CE Winchester Cathedral Wed, 16th Jan 2013

[DracoM]

For me, the whole sound spectrum made this service sound light years away from the striving, toned-up, muscular, soloistic style of many of the other ensembles we more regularly hear on CE. Here on the whole we had careful blend, pace ardcarp and his forensic analysis of who sang what. I quite liked the leadership from various trebs one of whom had a scheduled solo and thus possibly a mic close to him, and this had the effect of making that treble line sound rounded, confident, rich and authoritative. To me, they sounded just averagely older as a line - can anyone confirm / refute? And yes, indeed, they were evidence of how a particular DoM trains. There were small wavers in intonation now and again - I agree with chitreb on that, but, hey, it was live, and I bet it was cold even in balmy Winchester.

Just a quiet, orderly, well-sung and disciplined CE.

[Roger Judd]

This broadcast, for me, was exactly what Choral Evensong should be - the radio listener eavesdropping the daily offering of worship. No gimmicks, no 'clever' programming, just a beautifully ordered service, beautifully offered. From the start of the Warlock introit one knew that all was perfectly prepared, and so it was. Bravo.

I had the pleasure of hearing the whole choir, boys and girls together, before Christmas in Symphony Hall with Thomas Trotter, and they were terrific then too, and a very full hall gave them a great reception.
RJ

[NHTL]

I agree totally with what DracoM & RJ have written. I felt that I was taking part in a natural act of worship, not a ‘performance’. I enjoyed the service immensely.

I was listening live via my SkyBox and fortunately also recorded the service. I did not notice the compression that Ardcarp referred to; in fact I felt the engineers had captured the ambiance well. I am normally very aware of the sudden ‘cut-backs’ that are such an annoying feature when optimod is in use. For that reason I can only suppose that Ardcarp was listening on FM where the optimod often, in my opinion, spoils the flow of the music.

[Tenebrae]

Thank you ardcarp, that was just the kind of analysis I was hoping for and frankly I have nothing much original to add. I agree the introit sounded distant by comparison, but everything I heard yesterday was of the highest standard. I am also absolutely fine about Winchester doing a 'traditional' programme; they have proved in the past that they are capable of more challenging fare and it is nice to hear something as familiar as the Wood sung by a top notch choir.
I am interested in the Southern Cathedrals showdown which chitreb highlighted as (controversy alert) I suspect that the winner just might be the best Cathedral choir in the country. Note my statement excludes collegiate choirs which rise and fall too quickly in my opinion, and personally I believe the London Choirs tend to have too many individualistic singers on their back rows as they build their concert or operatic careers...ladies and gentlemen, place your bets!

[ardcarp]

I should have added that it was a beautifully presented CE and congratulations all round. Draco, I tried to imply that the blend of the choir as a whole was excellent, and my identifying (as I think you did) an individual treble voice or two was not meant to suggest otherwise. There were no prima donnas in the mix as at some other places! And yes, NHTL I was listening on FM. The 'compressions' were not violent as we have heard in the past, but to my ears definitely there, especially that one in the introit.

[paradisum]

To answer a question from Draco above, the Winchester boys are aged 9 to 13. Four are in their final year. To get regular news about the choir and its music, their Facebook page is here:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Winchester-Cathedral-Choir/191944850822510

[chrisjstanley]

The Lutheran chorale mentioned by ardcarp was one of two rather well known compositions of Philip Nicolai, Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme and Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern,which were subsequently well-used by Bach and then picked up by others notably Mendelsohn and Cornelius.

Well done Winchester a very enjoyable service.

bws
Chris S

[Magnificat]

I enjoyed the service but I have to say that I thought one boy dominated rather ( the soloist? ) and that his voice was well on the way out. Not a pleasant sound at times. Overall I've heard Winchester sound much better. Could have been more polished I think. Nevertheless excellent repertoire.

VCC

[DracoM]

Absolute tosh, VCC.

[Tenebrae]

I enjoyed the service but I have to say that I thought one boy dominated rather ( the soloist? ) and that his voice was well on the way out. Not a pleasant sound at times. Overall I've heard Winchester sound much better. Could have been more polished I think. Nevertheless excellent repertoire.

VCC

Hmm, slightly surprised by this comment myself. Certainly there was a couple of 'fruity' boys voices present, though I was happy to consider that part of the overall colour and for me they did not completely dominate. I thought the back row sounded on good form and blended well with the boys; did you not think so Magnificat, or was the lack of polish comment aimed only at the front row?

[DracoM]

Hmm, slightly surprised by this comment myself. Certainly there was a couple of 'fruity' boys voices present, though I was happy to consider that part of the overall colour and for me they did not completely dominate. I thought the back row sounded on good form and blended well with the boys; did you not think so Magnificat, or was the lack of polish comment aimed only at the front row?

Absolutely.

[inquires]

Just listened to the repeat (missed Wednesday) and felt moved to write. This is what Choral Evensong is all about....a service sung with reverence and beauty - no show, no fireworks; just a choir on top form doing what it does day in day out. Quite magnificent.
Without the occasional 'fruity' boys voice a choir would be bland and dull...but the 'fruit' was well blended. As for the Mendelssohn, I have never heard it sung better.. whether live or on a recording.

[W.Kearns]

Just listened to the repeat (missed Wednesday) and felt moved to write. This is what Choral Evensong is all about....a service sung with reverence and beauty - no show, no fireworks; just a choir on top form doing what it does day in day out. Quite magnificent.
Without the occasional 'fruity' boys voice a choir would be bland and dull...but the 'fruit' was well blended. As for the Mendelssohn, I have never heard it sung better.. whether live or on a recording.

Entirely agree, Inquires. I found it a moving service. Thanks, Winchester.

[Magnificat]

Hmm, slightly surprised by this comment myself. Certainly there was a couple of 'fruity' boys voices present, though I was happy to consider that part of the overall colour and for me they did not completely dominate. I thought the back row sounded on good form and blended well with the boys; did you not think so Magnificat, or was the lack of polish comment aimed only at the front row?

Tenebrae,

I listened again yesterday using headphones which. to me anyway, confirmed what I previously said.

To me there were just too many rough edges to the singing, several late entries and some fierce endings to phrases.

One of the boys had what I would call a rasping voice which I didn't like at all and thought it spoiled the overall sound. The men are good, no doubt about that, but I found their singing a bit raucous at times.

Winchester make a big sound and I don't mind that but often I find that choirs which sing this way do it at the expense of smoothness in performance. As I say a bit rough round the edges.

Draco,

Don't get so worked up. You said yourself that the intonation wasn't great at times and others have criticised some of the psalmody.

So what, has as been said so many times on this board it's all subjective and beauty is in the ear of the beholder. This shouldn't stop people from saying what they think though. Most of us think Winchester is one of the top half a dozen cathedral choirs in the country anyway but they like the others are not perfect and performances vary.

VCC

[ardcarp]

I don't want to sound sanctimonious or schoolmasterly, but I do think when discussing kids' individual voices we need to be careful. Praise is fine (well done the soloist in the Mendelssohn) and saying nothing is fine, but criticism needs to be reserved for adults.