It is probably a little too much to say, as does the opening sentence of Simon Heighes's informative note, that the Georgian period ''has long been considered the Dark Age of English music''. I would have thought the general opinion held that this was still to come. But certainly there has been a feeling that it is sedate, unadventurous, the music of a Church which, as Lytton Strachey put it, was sleeping the sleep ''of the comfortable''.
First impression perhaps, is that the record confirms this. God is our hope and strength goes to the tune of 'I'm doing nicely, thanks': jaunty in a well-fed sort of way, the rejoicing of the complacent. But if this feeling persists throughout the first anthem (and I'm not sure that it does), it is sharply checked by the second. Lord, let me know mine end is a sombre and sober piece, well grounded in Purcell, an acceptance with solemn grace of the vain shadow of human existence. Still less complacent is How long wilt Thou forget me? in which the verse ''How shall I seek counsel in my soul, and be so vexed in my heart?'' seems to speak with a personal urgency, a masterpiece of sustained intensity. In fact the virtues of the period are very evident, and will not come as a surprise to any who are familiar with the well-known organ voluntaries of John Stanley, two of which are well performed here by David Burchell. William Hayes, Professor at Oxford, writes good conformist counterpoint, and, having done his professional duty, enjoys himself letting ''the sea make a noise''. Boyce in O where shall wisdom be Sound? sets the words in fine style and inculcates the fear of the Lord with a cheerful, wholesome spirit.
The choir catch this very well, they actually sound happy. And well they should, having by this time come to the end of a recital which does them considerable credit, both collectively and individually (for several of the soloists are quite excellent). Just occasionally, in the louder, faster passages intonation is less secure among the trebles, and I sometimes wondered whether the Georgians themselves would have sounded quite as refined as the gentlemen of New College do here.'