Samuel Sebastian Wesley was a composer battling against fearful odds. So poor were the conditions in the cathedrals he served that it seems doubtful whether he ever heard what we would call a respectable performance of his music. He would have been delighted, I feel sure, by this record. Conditions are not easy at St Alban's. Boys have to rehearse before school in the morning (six different schools too) for a service which takes place after school has ended. I only mention this, because their singing betrays no trace of anything but professional competence and wholehearted enjoyment. Saint Alban's is also a very large building indeed and so therefore it is reasonable to hear boys trained to attack like Roman soliders—that is to say, thrustful in a highly disciplined way. There is some quite strident singing in Ascribe unto the Lord—but this is balanced by a plaintive directness in Wash me throughly, sung with a clear-eyed command which says ''and don't forget to rinse as well''. The monumental Evening Service in E major is spaciously balanced, with well-chosen tempos and the varied moods of the vast Wilderness are brought out in admirable contrast. The verse parts are full of character, the dogged counterpoint pounds tirelessly away and, best of all, that cry of hope ''And sorrow and sighing shall flee away'' is truly exquisite.
I have not mentioned the men, except by implication. Well, they never obtrude, but on the other hand they keep their end up with the trebles. The question of balance, voice balance, that is, seems to be not so much a matter of internal agonizing as a projecting the tone and mixing it at a distance. Maybe it isn't done that way at all but, whether it is or not, the results are well worth hearing. I think this degree of directness would have appealed to old Sebastian, who was always on the attack himself.'