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Reviewer:
Marc Rochester For the inaugural release on their own label, the University of St Andrews offer a programme of English church music spanning the period from the Commonwealth to the reign of George III. With the music presented in chronological sequence and supported by Tom Wilkinson’s scholarly booklet-notes, the emphasis is on historical context rather than musical coherence, something underlined by choral singing that is informed and eager rather than finely polished.
The recording was made not in the ancient university chapel of St Salvator, from which the choir takes its name, but in an isolated rural church, and the intimacy of the setting ideally complements Wilkinson’s unfussy, rhythmically driven readings. A buoyant account of Maurice Greene’s famous harvest anthem is a highlight, as are Wilkinson’s own neatly turned organ solos.
The choir’s strengths and weaknesses are vividly revealed in the two Purcell verse anthems, which are the most substantial works on the disc. Uneven solo voices of variable quality give way to a robust and well-blended choral sound, neatly supported by Sean Heath’s alert organ accompaniments. Most impressive here is the university’s quartet-in-residence, the Fitzwilliams, who show themselves to be a hugely perceptive period-instrument ensemble adding real distinction to this disc.
There is an even bigger ace up the sleeve which elevates this CD from being merely interesting to one of real musical value. Unearthed from the substantial collection of 18th-century English music collected by Gerald Finzi and now in the University of St Andrews’ possession, three fascinating anthems by William Jackson of Exeter are enthusiastically embraced by these performers in powerfully committed performances. Wilkinson’s suggestion that this is ‘the kind of music that Purcell might have written, had he lived a century later’ may be overstating their worth but they nevertheless offer an intriguing glimpse into a neglected period in English church music. |
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