Mantegna – Hymnody and beyond
Dulwich Choral Society, London Mozart Players / William Vann
James Orford (organ)
rec. 2025 St. Mildred’s Church, Addiscombe Croydon, England
Texts included
Albion Records ALBCD067 [75]

This is the sort of project which Albion does so well. They have delved into the rich contribution that Vaughan Williams made to English hymnody and have come up with a fascinating collection of offerings. These include some very familiar examples but also some forays off the beaten track. Even the most familiar of the hymn tunes occasionally take unexpected turns.

At the very start we hear VW’s great setting of ‘All people that on earth do dwell’ which he composed, full of splendour, for the 1953 Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. The only unfamiliar thing about this presentation is that David Stone’s slightly reduced orchestration is used. I don’t think I’ve encountered this before but it doesn’t short change VW. I recall that the fanfares which open the first and last verses bear the injunction ‘All available trumpets’; well, on this occasion the London Mozart Players only have three trumpeters in their ranks but the fanfares ring out splendidly. The members of Dulwich Choral Society clearly relish the assignment. If asked to name VW’s greatest hymn tune, I’ll wager that a fair number of people would plump for Sine nomine (‘For all the saints’); I certainly would. This provides the most stirring of finales. However, it appears in a guise that was unfamiliar to me, a choral arrangement made in 1948 by Henry Ley, at VW’s suggestion, it seems; here, Ley’s work has been orchestrated, very effectively by Malcolm Riley. Ley produced a continuous piece by writing short instrumental interludes to link each of the eight verses. For contrast, he set the fourth verse for an unaccompanied SATB quartet and verse 6 for solo soprano. I like Ley’s elaboration of the hymn, though perhaps he rather goes over the top with his harmonies and elaborations in the final verse.

Earlier, there’s another contribution from Ley, this time on a much more modest scale. Shortly after VW’s death, he composed a short organ piece based on the tune (Down Ampney) to which VW memorably set the words ‘Come down, O love Divine’ in The English Hymnal. Ley’s Prelude on Down Ampney is a touching little tribute to VW. The Prelude is tranquil and pensive; James Orford plays it beautifully. Just before that, we’ve heard a much more robust hymn setting in the shape of the tune which VW named King’s Lynn because he collected this folk song in that town in 1905. What a splendidly forthright tune it is, here sung as O God of earth and altar and heard in what the notes aptly describe as the “sturdily deluxe arrangement” for unison voices and orchestra by Sir William Harris. Immediately before that, we hear an organ piece by Percy Whitlock. His Prelude on King’s Lynn is given in a new orchestration by Malcolm Riley. I must confess I’m surprised that the sung version of King’s Lynn wasn’t placed before the Whitlock on the disc; in that way we would effectively hear a theme followed by Whitlock’s variations. (I played the tracks in that order and found it much more satisfactory.) Whitlock’s Prelude is a resourceful and inventive exploration of the tune’s possibilities. It seems to work very well in Riley’s scoring.

By contrast, when it comes to one of VW’s lesser-known hymn tunes, Mantegna we hear it in what I would be so bold as to say is the correct order; the hymn is sung first in order to plant the tune in our memories and then we hear the orchestral work which Francis Jackson based on the tune. VW, it seems, related the words he set, by the American Sidney Lanier (1842-1881), to the painting ‘The Agony in the Garden’ by Andreas Mantegna (c 1431-1516); Albion reproduce the painting on the cover of the booklet.  I like the tune but if I’m honest I’m not sure how well suited it is for congregational use; it’s not easy to pick up. Here, there are two stanzas of poetry, each consisting of eight lines. It seems to me that the tune winds around quite a bit to accommodate eight lines per verse (by contrast, in O God of earth and altar thereare a similar number of lines in each verse yet the tune accommodates the lines effortlessly). In 1961 Mantegna was used as the basis for Homage to Vaughan Williams, Op 26, which is, in essence, a theme and set of variations for orchestra by Francis Jackson (1917-2022), who was the distinguished Organist of York Minster from thirty-six years (1946-1982). Despite his busy career at the Minster and as an organist, Jackson found time to write a lot of music. There’s an appendix listing his compositions in his charming and most interesting autobiography, Music for a Long While (2013); this runs to 164 opus numbers plus quite a number of pieces that have no number. (I’ve always smiled at the witty title of that book, published when the author was a youthful 96!) Unsurprisingly, the majority of Jackson’s compositions were either organ works or pieces for choir. I’ve heard – and admired – quite a few of those but I’ve never encountered any of his few orchestral pieces. The work in question wasn’t actually his first orchestral piece; he composed a four-movement symphony in G minor, Op 20 in 1957 as his (successful) submission to Durham University for the degree of D. Mus. I wonder how often Homage to Vaughan Williams has been performed; Jackson mentions a performance (the work’s second outing) at the Three Choirs Festival in Gloucester – I presume the 1962 Festival – but I doubt it has been heard very often since. We learn from the booklet that the orchestral parts are lost, but the full score was unearthed in York Minster Library among Jackson’s papers; from it Malcolm Riley has made a new performing edition. It’s a piece that doesn’t outstay its welcome – here, it plays for 17:13 – and I enjoyed it very much. Jackson uses the doleful sound of a cor anglais to announce the theme and thereafter his variations – and a couple of short interludes – in the composer’s words ‘roughly follow the events of the Garden of Gethsemane’. Thus, it’s unusual in being a set of variations that follow a narrative. The work is convincingly scored for orchestra and, like all good sets of variations, the composer keeps the theme audibly in sight. There are one or two short dramatic passages but overall, the tone is reflective and melancholy, as befits the topic. I wouldn’t say that Albion have unearthed a lost masterpiece but they have allowed us to hear in this first recording a score that is very worthwhile and which I enjoyed very much. I’m delighted that the piece has been recorded and it has piqued my curiosity to wonder what the G minor Symphony is like, though I fear I’ll never find out. Incidentally, Jackson’s Organ Concerto, Op 64 (1984/5) has been recorded, though I’m far from sure that the disc, which I’ve never heard, is still available; the CD was reviewed on MusicWeb in 2000.  

Sir William Harris’s ‘Fantasia on Monk’s Gate’uses the stirring tune that we sing to ‘He who would valiant be’ and makes it the basis for a substantial piece for solo organ (here playing for 9:31). The music is technically accomplished and resourceful but if that sounds in any way as a code for the piece being academic, that’s not the case. Harris’s Fantasia is a splendid recital piece which James Orford plays very well indeed. On a much more modest scale is VW’s own ‘Hymn Tune Prelude on Song 13’ (1930), which is based on the Orlando Gibbons vocal piece which here precedes it. VW’s original is a piano piece and, if I’m honest, it doesn’t sound like top drawer VW; what gives this offering particular interest, though, is that it’s presented in the string arrangement by one of his pupils, Helen Glatz (1908-1996). The arrangement dates from 1953 and it seems to me to work very well; the comparison in the booklet with a viol consort seems very apt.

 Dulwich Choral Society sing the hymn Fierce Raged the Tempest (to the tune which VW named ‘White Gates’). They sing it lustily, though with some good dynamic shading in places. It acts as a prelude for the solo organ work, ‘Carillon on White Gates’, which the Ralph Vaughan Williams Society commissioned specifically for this album from David Briggs. I love the composer’s comment, quoted in the booklet: ‘Here’s RVW on a weekend in Paris, giving Marcel Dupré his ‘White Gates’ tune, as the subject for a Carillon’. The result is an excellent, short showpiece, which James Orford plays marvellously. I love the way that at 3:07 Briggs works in a reference to the accompaniment of ‘Let all the world’ (Five Mystical Songs). Malcolm Riley also received a commission for this album: his ‘Introit on Magda’ for brass and percussion; this makes a good introduction to the hymn Lift Up Your Hearts (Magda). VW’s hymn tune is confident and forthright, as is the singing of Dulwich Choral Society.

This is a fascinating album, which sheds enterprising light on VW’s very fruitful association with the world of hymnody. I enjoyed the music very much and found it all very stimulating. The performances are excellent. William Vann motivates the Dulwich Choral Society and London Mozart Players in fine fashion. There are one or two occasions when one is aware that the choir is an amateur one but I don’t think that matters in the slightest. In fact, I think the contrary is true. Here we have a very proficient amateur choir making an extremely creditable contribution to the success of this enterprise. I think VW would have much preferred that instead of an expert group of professionals singing the hymns; after all, hymns are, to adapt a phrase, ‘for the people and of the people’. The accomplished Dulwich singers bring a pleasing touch of authenticity to the proceedings. The London Mozart Players are as polished as you’d expect and, as I’ve already indicated, organist James Orford is on fine form.

The technical side of the recording has been expertly managed by producer Andrew Walton and engineer Tim Burton. As is ever the case with Albion, the documentation is first-class; the notes, jointly authored by John Francis and Malcolm Riley, are full of relevant information, clearly expressed.

John Quinn

Previous reviews (November 2025): John France ~ Nick Barnard ~ Jim Westhead

Buying this recording via the link below generates revenue for MWI, which helps the site remain free

Contents
Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)
The Old Hundredth Psalm Tune ‘All people that on earth do dwell’
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Into the woods my master went (Mantegna)Francis Jackson (1917-2022)
Homage to Vaughan Williams, Op 26 (1961)
Percy Whitlock (1903-1946) orch. Malcolm Riley (b. 1960)
Prelude on King’s Lynn
Ralph Vaughan Williams orch. William H. Harris (1883 – 1973)
O God of earth and altar (King’s Lynn)
Henry Ley (1887 – 1962)
Prelude on Down Ampney
Orlando Gibbons (1583 – 1625)
Jesu, grant me this, I pray (Song 13)
Ralph Vaughan Williams arr. Helen Glatz (1908-1996)
Hymn Tune Prelude on Song 13
William H Harris
Eternal Ruler of the Ceaseless Round
Fantasia on Monk’s Gate
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Fierce Raged the Tempest (White Gates)
David Briggs (b.1962)
Carillon on White Gates
Malcolm Riley
Introit on Magda
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Lift Up Your Hearts (Magda)
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Romanza ‘The White Rock’ (Arr. for Strings by Malcolm Riley)
Toccata ‘St. David’s Day’ (Arr. for Strings by Malcolm Riley)
Ralph Vaughan Williams arr. Henry Ley orch. Malcolm Riley
For All the Saints (Sine nomine)