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GRAMOPHONE (10/2014)
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CHAN0804
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Reviewer:
Caroline
Gil
There is remarkably little of Thomas Tomkins’s sacred music on disc in comparison to his contemporaries (and his teacher, William Byrd), and those either concentrate on a single Mass or, as is the case in the collection of his cathedral music made by the choir of St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle in 2001, are recorded so tightly as to retain the detail of the music but lose some of its inherent luxury.
The recording of the Choir of St John’s College, Cambridge, is by contrast, then, truly sumptuous. Although the standout solos sound as young as you would expect for a group of undergraduates, corporately there is the strongly identifiable John’s sound of adult professional choir in microcosm. The John’s acoustics, too, are particularly good for this music because they buoy up, warm and upholster the sound of the choir without adding to it the bathroom-like quality that can often add a dimension of support that an accomplished sound does not need. And in particular here, the sound is already more than expressive enough – as is the performance itself that is, typically of Andrew Nethsingha, reticent in a way that is perfect for the environment for which it was written. It sounds devout, and devotional, at the same time as taking in all the unique characteristics that make Tomkins the composer with a strong identity that he is, despite working within such a conservative framework. l
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