A Voice from Heaven: British Choral Classics
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TAVENER / STANFORD / HARRIS / PARRY / HOWELLS
A Voice from Heaven: British Choral Classics
Choir of The King's Consort, Robert King
[ Vivat / CD ]
Release Date: Friday 7 October 2016
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A beautifully themed collection of fourteen of the finest unaccompanied British choral masterpieces of the last 125 years performed by award-winning Choir of The King's Consort.
The fascinating mix of familiar and unfamiliar includes five 'paired' settings: William Harris's classic 1959 'Bring us, O Lord God' partnered by James MacMillan's 2010 setting of the same words; Herbert Howells' devastatingly poignant 'Take him, earth, for cherishing' (in memory of the slain President Kennedy) juxtaposed with John Tavener's 2008 response to the same text; 'Justorum animae' ('The souls of the righteous') in versions by Lennox Berkeley, Charles Villiers Stanford and Herbert Murrill; heartfelt settings of 'Drop, drop, slow tears' by Kenneth Leighton and Thomas Hewitt Jones; and Stanford's beautifully crafted 'I heard a voice from Heaven' coupled with Herbert Howell's exquisite, mystical setting of the same words.
The collection is completed with three impressive single works: Parry's valedictory 'Lord, let me know mine end', William Harris's masterwork 'Faire is the Heaven', and a stunningly powerful recording of John Tavener's 'Song for Athene', which sprang to global fame when performed at the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales.
Recorded in the well-nigh perfect acoustic of St Jude's Church, London, by the award-winning production team of David Hinitt and Adrian Peacock.
Extensive presentation includes 64 page booklet with authoritative liner note in three languages by conductor Robert King, together with full sung texts and session photographs.
"this album of unaccompanied British choral works shows the 28-strong Choir of the King Consort, especially known for baroque performance, in a rich, lushly romantic light." (Observer)
"It's fairly unusual to encounter the Choir of The King's Consort in music such as this, at least on disc, though they have recently given us a very fine collection of music by Parry and Stanford (review). They do all the pieces on this new disc splendidly and I enjoyed both the performances per se and also the interesting choice of music. The recording is in the very safe hands of Adrian Peacock (producer) and David Hinitt (engineer). I liked the recorded sound very much. In particular, with music of this kind which often has complex textures, clarity of detail is vital and that's been achieved here. For my money, the recording is a success. Robert King's notes are elegant and informative; they convey his enthusiasm for the music almost as strongly as does his conducting of it." (recording of teh Month MusicWeb Sept 2016)
Tracks:
Berkeley, L: Justorum animae
Harris, W: Bring us, O Lord God
Harris W: Faire is the Heaven
Hewitt Jones, Thomas: Drop, drop, slow tears
Howells: Take him, earth, for cherishing
Howells: I heard a voice from Heaven
Leighton: Drop, Drop Slow Tears
MacMillan: Bring us, O Lord
Murrill: The souls of the righteous
Parry: Lord, let me know mine end (No. 6 from Songs of Farewell)
Stanford: I heard a voice from heaven
Stanford: Justorum animae, Op. 38 No. 1
Tavener: Song for Athene
Tavener: Take Him Earth For Cherishing
