Was it The Sound of Music that started it off? Some years later that ever-popular ''The Sound of King's'' appeared; many other ''Sound of's'' followed. Now we have ''Sounds''—in the plural—''of York Minster''! First, the heavy ring of 12 bells, and the bourdon (''Great Peter'', rung for the first time on August 14th, 1845), then the mighty organ, rebuilt in 1961 and played by the Master of the Music, his Assistant Organist and the Organ Scholar. Finally, the sound of 20 choristers and four each of altos, tenors and basses. They sing music from the eighteenth century to the present day, including compositions by present and past organists of the Minster.
The opening peal, in a magical way, is a perfect evocation of this great cathedral of the north; should you wish for the complete sound field, however, you would probably have to invest in a UHJ ambisonic decoder, an additional stereo amplifier and two extra speakers. Then comes a selection of favourite sugar-plums—including Stanley's lively Trumpet Tune well-calculated to ensure satisfactory sales at the Minster Gift Shop; but also some items one hears less frequently, such as Britten's Hymn of St Columba, or Bruckner's gradual Os justi, echoing overtones from the sixthmode Introit chant of that name. Its quiet ending reveals the sensitivity of the choir and reflects what they achieve in the two hymns, the first of which (He that is down) is sung at a commendably gentle pace, better-suited to it than the hectic rush to which hymns are often subjected. Indeed, my chief criticism might be aimed, not so much at points of performance as at the somewhat heterogeneous character of the programme: there is apparently no single unifying theme, and the 14 items, attractive in themselves, are strung together for no obvious reason and with little regard to the juxtaposition of keys.'