Terry Blain delights in James O’Donnell’s final Westminster Abbey recording
CHORAL & SONG CHOICE
MacMillan • Tavener • Vaughan Williams
James MacMillan: Mass of St Edward the Confessor etc;
Tavener: Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis (Collegium Regale) etc; Vaughan Williams: Mass in G minor etc
The Choir of Westminster Abbey/ James O’Donnell
Hyperion CDA68420 69:15 mins
James O’Donnell left Westminster Abbey after 20 years as director of music to take a position at Yale. This, apparently his last recording at the Abbey, sustains the remarkably high standards he and his choir consistently achieved during his tenure. A special sense of intimate devotion suffuses the opening Kyrie of Vaughan Williams’s Mass, the singing restrained but immaculately controlled technically, the four voice-parts interleaving sensitively with one another. Where some choirs go hell-for-leather in the expanded eight-part writing of the Gloria, O’Donnell is expressively more nuanced, allowing his excellent solo singers to emerge in clearer profile.
James MacMillan’s Mass of St Edward the Confessor also uses eight-part writing, but generally weaves more delicate textures. The Westminster trebles are wonderfully vibrant in the jaunty rhythms of the Gloria, attacking its vaulting intervals with alacrity. Of the three shorter MacMillan pieces A Special Appeal deserves particular mention. Written to commemorate the Catholic prelate Óscar Romero, assassinated in San Salvador in 1980, its searing drama elicits outstandingly empathetic singing, powerfully complemented by Peter Holder’s account of the volcanic organ part. The Tavener pieces show the choir adept in the tricky chant inflections of the Magnificat, and immaculate in sustaining pitch and concentration across the contemplative paragraphs of Song for Athene. In all, a fine and unmissable farewell by O’Donnell.
PERFORMANCE ★★★★★
RECORDING ★★★★★
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Hensel
Lieder
Jennifer Parker, Stephanie Wake-Edwards (mezzo-soprano), Tim Parker-Langston (tenor), Jâms Coleman, Genevieve Ellis, Ewan Gilford (piano)
First Hand Records FHR148 82:25 mins
This recording is a labour of love and scholarship for tenor Tim Parker-Langston (full disclosure – I contributed to the crowd-funder). He spearheaded the project, co-produced the album, sang many of the songs and created the beautiful album artwork. The other contributors are similarly impressive individuals, with achievements both within and alongside
