Gabriel Jackson (b. 1962)
The Christmas Story (2023)
The Choir and Girl Choristers of Merton College
Owen Chan & François Cloete (organ)
Oxford Contemporary Sinfonia/Benjamin Nicholas
rec. 2023, Merton College Chapel, Oxford, UK
Texts & English translations included
Delphian DCD34331 [74]
Gabriel Jackson’s The Christmas Story was premiered in London on 9 December 2023 by the performers involved in this recording. The next evening they gave a second performance on their home turf of the Chapel of Merton College, Oxford; I attended that performance and reviewed it for Seen and Heard. The present recording was made over the following two days and, knowing that was to happen, I’ve been eager to hear the work again.
For his libretto, Jackson turned again to Dr Simon Jones, who had previously compiled for him the libretto to The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ (2014). Dr Jones was Chaplain of Merton College from 2002 until September 2024 when he became Dean of Lincoln Cathedral. During his time at Merton, Simon Jones did a great deal to support in a very practical way the College choir, not least by personally commissioning quite a number of new pieces for them. He has thereby left a significant and tangible legacy at Merton. In a most interesting booklet essay about the libretto Simon Jones points out the ways in which he sought to make the text of The Christmas Story directly relevant to Merton College. So, for the passages from the Bible, including the four Gospels (principally that of St Luke) and the Book of Isaiah, he has used the King James Version, parts of which were translated at Merton College. In addition, he has woven into the libretto four poems written, I believe, specifically for this project by two contemporary writers, Penny Boxall (b. 1987) and Mary Anne Clark (b. 1995) who had personal links with Merton College, one as visiting research Fellow and one as an alumna. All four poems are excellent. Jones’s other sources include words, taken from the liturgy of Advent and Christmastide, for Office Hymns, Responsories and Antiphons as well as the Nunc Dimittis and part of the Benedicite. In 2019, when I reviewed the recording of The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ I said that Dr Jones had ‘fashioned a libretto of considerable liturgical discernment and literary merit’. I think that this new libretto is of a similar stature.
Simon Jones and Gabriel Jackson have divided the new work into four sections: Advent, Christmas, Epiphany and Candlemas. One of the new poems is included in each of these sections. In his essay on the music. Michael Emery describes the structure of the libretto as having the effect of a series of tableaux.
The work is scored for trebles (here, the Girl Choristers) accompanied by organ, SATB choir and an ensemble of eleven players, comprising flute, alto saxophone, 2 tenor trombones, bass trombone, percussion (1 player), 2 violins, viola, cello and double bass. The lone percussionist is kept very busy, using no fewer than eleven different instruments. It will be noted that there are no soloists – though from time to time we hear various solo voices from within the choir. Gabriel Jackson consciously avoided, for example, the use of a solo Evangelist; instead, the passages of Gospel narrative are set for the main choir. The four contemporary poems are sung by the treble choir accompanied by the organ. I recall that at the performance I attended the main choir and instrumental ensemble were positioned at the chancel end of the chapel while the Girl Choristers sang from the West End where the Dobson organ is located. It’s clear from what we hear that these dispositions were respected for the recording, in line with the composer’s wishes.
The instrumental scoring is very precisely calculated, as Michael Emery explains. So, for example, the very title of the work “pays homage” to Schütz’s Weihnachtshistorie and in addition Jackson “attempts in part to reimagine the soundworld of the early Baroque”. I learned also that the three trombones were included at the specific request of conductor Benjamin Nicholas. The percussion battery makes a frequent and telling contribution. The instrumental ensemble, both individually and collectively, play what I might term an important strategic role As Emery says, all the instruments, including the organ “are employed not just for colour but also illustrative effect”.
I think the most convenient way to deliver an appraisal of work and performance will be to consider each of the four sections, picking out key points. In ‘Advent’ Jackson grabs the listener’s attention right at the outset with a stentorian fanfare-like proclamation from the trombones. These instruments, which collectively make a sound like a summons from across the ages, punctuate the choir’s singing of a verse from the Advent Office Hymn, ‘Conditor alme siderum’ (Kind creator of the stars). This is followed by a setting of the Advent Matins Responsory (‘I look from afar’). This is a good time to say that here and in the later passages of Gospel narrative, Jackson very sensibly, and effectively, uses different combination of voices – solos, male or female singers, full choir – for textural variety. A little later comes the first of the settings of the four new poems, in this case ‘Expecting’ by Penny Boxall. Like the other three such settings, the lines are sung in unison by the Girl Choristers. They make a most attractive sound; the voices are clear and pure and you can hear every word they sing. This poem gives voice to Mary’s uncertain thoughts as she contemplates pregnancy. The gentle femininity of Jackson’s music contrasts most effectively with the much stronger music to which he set the preceding Responsory.
In the ‘Christmas’ section, the Nativity story, including the episodes involving the Shepherds, is succinctly related; Michael Emery aptly describes the musical setting as “quite matter of fact”. I very much like the setting of ‘Litany of the Beasts’ by Mary Anne Clark. The music is fresh and innocent, as is the sound the Choristers make. The organ accompaniment features the clarinet stop; the effect is beguiling. This movement is a delight. Shortly afterwards, Jackson sets the familiar text ‘O magnum mysterium’. Here, the main choir is unaccompanied save for luminous decoration by the vibraphone. I remember this movement made a deep impression on me at the live performance and the effect is no less pronounced here. This rapt and beautiful setting is a highlight of the whole piece; I love the radiant key change for the concluding sequence of ‘Alleluia’. In an abrupt contrast to the serenity of that movement, the organ then bursts into a short, brilliant and festive Toccata. The Dobson organ, excitingly played by Owen Chan, makes a thrilling sound; the pedal tone is deep, the pealing manual figurations are gaily decorative and the sound is topped off by the joyful tintinnabulations of the Zimbelstern.
‘Epiphany’ opens with a setting of the Magnificat Antiphon for the Second Vespers of Epiphany (‘Tribus miraculum’). For this the choir is unaccompanied (after a nutty viola introduction) and Michael Emery tells us that this was done at the suggestion of Benjamin Nicholas because settings of this text are quite rare and Nicholas hoped an a cappella setting might have an independent life. I can see that happening; Jackson’s music is most effective. The narrative of the journey of the Magi and their encounter with Herod is urgent; the instrumental scoring is packed with incident. I especially like the use of a solo countertenor to sing the words of Herod; the sound of the excellent soloist’s voice is suitably malevolent, an effect heightened by the sinister sounds of the accompanying instruments. Jackson includes a joyfully dancing setting for sopranos and altos of part of the hymn ‘Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern’. Then, when he sets the Gospel narrative of the wedding feast at Cana, the music with which the section starts strongly suggests that quite a lot of drink has already been taken! That inspiration flows on into the setting of the poem ‘A Guest at Cana’ by Penny Boxall; here, the organ accompaniment sounds decidedly tipsy. This movement is witty, especially the organ part. The ‘Epiphany’ section concludes with a setting for the main choir of the opening lines of the Benedicite. Here, apparently, they sing the same music that we heard in ‘Tribus miraculum’, though I wouldn’t have known this had it not been for Michael Emery’s commentary. That’s because Jackson completely transforms the music, partly by having it sung loudly and partly by adding prominent parts for the saxophone and the trombones which, in Emery’s words, “evoke a Renaissance cornet and sackbut ensemble”.
Finally comes ‘Candlemas’, also known as the Presentation in the Temple. Here, the narrative tells of the Holy Family’s encounters with Simeon and Anna. One of the most striking episodes is the passage from St Luke’s Gospel, ‘And there was one Anna, a prophetess’. In this, the choir is accompanied by some extraordinary deep sounds made by (I think) the bass trombone and the double bass. We hear the last of the four poems, ‘Anna’s Song’ by Mary Anne Clark. Much of this setting has an air of prophetic mystery in both the Choristers’ melodic line and in the organ part, but towards the end, where Clark speaks of light, the music acquires an appropriate major-key luminosity.
Right at the end of The Christmas Story the full forces are united for the first and only time in the work for ‘O nata lux de lumine’. At this point in the live performance the Girl Choristers processed down the aisle to join the other performers, singing as they did so; the effect was arresting and it has been retained in this recording. The textures are warm and positive and the full pomp of the chapel organ brings an imposing additional presence. The recording conveys the textural warmth and complexity very well; I found that when I listened through headphones the effect was even more exciting. I bet it sounds great in Dolby Atmos, of which more in a moment. Jackson resists the temptation to end his work in a blaze of joyful celebration. Instead, there’s a very brief, somewhat pensive instrumental postlude – just a few bars long – which, Michael Emery suggests, is the composer’s way of signposting that the happiness of the birth of Christ will eventually be followed by his suffering and death.
The Christmas Story is a very individual and strikingly original work. I find both the music and the expertly constructed libretto are compelling. The performance is superb: one can tell that the performers benefitted from giving two performances of the work on consecutive days immediately before the sessions; as a result, Benjamin Nicholas leads a recorded performance that is assured and completely incisive. The singing of both choirs is marvellous. The clarity of diction and the disciplined singing is exemplary. Several members of the choir take solo roles at various times. None of the solos appear easy but all these singers deliver them with great assurance. As for the instrumental playing, it’s expert and accomplished from start to finish; I marvel at the sonorities and illustrative colours that Jackson obtains through imaginative scoring from just eleven musicians, plus the organ.
I reviewed this recording from a conventional CD. I understand that when the recording is released in digital form there will be a Dolby Atmos version, Delphian’s first such venture. For listeners equipped for that format it should significantly enhance the spatial effects of the two separate choirs. However, anyone who purchases the CD will, I’m sure, find that the sound is excellent. Through Delphian’s long association with the Choir of Merton College, producer/engineer Paul Baxter has become adept at making first class recordings in the college chapel. Here, he has used the acoustic expertly to impart warmth and ambience to the sound while giving us a recording that is impactful and allows every detail to come through. Michael Emery’s notes are an invaluable and perceptive guide to the music.
At the end of my review of the December 2023 performance I wrote this: “The Christmas Story is a significant work, not least because words and music speak very directly to those who listen to it. From the very warm reception of the audience, it was clear to me that it had made its mark.” That verdict was on the basis of a single hearing. Now, with the opportunity to experience the work at greater leisure, I’m certain my initial verdict was right. Gabriel Jackson has composed a work which is an important, eloquent and compelling addition to the Christmas repertoire. This highly accomplished and committed first recording makes the best possible case for it.
Readers should note that the CD release is limited to 500 copies. Once those have been sold the recording will only be available in digital form.
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