Britten: A Hymn of Saint Columba

“The two outstanding features are the high quality of the choral singing and the fairly relaxed pace throughout. Higginbottom has said that he finds some of Britten's metronome markings on the fast side...yet they use their time well, finding a depth of colour and expression that yields its own rewards.” Gramophone Magazine, May 2013

“The Choir of New College, Oxford has a long association with this ever varied repertoire. They give fresh, confident readings – steered with firm authority by director Edward Higginbottom – of A Ceremony of Carols, Rejoice in the Lamb, Missa Brevis and shorter works. The Hymn to St Cecilia, to words of Auden, has particular joy and verve.” The Observer, 24th February 2013

“This truly rich advent feast is performed wonderfully well on all counts and can be highly recommended” Organists Review

“ A Ceremony of Carols sets nine medieval and 16th-century poems between the 'Hodie' of the plainsong Vespers. The sole accompanying instrument is a harp, but given the right acoustic, sensitive attention to the words and fine rhythmic control the piece has a remarkable richness and depth. The Westminster Cathedral Choir performs this work beautifully; diction is immaculate and the acoustic halo surrounding the voices gives a festive glow to the performance.
A fascinating Jubilate and A Hymn to theVirgin, while lacking the invention and subtlety of A Ceremony, intrigue with some particularly felicitous use of harmony and rhythm. Deus inadjutorum meum employs the choir without accompaniment and has an initial purity that gradually builds up in texture as the psalm (No 70) gathers momentum.
The Missa brevis was written for this very choir and George Malcolm's nurturing of a tonal brightness in the choir allowed Britten to use the voices in a more flexible and instrumental manner than usual. The effect is glorious. St Columba founded the monastery on the Scottish island of Iona and Britten's hymn sets his simple and forthright prayer with deceptive simplicity and directness. The choir sings beautifully and the recording is first rate.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“The singing of the Westminster boys here is particularly impressive, with perfect ensemble, the solo work amazingly mature, and a superb contribution from the solo harpist...an altogether outstanding collection, beautifully and atmospherically recorded in an ideal ambience.” Penguin Guide, 2011 edition

“With Britten comes the thought of high voices: boys' voices that on this Naxos disc belong to the choir of St. John's College, Cambridge… the St. John's singers roundly capture the elusive tonal qualities of Britten's choral music, and the recording has a proper sense of space and locality.” BBC Music Magazine, June 2000

“As with other recent records from St John's, there's a freshness, almost a feeling of adventure and a sense that all this choral discipline is an easy yoke. These are excellent performances, the opening item setting a standard which is to be maintained throughout. Buoyant rhythms, precise accentuations and well-pointed contrasts are features of the singing; and the playing of Ian Farrington in accompaniments that are often difficult and always demanding of maximum alertness, is outstanding. Outstanding, too, is the contribution of the trebles. In tone they preserve the traditional John's sound, without exaggerating its so-called continental element.
But what impresses most is the sense of imaginative involvement. It's there, for instance, in the Kyrie of the Missa brevis, and most of all in the 'I cannot grow' section of A Hymn to St Cecilia. To this they bring a distinctive excitement, a wideeyed, breathlessly playful feeling of childlike wonder. The programme itself is highly attractive.
The 'hymns' are fully developed compositions, and the canticles are notably independent of tradition (for instance, a quietly meditative note of praise is struck at the start of both Te Deums). The Missa brevis makes inventive use of its forces; and Rejoice in the Lamb, a masterly expression of the liberal spirit, never ceases to amaze with its evocation of the cat Jeoffry, valiant mouse and staff-struck poet. Recorded sound isn't as vivid as the performances, but this remains a very likeable disc.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010