BaL 21.12.24 - Britten: A ceremony of carols

[Keraulophone]

It has to be a young (and pretty rough sounding) choir for me; so yes: John's rather than King's, much as I like the King's version too.

It's well known that Britten preferred the sound of choirs such as the Wandsworth Schoolboys' Choir (Bach St John Passion) and Downside School Choir, Purley (Friday Afternoons) to cathedral choirs. He chose the Copenhagen Boys' Choir for his 1952/3? mono recording of Ceremony, an unusual choice, perhaps, for a work in English. I wouldn't describe any of these choirs as sounding 'rough' though, certainly not SJC under Guest; more 'continental', less ethereal, but, to me, a sound of great beauty, individuality and resilience, in both solo and tutti.

[Pulcinella]

It's well known that Britten preferred the sound of choirs such as the Wandsworth Schoolboys' Choir (Bach St John Passion) and Downside School Choir, Purley (Friday Afternoons) to cathedral choirs. He chose the Copenhagen Boys' Choir for his 1952 recording of Ceremony, an unusual choice, perhaps, for a work in English. I wouldn't describe any of these choirs as sounding 'rough' though, certainly not SJC under Guest; more 'continental', less ethereal, but, to me, a sound of great beauty, individuality and resilience, in both solo and tutti.

Poor choice of word; I meant not too 'refained' in pronunciation, despite his own accent!
Earthy perhaps; less ethereal, as you suggest.

[Keraulophone]

O dear, that harp accompanying the processional 'I don't know what he was thinking' - JS. Quite!

[Pulcinella]

O dear, that harp accompanying the processional 'I don't know what he was thinking' - JS. Quite!

Absolutely. The harmony seemed completely at odds with the mode of the plainsong.
Some prejudices being blown away though: loving The Sixteen and Tenebrae, but not Trinity or Clare (SATB) so much.

[Pulcinella]

Recommended version:

https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/9369688--in-winters-house-christmas-with-tenebrae

Can I put in a plug for the title track too (by Joanna Marsh)? It featured in our concert earlier this month, and was very much approved of by choir and audience alike.

Classic choice was St John's Cambridge, under George Guest (Marisa Robles, harp).

A thoroughly enjoyable episode, I thought.

[Keraulophone]

Classic choice was St John's Cambridge, under George Guest (Marisa Robles, harp).

A thoroughly enjoyable episode, I thought.

St John's sounding better than ever, despite the traffic.

Yea, verily. JS is very knowledgeable about this repertoire.

Did he illustrate BB's Copenhagen recording? I missed the beginning... (Christmas shopping). Will catch up.

[Pulcinella]

St John's sounding better than ever, despite the traffic.

Yea, verily. JS is very knowledgeable about this repertoire.

Did he illustrate BB's Copenhagen recording? I missed the beginning... (Christmas shopping). Will catch up.

Yes he did, at the very beginning (listen and you'll see what I mean: it raised my eyebrows too!).

[CallMePaul]

I was disappointed to miss this as a long-arranged Christmas lunch overran. However, I was disappointed to see that a recording featuring adult (female) sopranos was chosen for a work specifically written for treble voices and harp. To me the term "treble" refers to boy sopranos rather than to adult women (unsure about younger girls). Having not heard the programme I cannot say whether this subject was addressed by JS or whether it was glossed over as this sort of thing has been in recent BALs. I would have hoped that a version closer to the composer's intentions would have been chosen - Britten wrote well for boys' voices and appreciated the difference from voices of adult women (for which he also wrote well).

[gradus]

I'm struggling to think what a 3-part canon would sound like in bits of Carmina Burana.

But I agree if you're thinking in terms of a motoric (?) rhythm/tune in a short verse that's repeated.

It has to be a young (and pretty rough sounding) choir for me; so yes: John's rather than King's, much as I like the King's version too.

I am hearing just that.

[nersner]

I was disappointed to miss this as a long-arranged Christmas lunch overran. However, I was disappointed to see that a recording featuring adult (female) sopranos was chosen for a work specifically written for treble voices and harp. To me the term "treble" refers to boy sopranos rather than to adult women (unsure about younger girls). Having not heard the programme I cannot say whether this subject was addressed by JS or whether it was glossed over as this sort of thing has been in recent BALs. I would have hoped that a version closer to the composer's intentions would have been chosen - Britten wrote well for boys' voices and appreciated the difference from voices of adult women (for which he also wrote well).

I think it was mentioned early on that Britten wrote them with female voices in mind, only later considering boy sopranos.
Conversely I rather liked the female voices in the "Scandinavian?" recording, and would like to find that recording if anyone was paying attention.

[Pulcinella]

I was disappointed to miss this as a long-arranged Christmas lunch overran. However, I was disappointed to see that a recording featuring adult (female) sopranos was chosen for a work specifically written for treble voices and harp. To me the term "treble" refers to boy sopranos rather than to adult women (unsure about younger girls). Having not heard the programme I cannot say whether this subject was addressed by JS or whether it was glossed over as this sort of thing has been in recent BALs. I would have hoped that a version closer to the composer's intentions would have been chosen - Britten wrote well for boys' voices and appreciated the difference from voices of adult women (for which he also wrote well).

You need to listen to the programme; not at all originally conceived and written specifically for boy trebles. That concept came later.
(I see nersner said much the same; hadn't read that when I posted!)

[Pulcinella]

I think it was mentioned early on that Britten wrote them with female voices in mind, only later considering boy sopranos.
Conversely I rather liked the female voices in the "Scandinavian?" recording, and would like to find that recording if anyone was paying attention.

Didn't spot it in a quick trawl through the Presto listing, though some versions don't give much detail about the performers, but I remember Summerly also being impressed (and I think surprised that he'd somehow not been aware of its release).
You might need to resort to Sounds (unless someone else made a note).