CE Chapel of New College, Oxford 30th May 2012

[decantor]

Yes, NCO boys are terrific musicians, and I suspect that radio's closer miking does them no favours. Their recent Monteverdi CD was nothing like as 'full-on' as we heard last week, and their tutti /ensemble singing are impeccable. They are a favourite choir of mine, but they are certainly an acquired taste for many, I would venture.

I am hopelessly ambivalent about NCO. I loathe their manner of singing, yet have a large number of their CDs and never miss a chance to listen. I recognise all the good features mentioned in the thread - the breath-taking technical assurance, the reliable musicianship, the joy in singing they convey - but still find something repugnant in that in-your-face flamboyance and gratuitous wobbling by precocious trebles. It seems to say "Listen to me! Listen to me! Just hear what I can do!", as if the work performed were no more than a vehicle for their brand of performance. EH is justly proud of what his choir bring to singing, but (for me) they are a sadly flawed perfection. Like Catullus, ODI ET AMO.

[ardcarp]

Well, decantor, navigare necesse est, which is why I've only just LA-ed NCO. Non Marmitus est for you because it's odi ET amo. For me, O quam gloriosum est Collegium Novum Oxoniense! The sheer infectious joy in the Boyce anthem was such a contrast to boring old Wells the other day. The HK Andrews canticles and the Grier anthem were a nicely table d'hote part of the menu. They did sing the latter fantastically well; and what a great piece....8--part polyphony (I guess) and not the mindless repetitive drivel served up by such a lot of 'contemporary' composers.

Those who don't like the full bodied continental sound are perfectly entitled to their view. But wouldn't it be frightfully dull if all cathedral choirs sounded the same? It's vive la difference for me; the pure white lily of Chichester and the blousy red poppy of NCO are both lovely to behold.

NCO is not only very professional. There is great musicality, yes, but also the sense that perhaps they are living dangerously by doing something unexpected or quirky, maybe on the spur of the moment.

Wasn't the first lesson read beautifully...the possibly homo-erotic one from the Song of Songs? I was less sure about the chaplainess's trying to integrate the Queen of Heaven with HM's jubilee. And whilst the final voluntary (an arrangement of a Handel organ concerto movement) was obviously in fine technical hands, why the excess rubato? It gave me mal de mer. Ah...full circle.

[Magnificat]

the Grier anthem .

ardcarp,

Youv'e gone to Pott.

VCC

[decantor]

spero navigationem tuam fuisse iucundissimam, imbribus ventisque non vexatam. tu vir audacior es quam ego, o ardcarp din!

Those who don't like the full bodied continental sound are perfectly entitled to their view. But wouldn't it be frightfully dull if all cathedral choirs sounded the same? It's vive la difference for me; the pure white lily of Chichester and the blousy red poppy of NCO are both lovely to behold.

NCO is not only very professional. There is great musicality, yes, but also the sense that perhaps they are living dangerously by doing something unexpected or quirky, maybe on the spur of the moment.

The continental sound is fine by me - I've been a great admirer of the Drome choir since G.Malcolm's day, and have no problem with the Tolzers. No, it's the vibrato that scrambles my brain: it's a physiological reaction, I'm sure, that applies across the board - I cannot listen to Fleming, Lemalu, and others, either.

But yes, vive la différence - consensus at last! And what stars NCO would be in that spectrum..... if only they didn't......

Quirky? When David Briggs paid tribute to Olaf Schmid's chorister days, he said (among much else that was flattering but undoubtedly true), "I used to love the way he added a touch of vibrato to certain notes." I thought it would be a suitable tribute to Olaf Schmid if I too could learn to love that 'touch of vibrato'. I tried, and I failed. Like the rubato you lamented in the Handel voluntary, vibrato results in mal de mer. Vibrare efficit vomitum.

Yes, NCO's multi-layered anthem was optimus maximus - but it was from Francis Pott, not Francis Grier. Unkind of their parents to tempt such confusion!

[ardcarp]

Apologies to Pott...and Grier..

tu vir audacior es quam ego, o ardcarp din!

deacantor;

Well, not really, as this weekend's 'sailing' involved much sampling of the drinks locker whilst on the mooring. Otherwise, very agreeable thanks, and any abdominal discomfort due to factors other than sea-state. My problem with Le Malu is that I can't tell what note he's singing. Listening to NCO's treble line accompanying that solo in the H.K. Andrews, I found it very agreeable.

[Finzi4ever]

" I was less sure about the chaplainess's trying to integrate the Queen of Heaven with HM's jubilee."
Why has the word JUbilee, become jubiLEE so prevalently this year?