Ralph Vaughan Williams: Sacred Choral Music

Sound Clips
Album Summary
Notes & Reviews
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	The Voice out of the Whirlwind - The Voice out of the Whirlwind
	Valiant for Truth - Valiant for Truth
	Mass in G minor - Kyrie
	Mass in G minor - Gloria
	Mass in G minor - Credo
	Mass in G minor - Sanctus - Benedictus
	Mass in G minor - Agnus Dei
	3 Choral Hymns - No. 1. Easter Hymn
	3 Choral Hymns - No. 2. Christmas Hymn
	3 Choral Hymns - No. 3. Whitsunday Hymn
	Nothing is Here for Tears - Nothing is Here for Tears
	A Vision of Aeroplanes - A Vision of Aeroplanes
	The Souls of the Righteous - The Souls of the Righteous
	A Choral Flourish - A Choral Flourish

Album Summary

Vaughan Williams, Ralph : The Voice out of the Whirlwind, motet for chorus & organ or orchestra

Vaughan Williams, Ralph : Valiant for Truth, motet for chorus (with piano or organ ad lib)

Vaughan Williams, Ralph : Mass in G minor

Vaughan Williams, Ralph : Choral Hymns (3) for baritone or tenor, chorus & orchestra

Vaughan Williams, Ralph : Nothing is Here for Tears, song for chorus & piano or organ or orchestra

Vaughan Williams, Ralph : A Vision of Aeroplanes, motet for chorus & organ

Vaughan Williams, Ralph : The Souls of the Righteous, motet for soprano, tenor, baritone & chorus

Vaughan Williams, Ralph : A Choral Flourish, for chorus & organ or 2 trumpets

Performers

Ashok Gupta (Organ)
Harriet Colley (Organ)
Nicholas Morrell (Organ)
Stefan Berkieta (Baritone)
Raphaela Papadakis (Organ)
James McVinnie (Organ)
Alessandro Fisher (Organ)
Dominic Sedgwick (Organ)
Maud Millar (Organ)

Composer

Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872 - 1958)

Notes & Reviews:

"what impresses about this performance is the exceptional sense of shape, both in overview and in tiny details...This comes with a strong recommendation." -BBC Music Magazine *****

"There is nothing like having youth and intelligence on your side, and [Brown's] musicians, singers and players certainly support the freshness of their voices with the mental energy which so distinguishes the Cambridge School...this performance, lovingly moulded and well balanced...is in the best tradition." -Gramophone Magazine

BBC Music Magazine
What impresses about this performance is the exceptional sense of shape, both in overview and in tiny details...This comes with a strong recommendation.

Gramophone Magazine
There is nothing like having youth and intelligence on your side, and [Brown's] musicians, singers and players certainly support the freshness of their voices with the mental energy which so distinguishes the Cambridge School...this performance, lovingly moulded and well balanced...is in the best tradition.

MusicWeb International, February 2013
Throughout this varied and contrasting programme the Clare College choir is on top form. Their discipline, tuning, intonation and balance are all beyond reproach and all the performances are full of sensitivity. All of this bespeaks scrupulous preparation. The choir makes the fresh sound of youthful and very well trained voice.

Reviews

Another side of Vaughan Williams

The paradox that is Ralph Vaughan Williams the agnostic and Vaughan Williams the composer of some of the finest sacred music of the 20th century is striking. This new recording by the always excellent Choir of Clare College, Cambridge is also striking. It features a good cross-section of familiar works�the Mass in G minor�and a hearty sampling of lesser-known works. The Mass in G minor is RVW�s brilliant take on the music of the late English Renaissance. But the Mass is much more than a pastiche of Tallis and Byrd since RVW makes things interesting by mixing up the textures (there are sections solo voices, solo quartets, single and double choir) and creates a deeply moving work that will appeal to listeners who are fond of RVW�s pastoral style. While I miss hearing trebles in the music�s top line (pick up the recording by the Saint Thomas Choir on Koch for this), this is a very beautiful performance. The rarities are real treasures. The Voice out of the Whirlwind, an anthem adapted from the �Galliard of the Sons of the Morning� from Job, is a big-boned workout for choir with an especially muscular organ part that is played brilliantly by Ashok Gupta. Perhaps best of all is A Vision of Aeroplanes, a strikingly cinematic take on the tale of Ezekiel and the wheel with another knuckle and foot-blistering organ part. The performances are all excellent. Timothy Brown is one of the great choral conductors of the English repertoire and he gets responsive and technically polished performances from this fine choir. Kudos to the two organists also, Mr. Gupta is superb throughout and James McVinnie all but steals the show in the Vision of Aeroplanes.
Submitted on 04/06/10 by Craig Zeichner

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