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1 SESSION REPORT Worcester College Choir record contemporary Christmas carols Work Including Richard Allain’s Balulalow; and Gabriel Jackson’s Hush! My Dear Artists Worcester College Choir, Oxford Venue Keble College Chapel, Oxford Conductor Stephen Farr Producer/Engineer Adam Binks Date of session June 17-19, 2012 Words Geoffrey Norris ‘S orry to throw a spanner into the works,’ says a disembodied voice over the PA system, ‘but I think we’ve got the pronunciation of some of these words wrong.’ It’s a glorious summer Sunday morning in Oxford. The cloisters of Keble College, tranquil and breathlessly hushed, are bathed in warm sunshine. The city is still asleep, but within the chapel there is already hard graft going on. The choir of Worcester College have left their home in Walton Street, crossed over St Giles’ and come to Keble to make a recording in acoustics that, as someone remarks, ‘nicely cosset succulent, smoky harmonies’. And what more fitting repertoire for a fine June morning than – Christmas carols! Well, there’s no point in recording Christmas carols in December in time for the Easter market, so, as the Worcester choristers work through their winter programme, we can only close our eyes and pretend that there is snow on the ground and berries on the holly. The disembodied voice is that of Adam Binks, a founder of the Resonus label and producer, engineer and editor of this new disc. The sticking point is the word ‘gloir’ in the 16th-century Scots text of Richard Allain’s gentle lullaby Balulalow. Logic suggests that it should rhyme with ‘evermoir’ in the following couplet: ‘But I sall praise thee evermoir/With sanges sweit unto thy gloir.’ The choir had been singing something more akin to the French ‘gloire’. ‘This is where it becomes slightly inconsistent,’ says Binks. He and the conductor, Stephen Farr, have a discussion, finally settling on a pronunciation nearer to ‘glaw’. There’s a retake. Perfect. Nothing more to do on that one. They’re only half an hour into the session and already there is 1'50" of music in the can. We move on to I Sing of a Maiden, Matthew Martin’s 2010 setting of the 15th-century hymn to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The sopranos float their first line beautifully; altos and tenors join in with rapt euphony. At the end, Stephen Farr addresses the basses, saying, ‘There was a bit of target practice there’ – meaning that the tuning had gone slightly awry. They nod in ‘On a fine June morning we can only close our eyes and pretend there is snow on the ground and berries on the holly’ 14 GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2012 gramophone.co.uk
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2 1 Worcester College Choir with their music director Stephen Farr recording in the resonant acoustic of Keble College Chapel, Oxford 2 Stephen Farr also features as an organist on the new album 3 Music director Stephen Farr pays close attention to the score to perfect every detail in the recording of these contemporary carols 3 agreement, vowing to do better next time, and I think to myself, ‘Why is it always us basses who get the blame?’ There is a bit more banter over the intercom between Binks and Farr, a couple more takes of this and that, then a complete performance. But what’s this? Is Oxford stirring? A car revs up loudly outside the chapel in the very final bars. But no matter. The ending has already been approved on a previous take. Time for a 15-minute break. Worcester College’s choir are fielding 23 voices for this recording – eight sopranos, five altos (three female, two male), four tenors and six basses; among the basses is college chaplain the Revd Dr Jonathan Arnold, who for many years was a regular member of The Sixteen. Their Christmas programme is drawn from carols composed in the latter part of the 20th century and the early years of this one, by British composers or composers who have lived in Britain. Three of them – Edmund Rubbra, Kenneth Leighton and Thomas Hyde – are strongly associated with the college, but the selection ranges widely through Oxford and non-Oxford composers, including Malcolm Williamson, Judith Bingham, Mark-Anthony Turnage, Geoffrey Bush and Gabriel Jackson. It’s to the Bermuda-born Jackson’s Hush! My Dear that the choir return after coffee and fresh air. This is a lullaby full of those ‘succulent, smoky harmonies’ that Keble chapel’s acoustics accommodate so tenderly, and it sounds gorgeous from my perch in the choir stalls. But the control room has a much better aural perspective, and the balance needs to be adjusted. ‘And don’t attack the word “hush”,’ says Binks. Hyde’s Sweet Was the Song is next on the list. The choir sing it all the way through, but the take is ruined by a peal of bells from St Giles’ Cathedral and then by a helicopter whirring overhead. Oxford is certainly waking up now, and it seems a good time to stop for lunch. ‘That was great,’ says Binks, ‘but there are just a couple of little things…’ This Christmas Night, released by Resonus Classics, is reviewed on page 83 gramophone.co.uk PRELUDES NEW RELEASES DEIDAMIA Handel De Nederlandse Opera DNO presents a new production of Handel’s last Ital ian opera, Deidamia, staged by the American David Alden. Set at the time of the Trojan War, comedy and tragedy are bedfellows in this opera. The title role, performed by Sally Matthews, covers the entire expressive spectrum, from flirtatious love song to heartfelt lament. AVAILABLE ON DVD & BLU-RAY A CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION The Nutcracker Hansel and Gretel Royal Opera House All-time ballet favourite The Nutcracker comes to life in this stunning and captivating production – a real delight for adults and children alike. This is coupled with a spectacular and unforgettable performance of Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel. 3 DVD SET LA STUPENDA The Glory of Joan Sutherland Opera Australia This unique 5 DVD collection brings together, for the first time, the legendary Australian soprano in four key dramatic coloratura roles that were cornerstones of her repertory – Marguerite de Valois in Les Huguenots, Marie in La fille du Régiment, and the eponymous heroines in Adriana Lecouvreur and Lucrezia Borgia. 5 DVD SET THE WAGNER EDITION Der Fliegende Holländer Der Ring Des Nibelungen Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg Lohengrin · Parsifal Tannhauser · Tristan und Isolde This box-set presents all of Wagner’s mature operas from seven leading European opera houses recorded during the last decade, featuring many of the most acclaimed Wagner singers of our age. 25 DVD SET FOLLOW US ON TWITTER · FACEBOOK · YOUTUBE www.opusarte.com GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2012 15

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SESSION REPORT Worcester College Choir record contemporary Christmas carols

Work Including Richard Allain’s Balulalow; and Gabriel Jackson’s Hush! My Dear Artists Worcester College Choir, Oxford Venue Keble College Chapel, Oxford Conductor Stephen Farr Producer/Engineer Adam Binks Date of session June 17-19, 2012 Words Geoffrey Norris

‘S

orry to throw a spanner into the works,’ says a disembodied voice over the PA system, ‘but I think we’ve got the pronunciation of some of these words wrong.’ It’s a glorious summer Sunday morning in Oxford. The cloisters of Keble College, tranquil and breathlessly hushed, are bathed in warm sunshine. The city is still asleep, but within the chapel there is already hard graft going on. The choir of Worcester College have left their home in Walton Street, crossed over St Giles’ and come to Keble to make a recording in acoustics that, as someone remarks, ‘nicely cosset succulent, smoky harmonies’. And what more fitting repertoire for a fine June morning than – Christmas carols! Well, there’s no point in recording Christmas carols in December in time for the Easter market, so, as the Worcester choristers work through their winter programme, we can only close our eyes and pretend that there is snow on the ground and berries on the holly.

The disembodied voice is that of Adam Binks, a founder of the Resonus label and producer, engineer and editor of this new disc. The sticking point is the word ‘gloir’ in the 16th-century Scots text of Richard Allain’s gentle lullaby Balulalow. Logic suggests that it should rhyme with ‘evermoir’ in the following couplet: ‘But I sall praise thee evermoir/With sanges sweit unto thy gloir.’ The choir had been singing something more akin to the French

‘gloire’. ‘This is where it becomes slightly inconsistent,’ says Binks. He and the conductor, Stephen Farr, have a discussion, finally settling on a pronunciation nearer to ‘glaw’. There’s a retake. Perfect. Nothing more to do on that one. They’re only half an hour into the session and already there is 1'50" of music in the can. We move on to I Sing of a Maiden, Matthew Martin’s 2010 setting of the 15th-century hymn to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The sopranos float their first line beautifully; altos and tenors join in with rapt euphony. At the end, Stephen Farr addresses the basses, saying, ‘There was a bit of target practice there’ – meaning that the tuning had gone slightly awry. They nod in

‘On a fine June morning we can only close our eyes and pretend there is snow on the ground and berries on the holly’

14 GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2012

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