in the story of Count Almaviva’s household with a host of intrigues and romances all packed into one day :Figaro’s Wedding Day! Tobias Richter, Director General of Grand Théâtre de Gèneve, directs and Lothar Koenigs conducts his last opera as the Company’s Music Director. David Stout sings Figaro and is alongside Anna Devin as Susanna with Mark Stone and Elizabeth Watts as the troubled Count and Countess Almaviva.

The World Premiere of Figaro Gets A Divorce will be conducted by Justin Brown, General Music Director of the Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe, Germany, and Music Director Laureate of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra in the United States. In an affectionate sequel to Mozart’s classic, the final chapter of the story is brought to a close for these much loved characters, whose relationships are put under intense strain by political instability in 1930’s Europe. David Stout, Mark Stone and Elizabeth Watts continue their roles as Figaro and Count and Countess Almaviva for the opera, joined by a cast that includes Marie Arnet (Susanna), Alan Oke (The Major), Andrew Watts (The Cherub) Naomi O’Connell (Serafin) and Rhian Lois (Angelica).

Composer Elena Langer has written compositions in diverse genres including opera and multimedia, orchestral, chamber and choral works and together with WNO’s Artistic Director David Pountney has created a lyrical and striking ending to Figaro’s story.

David Pountney said “I had been intrigued by the idea of how the story might end and what the world of Figaro sounds like in the hands of a contemporary composer. As well as the everyday troubles, the rumblings of revolution were getting closer in The Marriage of Figaro posing the question of how these characters would survive as their world breaks apart.”

More information on WNO’s spring 2016 season is available at wno.org.uk/figaroforever

The Mikado celebrates 200 performances at English National Opera

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On Sunday 6 December, British mezzo-soprano Dame Felicity Palmer presented director Jonathan Miller and the cast and chorus ofThe Mikado with a cake to celebrate the 200th performance of the Gilbert and Sullivan classic at the London Coliseum.

ENO The Mikado - 200th performance - Sir Jonathan Miller with cast 2 (c) Richard Hubert Smith

This production first premiered for English National Opera on 21 September 1986 and has delighted audiences for almost 30 years. During this time, it has played to over 400,000 audience members and has been broadcast on ITV (in 1987) and screened live to cinemas across the UK and internationally (3 December 2015).

Original cast members include: Eric Idle playing Ko Ko, the Lord High Executioner, Lesley Garret, Jean Rigby and Susan Bullock as Yum-Yum, Pitti-Sing and Peep-Bo, Dame Felicity Palmer as Katisha and the late Richard Angas as the Mikado.

Miller’s ‘glorious production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s best comic opera’ (Daily Express) has become a true audience favourite and is the perfect Christmas treat for all the family. Its Marx Brother’s inspired song-and-dance take on Gilbert & Sullivan has long been a hit with theatre-goers of all ages. Full of high-kicking chorus lines, satirical touches and a wonderfully elegant score it tells the tale of Nanki-Poo and his love for Yum Yum. There’s just one snag. She’s betrothed to Ko-Ko, the new Lord High Executioner. And he needs someone to execute otherwise it’s his own head on the block. Perhaps Ko-Ko and Nanki-Poo can come to some arrangement, without anyone losing their head?

The Mikado runs until 6 February 2016 www.eno.org

photos(c) ENO/Richard Hubert Smith

Bexhill Choral Society

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St Augustine’s Church, Bexhill, Saturday 5 December 2015

Ken Roberts

The year’s roll round so quickly it hardly seems twelve months since we were last here for the traditional carol concert from Bexhill Choral Society. If the programming is familiar there is always enough variety to keep us on our toes. On this occasion we had two carols which were certainly unfamiliar to me and a number of others which are more rarely performed, alongside familiar favourites, and of course carols for audience participation.

Bob Chilcott’s The Sparrow’s Carol is a chirpy delight and was set against Alan Bullard’s gentle Scots Nativity. There was an unfamiliar American setting of Away in a Manger which charmed, and Philip Ledger’s Bell Carol maintained the local connections, along with the opening Sussex Carol. Bob Chilcott was also heard in a fine arrangement of Silent Night.

As usual, Ken dusted off his saxophone for a Christmas Medley before the interval, and the evening concluded with Leroy Anderson’s Sleigh Ride and Bernard’s Winter Wonderland.

Kenneth Roberts not only conducts with aplomb but knows his forces well. As a result his own arrangements are particularly apt and successful, not only for the choir but also for Cinque Ports Brass who accompanied throughout.

It was good to have both Robert Aldwinckle on piano and Nigel Howard at the organ, avoiding any unnecessary rushing between consoles.

The choir certainly did themselves proud. Though there were only five tenors listed in the programme, there was no sense of the male voices seeming under-powered. They had a number of exposed sections which were roundly filled, producing a full and very pleasing tone. Female voices were richly focused with no problems at the top of the range.

In May we are to her Puccini’s Messa di Gloria  and Poulenc’s Gloria. Put that in your diary now.

Seaview Carol Concert

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St John’s, Pevensey Road, Hastings, Saturday 5 December 2015

This has been a good year for Seaview. The 30th birthday has brought The Big Sleep, among other events, to help the community at large realise how important it is to the area and the scope of its work.

It may be that the recent publicity brought more people to the carol service. This was certainly one of the largest congregations we have had for the event, which meant the singing was even more enthusiastic than normal.

The acoustic in the church is not helpful, and some of the speakers were not clearly heard at the rear of the church, but their love for Seaview, and their passion for its work, communicated even where the words did not get through.

now and then

No such problem with the music. The a cappella group Now & Then gave us fine versions of I saw three ships, January Lullaby and Driving cold winter away. They were followed by Seaview’s own choir who sang Silent Night and Once in Royal David’s City, and chanted Mary had a baby to great effect.

The final group were Sound Waves who brought us Past 3 o’clock, God rest ye merry, and a whimsically funny version of The Twelve Days of Christmas. They were joined by the Seaview Choir for a full version of Silent Night, before the music concluded with everyone joining them for Good King Wenceslas.

At this point everyone was able to move to the back of the church were refreshments were provided and a chance for people to chat and catch up with each other after a very busy few weeks.

 

Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra

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The Dome, Brighton, Sunday 6 December 2015

An afternoon of warmly romantic music when the weather outside was wet and blustery. Stephen Bell’s enthusiasm is catching and he added a new layer of energy and life to a programme which was itself full of life-enhancing joy. Dvorak’s In Nature’s Realm may not be the most complex of scores but its sense of light and air was well captured and the melodic fragments danced throughout.

 

There was more weight to come from Strauss and Bruckner, and the former’s Horn Concerto was dynamically led by soloist Martin Owen. He created a noble, almost heroic, stance in the opening movement and this flowed over into the slow movement with its finely crafted cantabile sections. The bravura stance of the finale was highly effective and roused the audience to a genuinely enthusiastic reception.

Bruckner’s Fourth Symphony, the Romantic, is probably his most approachable for those unfamiliar with the majestic structures he creates. The opening shimmered into life and the climaxes were well built, with a real richness of tone. The brass, who had proved themselves more than able in the Strauss, here excelled themselves with superlative playing even when very exposed. The wonderful sparkle of the scherzo came fully to life and prepared us for the monumental impact of the fire of the finale.

There were a large number of empty seats this afternoon. For such a fine event – and such splendid playing – this was a real pity. Just because the programme did not include Mozart or Vivaldi should not mean that there is not magnificent music on offer.

Then next concert, on 31 January, brings us Weber, Prokofiev and Brahms – and don’t forget the New Year Concert on Thursday 31 December.

CDs / DVDs December 2015: 2

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Beethoven: The Ninth Symphony
Bejart Ballet Lausanne and The Tokyo Ballet
Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Ritsuyakai Choir, Zubin Mehta
EUROARTS 2060878 88:00

What looks like a good idea in theory proves not to be quite so successful in practise. There have been adaptations of symphonic works for ballet so there is no reason this should not succeed but it lacks the revolutionary spirit the work requires. Maurice Bejart has been a compellingly effective choreographer over many years but his approach to the Choral is frequently muted and often conventional. Only the slow movement has any real beauty of line, and in the finale Zubin Mehta seems to be taking his time from the dancers rather than leading them which regularly inhibits the flow of the score. Added to this the soloists, while not inadequate, are certainly not the sort of voices one would wish to return to regularly. They are dressed in dark brown robes and the choir in white – rather too close to a Gospel choir for comfort. Those interested in the development of Maurice Bejart’s work may be interested but for the rest of us there is little here to recommend.

Wagner: Das Rheingold
Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Simon Rattle
BR KLASSIK 900133
Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Jaap van Zweden
NAXOS 8.660374-5

For those of us of a certain age it does not seem that long ago that there were no recordings of Das Rheingold. Recording companies thought nobody would buy it, and the original Solti recording was launched with a challenge to listeners to see if their speaker systems were up to the range of the recording.

This month we have two new recordings slipped out without the overt fanfare. Simon Rattle has never been an obvious Wagnerian. I can recall live performances which have been finely played but lacking the frisson of a great evening at the opera. It is so here with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and soloists. Michael Volle is a robust Wotan but none of the other soloists stand out as exceptional. Orchestral playing is fine but failed to excite me even in the obvious purple passages.

By contrast, Jaap van Zweden’s orchestra is playing the work for the first time and they seem to be thoroughly enjoying it. Balance is often unusual and one hears things as if for the first time. Matthias Goerne is certainly a match for Michael Volle, and Kim Begley, Peter Sidhom and Deborah Humble are more impressive than their German counter-parts. Both versions were recorded live and gain from the immediacy this brings, but it is the rest of the Hong Kong cycle which I will really be looking forward to.

Bach: Christmas Oratorio
Akademie fur Alte Musik Berlin, Bavarian Radio Choir, Peter Dijkstra
BR KLASSIK 900512

This new recording has a real sense of presence. The bite and attack from the players is exhilarating and the singing throughout brings joy as well as clarity. Though there are many recordings available at present, this new one has a great deal to commend it.

British Violin Concertos
Tasmin Little, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Andrew Davis
CHANDOS CHAN 10879

I wish I could be more enthusiastic about this recording but it leaves me distinctly underwhelmed. While the playing from both soloist and orchestra are fine, the actual works themselves are very much in the second division – worth a first hearing but I doubt if I would want to return to them with so many other great concerti to consider.

Janacek & Smetana String Quartets
Takacs Quartet
HYPERION CDA 67997

The combination of the Janacek string quartets with the Smetana may be an obvious one but it here makes exemplary sense in the fine quality of the playing and the obvious romantic links between the two composers. The acoustic in concert hall at the Wyastone Estate is particularly suitable for the richness of sound the Takacs Quartet provide throughout.

Sibelius: Jedermann
Turku Philharmonic Orchestra, Leif Segerstam
NAXOS 8.573340

This is a disc of rarities. The incidental music for Jedermann was completed in haste in 1916. The score shows a wide variety of responses, the songs being instantly memorable from their strong lyrical qualities to shorter passages which are quintessentially Sibelian in their drifting melancholy. The disc also includes Two Serious Melodies and In Memoriam. The latter was completed in 1910 and was played at Sibelius’ funeral.

Sibelius: The Symphonies
Lahti Symphony Orchestra, Okko Kamu
BIS 2076

This newly released set was recorded live in the Sibelius Hall in Lahti between 2012 and 2014. It is certainly a fine match for the earlier recordings under Osmo Vanska. Okko Kamu took over as chief conductor in 2011 and brings both an international reputation and a real sense of Finnish understanding to his approach to the Symphonies. His tempi are noticeably slower than the majority of conductors with the exception of the Sixth Symphony which is brisk and pacey.I suspect one can never have too many recordings of these magnificent works.

BBC National Orchestra & Chorus of Wales appoints Xian Zhang as Principal Guest Conductor

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Xian Zhang

BBC National Orchestra & Chorus of Wales today announce that the conductor Xian Zhang has been appointed as Principal Guest Conductor, with effect from 1 September 2016 for an initial three year period.

Xian Zhang said: “I’m so excited to be working with BBC National Orchestra of Wales; they are a fantastic group of musicians who genuinely love making music, and are a natural team. They have some exceptional qualities that have really impressed me. The first thing we ever worked on together was Ravel’s Bolero, it was so precise, with the right colour and texture – I was really speechless after the first reading! Under the strong leadership of Lesley Hatfield, the musicians rehearse in such a disciplined manner that is not often seen. It’s a great pleasure to make music with them and I very much look forward to further developing our relationship in my new role with BBC NOW.”

Michael Garvey, Director, BBC NOW commented: ‘“I am thrilled to be welcoming Xian Zhang to the BBC NOW family as Principal Guest Conductor –bringing yet another exceptional artist to work with us, continuing our commitment to artistic excellence across Wales and further afield. Our recent concerts with her, in Swansea and the BBC Proms, were so energised, balanced and refined; we knew that an appointment would be the perfect fit. We look forward to seeing her back in Cardiff in September.”

During Zhang’s three-year appointment, she will conduct the orchestra in annual concerts at BBC Hoddinott Hall, St David’s Hall and Brangwyn Hall, with repertoire featuring Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich, Rimsky Korsakov and Berlioz in her first season. BBC NOW will also perform at the BBC Proms under Zhang’s baton during her tenure and embark on an ‘On the road’ tour around Wales.

On 27 Sept 2016 Zhang conducts her inaugural concert at BBC Hoddinott Hall in Cardiff, with a programme featuring Tchaikovsky’sSymphony No 4 and Barber’s Violin Concerto, with Chloë Hanslip as soloist. Further highlights of Zhang’s 2016-2017 season include a performance at a prominent welsh music festival and a collaboration with Chinese composer Qigang Chen.

Proms history was made when Marin Alsop became the first woman to conduct the world famous Last Night of the Proms in 2013, and there is a growing wealth of female conductors regularly performing at the BBC Proms and working with the BBC’s orchestras. Xian Zhang will be the first female conductor to have a titled role with a BBC orchestra when she becomes BBC NOW’s Principal Guest Conductor next year.

Rhodri Talfan Davies, Director, BBC Wales, commented: ‘“BBC NOW have had an incredible year, and to top it off we are now announcing this exciting appointment. I’m confident that alongside Principal Conductor Thomas Søndergård, and our dedicated musicians, Xian’s creative input will ensure many more memorable moments in the coming seasons.”

Alan Davey, Controller, BBC Radio 3 said: “Following her stunning performance at this year’s BBC Proms in July, I’m delighted we have booked Xian Zhang for BBC NOW. She is a talented conductor who can bring her passion to bear at an artistically exciting time for the orchestra. The BBC Performing groups are in rude health and their role in the BBC Radio 3 family is essential, where they form the backbone of our concert broadcasts. I’d like to welcome Xian Zhang, and look forward to hearing her first BBC NOW concerts with us.”

Born in Dandong, China, Xian Zhang made her professional debut conducting The Marriage of Figaro at the Central Opera House in Beijing at the age of 20. She trained at Beijing’s Central Conservatory, earning both Bachelor and Master of Music degrees before moving to the United States in 1998. She was appointed the New York Philharmonic’s Assistant Conductor in 2002, subsequently becoming their Associate Conductor and the first holder of the Arturo Toscanini Chair. Zhang has served as Music Director of the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi since September 2009 and has recently been announced as the next Music Director of New Jersey Symphony Orchestra.

A regular conductor with the London Symphony and Royal Concertgebouw orchestras, Zhang’s recent highlights include her return to the BBC Proms with BBC NOW, as well as performances with the Rotterdam Philharmonic and Gothenburg Symphony orchestras. This season, she debuts with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg and Orquesta y Coro Nacionales de España, and she returns to the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic and Orchestre National de Belgique. Zhang continues to work frequently in North America; recent performances have included a week of Chinese New Year concerts with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. This season’s operatic performances include a return to English National Opera for La bohème and her debut with Den Norske Opera conducting La traviata in January. Following Zhang’s hugely successful production of Nabucco with Welsh National Opera in June 2014, which subsequently transferred to the Savonlinna Festival, she returns to the festival in summer 2016 to conduct Otello, marking her debut with the opera company itself.

Berlioz: Grande Messe des Morts

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Royal Albert Hall, 30 November 2015

RAH

There are some works that simply have to be heard live. No amount of score reading or listening to CDs can prepare you for your first exposure to Berlioz’ monumental work, and where better to hear it than in the Royal Albert Hall. Over the years I have heard the piece in a number of different venues but there is something about the Royal Albert Hall, with its Victorian extravagance, which suits it both visually and aurally. Since the baffles were first put in the acoustic has sharpened but still allows the sound to blossom and fill in a way which, when all the brass bands are in full flow, cannot fail to thrill.

Brian Wright had gathered together the Goldsmiths Choral Union and the Brighton Festival Chorus with an augmented Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. This may not have been quite as large as Berlioz envisaged (there were only six timpanists not ten!) but it was more than adequate to lead us through the massive dynamic changes the composer requires. It was a pity therefore that the event had had an interval imposed upon it as we missed the dramatic contrast which Berlioz brings from the climactic ending of the Lacrimosa  and the hushed opening of the Offertoire.

Brian Wright seemed to have little difficulty managing the vast choral forces who brought accuracy and brightness of tone throughout. If the tenors seemed somewhat hesitant at the start of the Lacrimosa they soon recovered their nerve and returned to the passion they had given to the Rex tremendae.

Berlioz requires only one soloist but the tenor part lies very high and exposed. When one has the equally difficult task of filling the Royal Albert Hall it was a pleasure to find that James Edwards was equal to both. His heroic quality made the Sanctus assertive rather than ethereal, bringing a warmth to the final sections which can in other hands seem somewhat bleak.

The augmented orchestra seemed to be enjoying themselves and responded with great sensitivity, particularly the solo wind who can easily be lost within the weight of brass around them.

A great evening, then, and a comfortably full hall. Just one real gripe – apart from paying £4 for a packet of peanuts; the programmes had the full text and translation but as the performance started all the lights went out and we were left so dark it was impossible to read the text. Either keep the lights on or provide super-titles!

 

Organ and Choral CDs/DVDs for December 2015

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CHRISTMAS AT NORWICH – THE CHOIR OF NORWICH CATHEDRAL
David Dunnett, organ  Ashley Grote, director
PRIORY  PRCD 1148

Christmas is coming, and so are this year’s seasonal releases! From Norwich Cathedral we have a CD that should appeal to many. This programme of mostly well known carols also features a few lesser known items and some fresh arrangements by contemporary composers including Ben Parry and the cathedral’s own Ashley Grote.

NATUS – MUSIC FOR ADVENT, CHRISTMAS & EPIPHANY
Choirs of Blackburn Cathedral
Samuel Hudson, Director  Shaun Turnbull, Organ
PRIORY  PRCD 1160

Blackburn’s offering reminds us that there is a liturgical sequence that is more than just ‘Christmas’. There are a few familiar pieces here but much of this music is new to me and very refreshing. A number of contemporary composers are featured including Sally Beamish (In the stillness), David Bednall (Tribus Miraculis) and Martin Bussey (The Jesse Tree). There are contributions from the boy, girl & gentlemen choristers as well as the Young People’s Choir and Renaissance Singers. Two former Blackburn Musical Directors are represented – an arrangement by John Bertalot & David Cooper’s Dormi Jesu. Christopher Tambling’s organ Toccata-Noel provides a further contrast in this very interesting programme.

ADVENT TO EPIPHANY
Alexander Eadon, Frobenius organ of Oundle School Chapel
PRIORY  PRCD 1164

This very well constructed programme presents some exciting and musical performances of organ music for the extended season. There is nothing over familiar here but throughout there are many references to well known seasonal melodies. Opening with an arrangement of Corelli’s  Christmas Concerto, Op 6 No 8 there are also three settings by JS Bach of Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland. The earliest composer is Titelouze and more recent works include Mark Blatchly’s Three versets on Away in a manger and Garth Edmundson’s Toccata-Prelude IV: Vom Himmel hoch which brings this excellent recital to a dramatic close.

GREAT EUROPEAN ORGANS No. 97
Simon Hogan, organ of Southwell Minster
PRIORY  PRCD 1147

Priory’s long-running series shows no sign of running out of steam. This latest volume is a very enjoyable recital of 20th & 21st Century organ music, expertly presented by the Minster’s Assistant Director of Music. All of this music was new to me. Composers featured are Philip Marshall, G.T. Francis, Robert Ashfield, Neil Cox, Eric Thiman, Robert Busiakiewicz and Arthur Wills.

THE COMPLETE ORGAN WORKS OF SIR GEORGE DYSON
Daniel Cook, organ of St Mary Redcliffe, Bristol
PRIORY  PRCD 1136

Long running series are all very well but it is good sometimes to be able to listen to the whole of one composer’s output on a single disc. The organ music of the one-time Director of the Royal College of Music is expertly presented here by Daniel Cook. He plays the substantial Harrison and Harrison of St Mary Redcliffe which is well suited to this repertoire. Many of these pieces are based on familiar hymn tunes. Perhaps this recording will help to make this music more widely known and appreciated.

THE COMPLETE HERBERT HOWELLS  ANTHEMS  VOLUME 1
Lincoln Cathedral Choir,  Colin Walsh, organ    Aric Prentice, Director
PRIORY  PRCD 1119

Another series begins with this, the first CD in a new recording of Howells’ complete anthems. This is certainly a disc to return to and a great way to get to know this repertoire, much of which is not heard as often as it might be. The musicians and acoustic serve this music very well. I look forward to further releases in this series.

THE CHURCH MUSIC OF JOHN SHEPPARD – THE COLLECTED VERNACULAR WORKS VOL. 2
Academia Musica Choir,   Aryan O. Arji, director
PRIORY  PRCD  1108

This second volume of Sheppard’s English church music features The Second Service, Evening Service for Trebles, Steven Verses and a number of anthems. Interesting music recorded in the spacious Gloucester cathedral acoustic by these very competent musicians.

TAKE THE PSALM – THE CHOIR OF SOUTHWELL MINSTER
Simon Hogan, organ    Paul Hale, director
PRIORY  PRCD 1157

This, the second CD from Southwell in this batch of reviews, features the minster choir directed by the musical director alongside the Assistant Director in accompanying and solo roles. This is a very attractive programme of varied music relating to the psalms. Framed by two extended Elgar settings – Give unto the Lord and Great is the Lord this collection includes a further major work, SS Wesley’s Ascribe unto the Lord. Also to be found are Anglican chant and shorter works. Organ music by Howells, Andrew Fletcher and Whitlock provides additional contrast.

VOICE AND VERSE – THE CHOIR OF WAKEFIELD CATHEDRAL
Simon Earl, organ   Thomas Moore, director
PRIORY  PRCD 1143

This is an unashamedly popular collection of choral music old and new. Many familiar items are included alongside a few lesser known pieces. The disc opens and closes with majestic works by Parry – I was glad (in its shortened form) and Blest pair of sirens. In between are further classic choral pieces including Mozart’s Ave verum and Vauhan Williams’ Let all the world in every corner sing.  More ‘popular’ choral music includes Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Pie Jesu and Howard Goodall’s The Lord is my shepherd. Newer works by Will Todd and Philip Wilby are also to be found as well as organ solos from Reger and Whitlock. As an introduction to the world of choral music I cannot recommend this highly enough. It will also appeal to anyone who likes a well balanced, if eclectic collection and those who love to sing along! Lovely!

Stephen Page