Choral Music on Saturday's CD Review

[Gabriel Jackson]

Returning to John Sheppard, a more appropriate comparison with St Mary's, Edinburgh (although they have a mixed top line) might have been with the recent recording of his 'Western Wynde' Mass, Gaude gaude, gaude Maria virgo and some shorter works, by St John's College, Cambridge / Andrew Nethsingha on Chandos. Having read the decidedly lukewarm reviews this disc had received in both Gramophone and BBC Music magazine, I was interested to hear it for myself, as other CDs in this series have been excellent. Given the forces employed, i.e. a choir of boys and men of the Anglican tradition, the results are IMHO magnificent, and I would recommend this disc very highly. New College Ch/EH made a fine recording of the same Mass a long time ago (late 1970s?) on the CRD label; it's interesting to compare their sound then and now!).

I agree about Andrew's disc. Those reviews were very unfair (though I'm not sure the choir has been as well served by the producer as they deserve to be) and the BBC Music Magazine review was particularly wrong-headed. Rebecca Tavener (who knows what she's talking about) was much more enthusiastic. Andrew's and Duncan's approach is very different, but both have total integrity, and both are very worthwhile.

[Gabriel Jackson]

Many thanks from me too!

Incidentally no MS source of Spem (AFAIK) has a figured bass. The Egerton and Gresham MSS just have a bass-line, the former marked 'for ye Organ'.

Sorry! Discovered that after I'd posted. So is it the figures in the OUP edition you object to?

[ardcarp]

No, I wasn't objecting to anything! Very handy if you've got to use an organ. Just thinking how unnecessary its use is (and hardly done now surely) given 40+ decent singers. OTOH it must have been considered in the early 17th cent.

[Roger Judd]

I played organ continuo in two performances of Spem given in St Albans Abbey, and repeated in Guildford Cathedral, a few years ago with the St Albans Chamber Choir and the Ripieno Choir combined, directed by David Hansell. The continuo may not be strictly necessary, but in a one voice per part situation it frees the bass in each choir from the responsibility of underpinning the (often) huge texture above. Of those performances, I am reliably informed that the organ did just that, and anchored the singers, without muddying the waters.
RJ