Magnificat 4
The Choir of St John’s College, Cambridge/Andrew Nethsingha
George Herbert (organ); Alexander Semple (violin)
rec. 2022, St John’s College Chapel, Cambridge
Texts included
Signum Classics SIGCD777 [70]
This is the fourth and final installment in the sub-series of recordings entitled ‘Magnificat’ which has formed part of the much wider series of recordings which Andrew Nethsingha has made with The Choir of St John’s College, Cambridge. This is also their final disc together; it consists of items recorded before Nethsingha left St John’s at the end of 2022 to take up the post of Organist and Master of the Choristers at Westminster Abbey. They’ve made some 30 discs together and I’ve heard – and greatly admired – most of them.
Unsurprisingly, this final programme contains a number of Cambridge connections, although we start, as it were, not at St John’s but at Clare College. It was for the choir of that college that Anna Semple wrote her setting of the Nunc dimittis. This isn’t the first piece by Ms Semple that Nethsingha and his choir have recorded. Her Oriens…, commissioned for the 2021 Advent Carol Service at St Johns, was included on the previous St John’s disc, ‘New Millennium’ (review). I liked that piece but I’m less taken with her Nunc dimittis. It’s written for unaccompanied choir with obbligato violin; the violinist here is the composer’s brother, Alexander, who is also a bass Choral Scholar in the St John’s choir. The violinist opens the piece with a spiky solo in which there’s no obvious tonality; there are several similar interjections during the piece. The choir’s music includes a number of aleatoric episodes and even when the choir is not singing in that fashion the words are often unclear. For me, therefore, though the piece is undeniably original, it’s not a success because it simply doesn’t communicate the text to listeners. I also question how practical it is: it needs a choir with the confidence and accomplishment of the St John’s team – and a violinist who can master the challenging solo role; realistically, how many choirs will be able to devote the rehearsal time to preparing the piece? I’m afraid this piece is simply not at all my cup of tea.
The ‘Mag and Nunc’ by Dame Judith Weir, by contrast, shows that it’s possible to write music that is very original yet anchored securely in tradition. Her St John’s Service was commissioned for the College’s 500th anniversary; in his excellent notes, organist George Herbert tells us that Weir was “spurred on” by the canticles which Sir Michael Tippett composed for the institution’s 450th anniversary. Weir’s music is for a cappella choir. I learned from the notes that the time signature doesn’t change in the Magnificat, though if one were not aware of it you might think that the meter is constantly changing, so fluid are Weir’s rhythms. The harmonic language is most interesting and, unlike the Semple piece, the words are consistently clear so one can tell how acutely Weir is responding to the text. The Nunc dimittis is warm and lyrical; the music is beautiful and reassuring. Each canticle has a different ‘Glory be’ and each one suits the respective text very well.
Jonathan Dove’s canticles were also commissioned for the St John’s choir. In the booklet, I read that the brief given to Dove was “to write a set of canticles that would be lively, popular among singers, and that would not demand lots of practice, such that cathedral choirs with little rehearsal time could use it”. What a pragmatic brief! And, lest it should be thought that the requirement to take into account possible constraints on rehearsal time might result in simplistic, superficial music, I can assure readers that such is not the case. Furthermore, the important organ part will certainly require the organist to put in a few hours of practice. Both pieces are founded upon a 2 + 2 + 3 rhythm. The Magnificat is, for much of the time, joyful and exuberant – though there’s a very potent passage at ‘He hath showed strength with his arm’, where the organ part is particularly exciting. The ‘Glory be’ is exhilarating. The Nunc dimittis is underpinned by the same basic rhythm but the music is much slower. Like many composers before him, Dove produces a big climax at ‘To be a light…’ before ending with a tranquil ‘Glory be’. I liked these canticles very much.
There’s nothing parochial about this programme. After two sets of canticles written for St John’s the focus moved to what I might call ‘the rivals down the road’ with a series of pieces written for King’s College. Actually, there’s a strong S John’s connection with the Howells piece because it was while he was serving as acting Organist of the College during the 1939-45 war that Howells was approached by the enlightened Dean of King’s, Eric Milner White, who invited him to compose a Te Deum for the King’s College choir. The result was a splendid piece which mingles grandeur – most especially at the beginning and then at the fervent end of the piece – and poetry. Howells’ setting sounds as if it was written at speed and in one great sweep, though I bet that wasn’t the case. It’s a magnificent setting and it’s superbly performed here. It wasn’t Howells’ first liturgical composition – this programme contains an earlier set of canticles – but surely the Collegium Regale Te Deum threw wide open the doors for the flood of great music for the Anglican church which Howells composed in the following decades.
Next, we hear a much more recent composition for King’s, the King’s College Service by Joanna Forbes L’Estrange. This was written not for the Chapel Choir but for King’s Voices, the College’s mixed voice choir (an ensemble which I believe still flourishes, though St John’s Voices, their equivalent at St John’s College, has just been unceremoniously dumped by their college). George Herbert describes the setting of the Magnificat as “appealingly undemonstrative”. I think that verdict is spot on, though, notwithstanding that, the Proud are scattered and the Mighty are put down to music that is suitably forthright. The Magnificat is most attractive to hear and, I should imagine, to sing; the music is genuinely melodious. The Nunc dimittis is melodically related but is cast in a minor key. At ‘To be a light…’ the music achieves a luminous climax; thereafter, the ‘Glory be’ alludes to the melody heard at the start of the Magnificat. I was impressed by these canticles and liked them very much. Incidentally, I think there’s a nice family link to a previous St John’s disc. The ‘Advent Live Vol 3’ disc included a short a cappella piece, O Virgo Virginum by Harry L’Estrange, which impressed me (review). Harry was a chorister in the choir at the time he wrote the piece and I think I’m right in saying that he is the son of Joanna Forbes L’Estrange.
The name and music of Adrian Cruft (1921-1987) was unknown to me. I learned from the notes that he was a professional double bass player as well as a composer. His Collegium Regale ‘Mag and Nunc’ was commissioned during the time that David Willcocks was in charge of the music at King’s. The canticles are for ATB choir and organ and much of the music in the Magnificat is dramatic and dynamic. The use of just adult male voices gives the musical textures a dark hue. If I’m absolutely honest, this is music which, so far, I have admired rather than taken to my heart. That said, the settings are interesting and impressive; I’m glad I’ve heard them.
After hearing the Cruft settings, it’s interesting to experience Herbert Howells’ ‘Mag and Nunc’ in E. Andrew Nethsingha believes that this is the first recording of these early Howells canticles in the original version for tenors and basses. He may well be right; the only other recording of them that I know appears in Vol 3 (of five) in Priory’s series ‘The Complete Morning and Evening Canticles of Hervert Howells’ (PRCD 782); on that disc Andrew Millinger and The Collegiate Singers use the adaptation for ATB which John Buttrey made, with the composer’s approval, in 1977. According to the notes in the Priory booklet, Buttrey proposed the adaptation to accommodate male altos, though in fact the Millinger recording uses female altos. Having now listened to the two recordings side by side, though Buttrey’s adaptation is skilful – and Howells apparently approved when he heard it – I prefer the TB version which is offered on this present disc. Perhaps these E major canticles are not quite on a par with the finest of the composer’s later sets. However, the music still contains distinct Howells traits in terms of the melodic and harmonic style; also, Howells shows himself to be just as responsive to the words as he did in later canticle settings. Here. the Magnificat is vividly projected by just ten voices. In the Nunc dimittis I really like the rich russet colours provided by the voices; I also admire the spacious melodic lines. The ‘Glory be’ which concludes each canticle is majestic – the music is not identical – and the one which ends the Nunc dimittis is impressively fervent in this performance.
We’ve already heard music associated with three Cambridge colleges, Clare, St John’s and King’s; a fourth college, Trinity, is represented by Stanford’s G major ‘Mag and Nunc’, though I think I’m right in saying that these canticles were composed after Stanford had ceased to serve as Organist of that college. The Magnificat is the song of the Blessed Virgin in St Luke’s Gospel and Stanford’s celebrated setting is arguably the most feminine in tone of all the ‘Mags’ on this disc. The femininity is emphasised by both the light, airy textures and the prominent treble solo. Here the solo is sung by Lucas Nair-Grepinet who makes a really good job of the demanding part, singing clearly and confidently. Andrew Nethsingha leads a performance that is ideally light on its feet – the same goes for George Herbert’s delivery of the organ part. In the Nunc dimittis, Stanford uses a bass soloist for Simeon’s words; Alexander Hopkins’ singing is firm and even. In this ‘Nunc’ Stanford’s music has genuine nobility and the St John’s performance reflects that.
The E major canticles by Herbert Murrill have, apparently, long been a favourite of Andrew Nethsingha; perhaps the fact that his father, the late Lucian Nethsingha, made a noted recording of them in the 1960s influenced his affection for the music. We learn in the booklet that he selected Murrill in E for his last service of Evensong at St John’s in December 2022. Whereas most, if not all, of the other settings on this programme were composed for a particular choir, I’m not aware this was the case with Murril. The music of the Magnificat is fresh and attractive; Murrill responds very effectively to the words he is setting. In the Nunc dimittis, key changes are used imaginatively on the way to a radiant climax at ‘To be a light…’ Each canticle has a different ‘Glory be’; the one which concludes the ‘Nunc’ is jubilant and energetic.
The programme closes with the canticles that Piers Connor Kennedy wrote in 2015, while he was a Choral Scholar at Worcester Cathedral. (He was later a member of the St John’s choir.) These canticles, which use the Latin texts, are for unaccompanied six-part ATB choir. Andrew Nethsingha included another piece by this composer on the ‘New Millenium’ disc. That piece, O nata lux, also written during his time at Worcester, was also for ATB voices and I liked it very much (review). George Herbert comments in his notes that the music is “reminiscent of plainchant”. That’s undoubtedly the case. The St John’s adult singers perform these canticles wonderfully well and we also get an opportunity to appreciate the warm, resonant acoustic of the College Chapel, which surrounds the voices like a halo. As I listened, I wondered if, were I to see a score, I’d find that time signatures and bar lines were almost a matter of convenience, as is the case in Maurice Duruflé’s Requiem. Duruflé based his work on plainchant; I’m not sure that Kennedy has used any chant melodies per se but the effect of timeless flow is similar. The Nunc dimittis begins with dark, lower-voice textures but when the alto singers join in their haunting timbre is especially effective. I love the tranquil way in which Kennedy closes his ‘Nunc’ setting. These are beautiful canticles. Recently, it was announced that Piers Connor Kennedy will join The King’s Singers as a bass in 2025. I do hope his busy schedule with that group won’t prevent him from finding time to continue to compose.
All good things, they say, must come to an end and now the discography of Andrew Nethsingha and the Choir of St John’s College, Cambridge has reached its conclusion. He has left a remarkable legacy of recordings and this final album maintains all the high standards we have come to expect. By this I don’t just mean the excellence of the singing and organ playing, though that’s extremely high – yet again – throughout this disc. These recordings have been produced by Chris Hazell and engineered by Dave Rowell and Simon Eadon; their technical work is excellent. The documentation is as classy as ever. George Herbert, the College’s Assistant Organist at the time, has written the valuable notes on the music. In addition, there’s a good essay about the texts of the canticles by the College Chaplain, Rev. Andrew Hammond. Andrew Nethsingha has contributed a nice valedictory note. The other way in which the high standards of this whole series of discs has been maintained right to the end lies in the repertoire. Nethsingha’s CD programmes have contained a significant amount of contemporary music, often pieces written for the choir. Though there have been a handful of such pieces that have not attracted me, all the new music he has chosen to record over the years has been an important enrichment and development of the repertoire. At the same time, the programme selections have been properly – and enthusiastically – respectful of the rich heritage of the traditional repertoire.
This whole series of St John’s recordings has been a joy to follow. I hope it won’t be long before Andrew Nethsingha’s successor, Christopher Gray records with the choir and, indeed, that Andrew Nethsingha will soon be making recordings at Westminster Abbey.
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Contents
Anna Semple (b 1997) Nunc Dimittis (2020)
Dame Judith Weir (b 1954) St John’s Service: Magnificat & Nunc Dimittis (2011)
Jonathan Dove (b 1959) St John’s Service: Magnificat & Nunc Dimittis (2022)
Herbert Howells (1892-1983) Collegium Regale: Te Deum
Joanna Forbes L’Estrange (b 1971) King’s College Service: Magnificat & Nunc Dimittis:
Adrian Cruft (1921-1987) Collegium Regale: Magnificat & Nunc Dimittis
Herbert Howells Magnificat & Nunc Dimittis in E (1935) for Tenors & Basses:
Sir Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924) Magnificat & Nunc Dimittis in G
Herbert Murrill (1909-1952) Magnificat & Nunc Dimittis in E
Piers Connor Kennedy (b 1991) Worcester Service: Magnificat & Nunc Dimittis
