The Pillar of the Cloud
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Lennox (Randall Francis) Berkeley, Basil Harwood, John Sheppard, John Taverner, Kenneth Leighton, (Charles) Edmund Rubbra, Thomas Weelkes, John Stainer, William Walton, Thomas Tomkins, William Harris, (Charles) Hubert (Hastings) Parry, Richard Nicholson
Genre:
Vocal
Label: Opus Arte
Magazine Review Date: 09/2019
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 61
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: OACD9045D
![OACD9045D. The Pillar of the Cloud](https://reviews.azureedge.net/gramophone/media-thumbnails/pillar_of_the_cloud.jpg)
Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
O that I once past changing were |
Lennox (Randall Francis) Berkeley, Composer
Lennox (Randall Francis) Berkeley, Composer Magdalen College Choir, Oxford Mark Williams, Conductor |
Bring us, O Lord God |
William Harris, Composer
Magdalen College Choir, Oxford Mark Williams, Conductor William Harris, Composer |
O how glorious is the Kingdom |
Basil Harwood, Composer
Basil Harwood, Composer Magdalen College Choir, Oxford Mark Williams, Conductor |
Let all the world in every corner sing |
Kenneth Leighton, Composer
Kenneth Leighton, Composer Magdalen College Choir, Oxford Mark Williams, Conductor |
O pray for the peace of Jerusalem |
Richard Nicholson, Composer
Magdalen College Choir, Oxford Mark Williams, Conductor Richard Nicholson, Composer |
Crossing the Bar |
(Charles) Hubert (Hastings) Parry, Composer
(Charles) Hubert (Hastings) Parry, Composer Magdalen College Choir, Oxford Mark Williams, Conductor |
Lord, I have loved the habitation of thy house |
Bernard Rose
Bernard Rose, Composer Magdalen College Choir, Oxford Mark Williams, Conductor |
There is a spirit |
(Charles) Edmund Rubbra, Composer
(Charles) Edmund Rubbra, Composer Magdalen College Choir, Oxford Mark Williams, Conductor |
(The) Lord's Prayer |
John Sheppard, Composer
John Sheppard, Composer Magdalen College Choir, Oxford Mark Williams, Conductor |
Lead, kindly light |
John Stainer, Composer
John Stainer, Composer Magdalen College Choir, Oxford Mark Williams, Conductor |
Christe Jesu, pastor bone |
John Taverner, Composer
John Taverner, Composer Magdalen College Choir, Oxford Mark Williams, Conductor |
Almighty God, the fountain of all wisdom |
Thomas Tomkins, Composer
Magdalen College Choir, Oxford Mark Williams, Conductor Thomas Tomkins, Composer |
(A) Litany, 'Drop, drop slow tears' |
William Walton, Composer
Magdalen College Choir, Oxford Mark Williams, Conductor William Walton, Composer |
When David heard |
Thomas Weelkes, Composer
Magdalen College Choir, Oxford Mark Williams, Conductor Thomas Weelkes, Composer |
Author: Alexandra Coghlan
There’s some wonderfully, unfairly unfashionable repertoire here. What a joy to find Basil Harwood, Rubbra and Magdalen’s own Bernard Rose here alongside more core Oxbridge choral fare. Magdalen’s sound has always had an unmannered, forthright quality to it, something Williams celebrates in the jagged, ecstatic dance of Leighton’s Let all the world and the surging unison swell of the Harwood.
The trebles’ naturally bright tone illuminates Berkeley’s O that I once past changing were but is turned deftly down to achieve the softer blend of Parry’s Crossing the Bar and Sheppard’s setting of the Lord’s Prayer. The extended opener Lead, kindly light is nicely paced and calibrated for drama, with an outstanding solo from tenor Maximilian Lawrie, while Rubbra’s There is a spirit puts the fine treble Thomas Pennington-Arnold in the spotlight.
There’s real generosity, directness and energy from these singers, but that can just sometimes work against them. Walton’s A Litany lacks, for me, that spare edginess that can bring out both its extraordinary harmonies and the text’s fragile exhortation (though the basses give a wonderful anchor), while the Rubbra feels just a little too earthy, lacking that cloudy impermanence, that sense of the ‘spirit’ that animates the verse.
The tradition may be a long one but Williams, who recorded this at the end of his first year in post, is still just at the beginning with Magdalen. It will be interesting to see where he takes the choir and its sound over the next few years.
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