Carols from Herefordshire
Derek Welton (bass-baritone), Iain Burnside (piano)
Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital Chelsea/William Vann
rec. 2024, Holy Trinity, Sloane Square, London (choir); 2011, Potton Hall, UK (voice and piano)
Texts included
Albion Records ALBCD064 [58]
This remarkable release closes an important gap in the Ralph Vaughan Williams discography. It is a first-ever recording of the complete score of the Carols from Herefordshire. Let me explain. In July 1908, RVW met the folklorist Ella Mary Leather (1874-1928) in the quaint Herefordshire village of Weobley. Ella made a phonograph recording of local worthies singing folksongs. The composer’s job was to transcribe what was on those cylinders. He would make further visits in 1912 and 1913.
Stainer and Bell published the score of Twelve Traditional Carols from Herefordshire in 1920. Unusually, it contained two versions: the original for voice and piano, and RVW’s arrangement for the SATB (four-part) choir. The score is prefaced by an explanatory note: “The object of this volume is not scientific but artistic; it is simply to preserve these carols in a form in which they can be sung by those who value our traditional songs and melodies. The Editors have therefore not hesitated (while keeping as much of the original text as possible) to emend corruptions in the words, to correct grammatical errors and to supply missing lines and verses from other sources.” On the other hand, the tunes were transcribed exactly as heard.
The first half of the programme is devoted to the choral version of the carols. In the second half, Derek Welton sings the same carols, and Iain Burnside accompanies him on the piano.
What of the carols themselves? They fall into various thematic groupings. Many are concerned with Christmas. In others, the theology can be a little stretched: not only are biblical sources used, but apocryphal lore and a degree of native moralising.
Look at The Holy Well, heard in two versions. In the underlying legend, the young Jesus drowned his snobbish playmates. In the carol, the story has been bowdlerised, but it is still a treatise of class consciousness. Then there is the poor farmer forced to work On Christmas Day, whom Jesus struck down. Christmas Now is Drawing Near at Hand presents much theological moralising.
We find more traditional fare in The Angel Gabriel, New Year’s Carol and Joseph and Mary. The Miraculous Harvest (or The Carnal and the Crane) is based on “mediaeval poems and on apocryphal gospels going back to the first millennium”; the Carnal probably refers to a crow. Of interest is God Rest You Merry Gentlemen, with a tune vastly different than what we are used to.
Other carols not associated with the Season include Dives and Lazarus, The Saviour’s Love and The Seven Virgins.
The recording has wisely omitted some verses in a few of the carols. This is especially so when they would become a burden for singers and audience alike.
John Francis has assembled the excellent booklet notes. There is a detailed account of the work’s genesis, a biography of Ella Mary Leather, notes on each carol, the texts, and resumes of the performers. The CD cover is Vittore Carpaccio’s sumptuous painting, The Flight into Egypt, c. 1515, currently on display in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, USA.
In 2011, Derek Welton and Iain Burnside recorded the voice and piano edition for Albion Records. This delightful recital was issued on On Christmas Day – Folk-Carols and Folksongs: Arranged by Ralph Vaughan Williams (ALBCD013, a very brief review here).
William Vann and the Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital Chelsea give an exqusite performance. They have already made an important contribution to RWW’s legacy. This includes three Christmas albums: A Vaughan Williams Christmas (ALBCD035, review), An Oxford Christmas (ALBCD050, review), and A Christmas Fantasia: Carols and Fantasies (ALBCD063).
Not all the carols are concerned with the Yuletide Season, but this lovely disc makes an ideal Christmas present for all enthusiasts of RVW’s music, and for those who have an ear to the ground for traditional English folksongs.
John France
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Contents
Twelve Traditional Carols from Herefordshire (1920)
For unaccompanied SATB choir
The Holy Well (first version)
Solo: Helen Ashby
The Holy Well (second version)
Christmas Now Is Drawing Near at Hand
Solo: Jonathan Hanley
Joseph and Mary
Solo: Edward Hughes
The Angel Gabriel
God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen
New Year’s Carol
Solo: Katy Hill
On Christmas Day
Solo: Eloise Irving
Dives and Lazarus
The Miraculous Harvest
Solos: Eloise Irving, Samuel Jenkins
The Saviour’s Love
The Seven Virgins
For voice and piano
The Holy Well (first version)
The Holy Well (second version)
Christmas Now Is Drawing Near at Hand
Joseph and Mary
The Angel Gabriel
God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen
New Year’s Carol
On Christmas Day
Dives and Lazarus
The Miraculous Harvest
The Saviour’s Love
The Seven Virgins
