News of Great Joy
Christmas from St John’s College, Oxford
Contents listed after the review
The Choir of St. John’s College, Oxford/David Bannister
Eva Boulos (saxophone); Vivian Lui (violin); Aiofe Miralles (harp); Christian Wilson (organ)
rec. 2024, Chapel of Balliol College, Oxford
Texts included
Resonus RES10348 [54]
I learned from the College website that there has been a Chapel Choir at St. John’s College, Oxford for over 400 years. What I don’t know is when it evolved into its present SATB form. The choir is made up from undergraduates of St John’s and other colleges in Oxford University and they sing at two services each week during term time. On this disc, 23 singers (6/6/4/7) take part. This is the first recording by the choir that has come my way.
In the booklet we read that the programme has been assembled in anticipation of the sixtieth anniversary (in 2025) of Elizabeth Poston’s Penguin Book of Carols (1965), a venture initially undertaken with Ralph Vaughan Williams as a revision of his Oxford Book of Carols (1928). As a result, the album presents music associated with these two composers and the works they edited, alongside newer pieces exemplifying and revivifying the English carol tradition.
The sole VW offering is his arrangement of The Sussex Carol. I just wonder if the performance isn’t a bit too relaxed; I feel the carol needs just a fraction more impetus and the organ seems a bit subdued, perhaps in deference to the size of the choir? Elizabeth Poston is more generously represented. Perhaps inevitably, her setting of Jesus Christ the Apple Tree is included. It is, of course, a very nice setting and the St John’s choir sings it well. However, a recent album devoted to Poston’s carols and anthems showed that there is rather more to her output (review); part of me wishes David Bannister had cast his net a bit more widely. Two of Poston’s arrangements are also included. One is her arrangement of Warlock’s I saw a fair maiden. This is sung beautifully by the unison sopranos with organ accompaniment; their rendition confirms that this is a delectable, innocent little piece. In Michael Praetorius’s Es ist ein Ros’ entsprungen we hear, in the final verse, the optional instrumental embellishment that Poston provided in the Penguin Book of Carols. Here, it’s played on a saxophone; I mean no disrespect to the saxophonist, but I’m not convinced that the instrumental line adds much.
The album has been released in the year that we mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of Gustav Holst and the 40th anniversary of the death of his daughter, Imogen. Frankly, I think that Gustav’s In the bleak midwinter is far too ubiquitous – it isn’t a patch on the Darke setting – and over five verses it outstays its welcome. On this occasion, Imogen outshines her father. Her a cappella setting of Nowell and Nowell is attractive and lilting; I like the fresh sound the St John’s singers make. There’s also the Gloria from her Mass in A minor. This was composed in 1927 when she was studying with Vaughan Williams at the Royal College of Music. This setting demonstrably breathes the same modal air as VW’s own Mass in G minor (1922). If this very good performance of Imogen’s Gloria whets your appetite to hear the rest of her Mass – as I hope it will – you need look no further than the 2011 disc containing several of her choral works by the Choir of Clare College, Cambridge (review)
It comes as no surprise to find pieces by John Rutter and Bob Chilcott on the programme; both have become pretty much synonymous with Christmas music. Rutter’s All the Stars Looked Down is a setting for SATB and organ of lines by G K Chesterton. I’m tempted to say it couldn’t be by anyone else but nonetheless it’s a very attractive, sincere piece; it’s also quite recent (2022) so it’s not yet as familiar as many of his other Christmas pieces; I’m glad David Bannister selected it. Chilcott’s a cappella The Shepherd’s Carol was composed for King’s College, Cambridge. The music most evocatively conveys an air of a mysterious event, as do the words. It’s a lovely piece and it’s very well done here, as is the Rutter piece.
Rather less familiar are the compositions by Philip Stopford and David Bednall. Stopford’s Lully, lulla, lullay is, as the title suggests, primarily gentle in tone; it’s a pleasing piece. Bednall’s Ave Maria is sung by unison sopranos, accompanied not just by organ but also by a solo violin. It’s a finely crafted piece and it comes off well here. So does Britten’s ‘Corpus Christi Carol’ which is also sung by unison sopranos, but this time accompanied by harp. Incidentally, it may be pure coincidence, but the source of Britten’s text is given in the booklet as Balliol College MS 354, which is also the source for Warlock’s What cheer? Good cheer! The inclusion of these two pieces may perhaps be taken as nice nods to the college which hosted the recording sessions.
In addition to the Britten, three more of the items on this disc feature just the sopranos. That may be sheer coincidence as a result of programme selection, but I wonder if in part David Bannister is playing to one of the strengths of his choir. The St. John’s choir is an accomplished, well-trained ensemble. I like the fresh, clean sound they make, but this is a student choir and it does seem to me that the lower three voice parts lack a bit of strength. The soprano section displays a fresh, pure and clear sound.
The recorded sound is interesting. The choir is heard as if from a bit of a distance and the resonance of the acoustic imparts a rather nice halo to the choir’s sound. Some may feel that the choir should have been recorded a bit more closely, but I think the sound gives us a pleasingly realistic impression of the sound we would hear if we were experiencing the choir singing at a service in their college chapel. I like the effect that producer/engineer Adam Binks has achieved.
The booklet includes all the texts, some nice session photographs and a very good essay on the music by Elizabeth Macfarlane and David Bannister in which they particularly trace what I might call the ‘Poston thread’ running through the programme. I just wish Resonus would print their booklets using a slightly larger font; others may find, as I did, that it’s a strain to read the booklet.
This is an enjoyable, thoughtfully prepared Christmas album.
John Quinn
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Contents
Peter Warlock (1894–1930)
What cheer? Good cheer!
Imogen Holst (1907–1984)
Nowell and Nowell
Philip W.J. Stopford (b.1977)
Lully, lulla, lullay
Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872–1958)
A Sussex Carol
John Rutter (b.1945)
All the Stars Looked Down
Gustav Holst (1874–1934)
In the bleak midwinter
Peter Warlock (1894–1930) arr. Elizabeth Poston
I saw a fair maiden
Richard Rodney Bennett (1936–2012)
Puer nobis
Melchior Vulpius (c.1570–1615) arr. David Bannister (b.1983)
Canon on ‘Es ist ein Ros’ entsprungen’
Anonymous
Song of the Nuns of Chester
Benjamin Britten (1913–1976)
‘Corpus Christi Carol’ from A Boy was Born
Elizabeth Maconchy (1907–1994)
There is no Rose
Elizabeth Poston (1905–1987)
Jesus Christ the Apple Tree
Michael Praetorius (1571–1621) arr. Elizabeth Poston
Es ist ein Ros’ entsprungen
Imogen Holst
‘Gloria’ from Mass in A Minor
David Bednall (b.1979)
Ave Maria
Bob Chilcott (b.1955)
The Shepherd’s Carol
