Sir Edward Elgar (1857-1934)
Light out of darkness: Choral music
Callum Knox (organ)
Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital, Chelsea / William Vann
rec. 2025, Holy Trinity Church, Sloane Square, Upper Chelsea, London
Texts included
SOMM Recordings SOMMCD 0714 [77]
Released to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the foundation of The Elgar Society in 1951, this CD could be regarded as a follow-up to William Vann’s 2021 survey of some of Elgar’s choral music. The Reeds by Severn Side was made in the same venue, by the same recording team, and featured the same performers, with the exception that Callum Knox, rather than the equally excellent Joshua Ryan, is now the organist (review). Once again, Vann has blended pieces from Elgar’s early years as a composer with music from his mature years and he includes five first recordings in the programme. One difference is that on the previous album the music was presented in chronological order; as will be seen from the contents list at the foot of this review, that approach has not been followed here. In some ways I regret that, not least because a chronological sequence would have meant that the programme concluded with the magnificent anthem Great is the Lord (though I readily concede that it would have been difficult to place the arrangement of the National Anthem in mid-programme and that there’s logic in bookending the recital with extracts from The Light of Life).
It’s with that work that William Vann begins. Elgar was invited to compose an oratorio for the 1896 Three Choirs Festival, which was held that year in Worcester, his home city. This commission was a great honour and I imagine that Elgar felt that the stipulation that his work was to last no more than an hour was a minor inconvenience. I’ve taken part in a number of performances of The Light of Life. One must acknowledge Elgar’s skill and imagination in several parts of the score, such as the opening orchestral ‘Meditation’ and the first chorus, ‘Seek him that maketh the seven stars’; however, there’s no getting away from the fact that the self-taught composer was still in thrall to the nineteenth-century oratorio tradition. I don’t think Elgar was helped by the Victorian piety of the libretto by Edward Capel-Cure. Indeed, I feel that one important factor in the quantum leap that Elgar made with The Dream of Gerontius (1900) was that Newman’s text was infinitely superior to the libretti of any of Elgar’s preceding choral/orchestral scores. When he later came to write The Apostles (1903) and The Kingdom (1906) he had a further advantage in that he compiled the libretto himself, from scriptural sources, which meant that the words and music were inextricably intertwined. Reverting to The Light of Life, I’m not entirely convinced that either ‘Light out of darkness’ – or the chorus which is sung near the end of the present programme – quite works as an independent item. Personally, I’d prefer to hear this music sung by a larger choir, but Vann’s group of 18 professional singers (5/4/4/5) make a fine job of the music and I particularly liked the sensitivity with which the gentler passages are delivered.
On the other hand, the Prologue to The Apostles, ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me’ most assuredly works as a standalone item; in the oratorio itself it is almost an independent introduction, albeit many of the work’s thematic leitmotifs are first heard in the Prologue. This is wonderful music. Right at the start it’s essential for the organist to provide a hushed, mysterious beginning and Callum Knox is wholly successful. Later on, at the broad, majestic passage ‘So the Lord God will cause righteousness…’ Knox conjures a thrilling sound from the organ’s pedal division. The choral singing is very fine. Elgar’s melodic lines fit the words like a glove and Vann’s choir make the most of the opportunities that Elgar gives them. In the Light of Life choruses, I hankered after the sound of a larger choir; that wasn’t the case with this extract from The Apostles and that’s probably because I’m much more accustomed to hearing the Prologue sung as a liturgical anthem.
Vann then offers us two novelties, both receiving their first recordings. I have to say I’d forgotten that Elgar composed some psalm chants but I was reminded by Andrew Neill’s booklet essay that in 1909 he composed some chants at the request of Novello, his publisher, for inclusion in their New Cathedral Psalter Chants; another example was included in William Vann’s previous disc, referenced above. Here, Vann uses Elgar’s chant for the singing of Psalm 51. I think the music is extremely well suited to that penitential psalm. Much earlier is a hymn tune which Elgar wrote in 1878. It was one of three composed for the church of St George’s, Worcester, where his father was organist (1853-1880). The hymn Praise ye the Lord has three eight-line verses, for which Elgar devised an extended tune. It’s good to hear it, though I wonder if the present performance of what was presumably designed for congregational use, isn’t occasionally over-interpreted (I’m thinking particularly of the observance of the commas in the first line of verse three).
Before the programme moves away for a while from sacred repertoire, we hear the anthem Great is the Lord which Elgar composed mainly in 1910, completing it in 1912. It’s a setting of Psalm 48 for SATB choir, with divisions, and organ; Elgar made a suitably opulent orchestration in 1913. This is an anthem on an epic scale, even if it takes a little less than ten minutes to perform. The arresting, rolling tune sung at the start is truly majestic; here, it rightly receives full-throated treatment from the choir and from Callum Knox. As the psalm unfolds, Elgar responds acutely to the sentiments expressed by the psalmist with a wide-ranging variety of musical ideas. As the psalm nears its conclusion (from ‘tell the towers thereof…’) the music builds to a majestic return of the opening material at ‘For this is our God’. I like the subtlety with which Elgar then reins in the opulence with some gentler music (’He will be our guide’) before a thrilling ‘Amen’ in which the first tenors cut through superbly with a ringing top F#. This great anthem receives a tremendous performance; for me, it’s the highlight of the disc.
To be honest, the remaining sacred items are less interesting, though they give a useful insight into Elgar’s early work as a composer. I learned with some surprise from Andrew Neill’s notes that Elgar made no fewer than seven settings of the hymn of St Thomas Aquinas, O Salutaris Hostia. The earliest is the G major setting for solo alto with organ. Neill rightly notes the influence of Italian operatic composers, whose music Elgar would have played in his early days as an orchestral musician: the ‘chugging’ accompaniment rather gives that away, I think. The piece is sung by a member of the choir, Rosemary Clifford. She sings well but the music itself is rather inconsequential. The first of two E-flat settings of the same text is for choir and organ. I think Andrew Neill is right to say that this represents an advance on the G major setting. Again, there’s little evidence of the mastery to come, but in judging these early pieces I’m conscious that Elgar was self-taught, lived in provincial city and had to learn his craft as he went along. The second E-flat setting is for solo bass or baritone with organ. Here, the solo is well sung by Angus McPhee. There is a small part for the choir, who sing the Amen at the end. Dating from 1886 is the setting for choir and organ of Stabat Mater. It’s a strophic piece; so far as I can tell, all the six verses sung here are identical. Two years later Elgar wrote Ecce sacerdos magnus for the visitation of the Bishop of Birmingham to St George’s, Worcester. I have a dim recollection of singing in this piece, as a schoolboy, when a bishop visited my own church. At that time, I had no idea who Elgar was, of course. The piece is a processional which has dignity and isn’t overblown. With our much fuller appreciation of the mature Elgar, we may feel that these early pieces are of little consequence but the choir and parishioners of St George’s, Worcester were lucky to have Elgar to write this music for them; I hope they appreciated his efforts.
The secular part songs – or choral songs, as Elgar preferred to call them – are from the composer’s maturity and they’re in an entirely different league to the early religious offerings. Andrew Neill points out that Elgar generally tended to avoid setting the finest poetry; that comment applies to his solo songs as well. To be honest, the texts have often been a stumbling block for me when listening to his choral or solo songs. Happily, William Vann’s selection includes several settings of better poetry. ‘Deep in my soul’ is highly original in terms of the “uncertain tonality” which Andrew Neill identifies; the dark colourings also contribute to the originality, I feel; indeed, I’d bracket it with ‘Owls’ as among Elgar’s most unusual choral settings. It’s a very subtle piece, which here receives a superb performance. ‘O Wild West Wind!’ is much more extrovert, as you might expect from the title. William Vann directs a performance which has terrific vitality. The title of ‘Love’s Tempest’ might also suggest a turbulent piece. However, Elgar, who divides the eight-line poem into two equal verses, springs a bit of a surprise by opening each verse in a hushed vein before launching into turbulence. Vann’s singers make the most of these contrasts; their singing is vivid and incisive in the stormy passages.
Go Song of Mine (1909) is one of Elgar’s best-known contributions to the choral song genre. I think Andrew Neill’s reference to the “Gerontius-like sentiment” is very apt. William Vann encourages a highly expressive performance, nowhere more so than at the sequence of phrases to which the sopranos and tenors sing ‘His soul being purified’. This song is vintage Elgar. On one level, How calmly the evening is not in the same league; for one thing, the words are more conventional than those which Elgar set in Go Song of Mine. However, this slightly earlier song, which dates from 1907, has its own appeal. It’s a strophic setting of three stanzas of poetry. The notes include the composer’s own description of it as a ‘little setting of those simple words – homely but felt’. Elgar’s description is right on the money; the sincerity of this modest song disarms criticism.
The recital concludes with Elgar’s resplendent arrangement of God Save the King. This dates from 1902, the year in which King Edward VII was crowned. I was intrigued to learn from Andrew Neill that the arrangement (originally involving full orchestra) was made at the behest of Novello, who wanted something to compete with Elgar’s Coronation Ode, published by Boosey, and especially the setting of ‘Land of hope and glory’ with which the Ode concludes. Elgar gives us the full works here, setting all three verses, including the rarely-heard middle stanza (‘O Lord our God arise, / Scatter his enemies’). That’s sung here by a solo SATB quartet. Even though a fairly small choir is involved in this performance, the singers make a very full sound, relishing the majesty and new-reign optimism of Elgar’s setting.
William Vann has here assembled a fascinating programme which illuminates a number of strands of Elgar, the vocal composer. We hear prentice liturgical pieces, sacred music from his full maturity and some excellent examples of his secular choral output. Everything is expertly performed by the members of the Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital, Chelsea. In the works which involve organ accompaniment, Callum Knox makes a very fine contribution.
The recording was made in the pleasing acoustic of Holy Trinity Church, Sloane Square. That was also the venue for the earlier CD, The Reeds by Severn Side. Once again, producer Siva Oke and engineer Adaq Kahn have obtained excellent audio results; the sound is very well balanced, clear and present. As you may have inferred from the number of times that I’ve referenced Andrew Neill’s booklet essay, his writing is a mine of valuable information, elegantly expressed.
This is essential listening for everyone who loves and admires Elgar’s great contribution to the English choral tradition.
John Quinn
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Contents
The Light of Life, Op. 29 – ‘Light out of darkness’ (1896)
The Apostles, Op. 49 – Prologue. ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me’ (1903)
Psalm 51* (1909)
Praise ye the Lord* (1878)
Great is the Lord, Op. 67 (1910-12)
Four Part Songs, Op. 53 (1907-08)
No. 2, Deep in my soul
No. 3, O Wild West Wind!
Two Choral Songs, Op. 73 (1914)
No. 1, Love’s Tempest
No. 2, Serenade
Go Song of Mine, Op. 57 (1909)
How calmly the evening (1907)
Stabat Mater* (1886)
Ecce sacerdos magnus (1888)
O Salutaris Hostia in G* (1877?)
O Salutaris Hostia No. 1 in E-Flat (c 1880)
O Salutaris Hostia No. 2 in E-Flat* (1882)
The Light of Life, Op. 29 – ‘Light of the World, we know Thy praise’ (1896)
God Save the King (arr. Elgar) (1902)
*World-premiere recordings
