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Britten & Poston A Ceremony of Carols Benjamin Britten
A Ceremony of Carols, selected from a book of medieval poems, was composed in 1942, whilst Britten was in a cargo ship, braving the U-boats whilst returning to England from the United States. Popular though it be, I have for decades avoided "Britten's ultimate revel in the unblemished joy of boyhood, of 'life before the fall" [Classics Today], remembering it as somewhat insipid... This recording - one of few by girls' choirs - is Googling, I found that Britten's Ceremony of Carols "has spawned more ghastly recordings than almost any other in the choral cannon!". Some of them are listed below... * There are several for boys' choirs, but none unequivocally done by girls? These Scots lasses met for a workshop week in Aberdeen where they recorded this programme. Luckily for me on this occasion, Musical Pointers does not do comparative reviews or award stars. And this version is unique in its coupling, a premiere recording of a worthy companion piece, Elizabeth Poston's An English Day-Book [c. 1969], a felicitous set drawing on Britten's example and including Spring, the sweet spring which Britten featured in his Spring Symphony. Extras include the setting of a poignant poem with wonderful imagery ending "Not yet, I say. Don't mourn me yet!" written by a young girl shortly before she was killed in a car accident. Signum's NYCoS National Girls Choir version of A CEREMONY OF CAROLS goes high on my Christmas recommendations list. Peter Grahame Woolf *Recordings of A CEREMONY OF CAROLS: Choir of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford/Frances Kelly/Francis Grier • ASV CDQS6030 • ASV CDWHL2097 Choir of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford /Francis Grier • Resonance CDRSN3007 Choir of King's College, Cambridge/Osian Ellis/David Willcocks • EMI CDM7 646532 • EMI British Composers CDM565112-2 and EMI 562796-2 • EMI Collector's Edition 2175262 [review] • CFP 9689492 Choir of King's College, Cambridge/Rachel Masters/Stephen Cleobury • Decca 4480562 • Eloquence 467612 Morriston Boys' Choir/Maria Korchinska/Ivor Sims • Beulah mono 1PD14 • Pearl GEM0002 New London Children's Choir/Skaila Kanga/Ronald Corp • Naxos 8.553183 Sioned Williams/Westminster Cathedral Choir/David Hill • Hyperion CDA66220 Barbara Ann Biggers/American Boychoir/Vincent Metallo • Albemarle AR 1003 Finzi Singers/Andrew Lumsden/Paul Spicer • Chandos CHAN9598 Westminster Abbey Ch/Martin Neary • Sony SK62125 Tavener Consort & Ch/Andrew Parrott • Sony 60713 The Sixteen/Harry Christophers • Collins Classics 1370-2 • Coro 16034 Indianapolis Children's Ch/Beverly Westner-Hoehn/Henry H. Leck • VAI Audio 1130 Toronto Children's Ch/Jean Ashworth Bartle • IMP PCD1088 Bambini di Praga/Ivana Zizková • Multisonic 3101632 Enid Simon/Copenhagen Boys Ch/Benjamin Britten • London 436394-2 Cambridge Trinity College Ch/Frances Kelly/Richard Marlow • Conifer 75605512872 Cambridge Trinity College Ch/Richard Marlow • Sony 88697581312 London Oriana Ch/Osian Ellis, Robin Kimber/Leon Lovett • ASV CDWHL2096 Women Of The Boston Cecilia/Karol Bennett, Marylene Altieri, Carol Baum/Donald Teeters • Newport Classics NPC0085619 The Christ Church Cathedral Boys' & Girls' Ch, Indianapolis/Jill Pitz/Frederick Burgomaster • Four Winds FWT3011 Farnham Youth Ch/Julia Freeman/David Victor-Smith • Herald HAVPCD164 St Davids Cathedral Choir/Simon Pearce, Angharad James/Timothy Noon • York Ambisonic YORKCD174 Finchley Children's Music Group/Jeffrey Dyball/Nicholas Wilks • Somm SOMMCD212 [review] Francesco Gasa, Sebastia Bardolet, Escolania de Montserrat, Xavier Canadell, Josep Pieres, Maria Lluisa Ibanez, Gregori Estrada/Dom Ireneu Segarra • Koch 316242 Wakefield Cathedral Girls Choir & Lay Clerks/Honor Wright/Louise Marsh • Regent REGCD138 Oxford Christ Church Cathedral Ch/Stephen Darlington • Lammas LAM146D [review] Rochester Cathedral Ch/Jane Lister/Roger Sayer • Priory PRCD584 Cambridge St. John's College Ch/Marisa Robles/George Guest • London 430097-2 Spivey Hall Children's Ch/Nella Rigel/Martha Shaw • Aca Digital 7161 Rooke Chapel Ch/William Payn • Albany TR177 Vasari Singers/Caryl Thomas/Jeremy Backhouse • Classics for Pleasure 5737212 William Hall Chorale, All-American Boys Chorus /Marcia Dickstein/William Hall • Klavier 11085 Treble chorus of New England/Judith Ross/Marie Stulta • Afka 510 Vienna Boys Ch • RCA Victor 68150 Vivaldi Choir of Alessandria • Fine Tune 4421 Robert Shaw Chamber Singers/Robert Shaw • Telarc CD80461 Musica Bohemica/Hana Mullerova-Jouzova/Pavel Horak • Arco Diva UP0070-2 [review] Czech Phil Ch/Libor Pešek • Supraphon SU3122 Voca Nobili/Willy Postma/Maria Helbekkmo • Simax PSC1106 Pacific Boychoir Academy/Kevin Fox • Pacific Boychoir Academy Elysian Singers of London/Matthew Greenall • Continuum CCD1043 Elektra Women's Ch • Skylark 9703 Le choeur Les Rhapsodes/Andre Chiasson • Analekta AN29340 Madchenchor Hannover/Ludwig Rutt • Thorofon CTH2107 Worcester Cathedral Choir Boys/Brian Davis/Daniel Phillips • Griffin GCCD4022 Dresden Kreuzchor/Jutta Zoff/Martin Flamig • LaserLight Wiener Sängerknaben/Elisabeth Bayer/Anton Neyder • GEMA Arts Music 43060 [review] Downside School/Bejamin Britten • Decca 4756040 Ch Christ's College, Cambridge/David Rowland • Regent REGCD243 Peter Pears, others unknown • Documents 231134 Psallite Women's Choir/Nancy Hadden • CRD CRD3514 Canterbury Cathedral Ch/David Floor • York 202 |
a refreshing surprise. The singing has vitality, rhythmic security, and boasts fresh-voiced unnamed soloists who sing steadily without vibrato. And Ceremony reminds me what a superb anthologist of English verse was Benjamin Britten; many gems here to relish, e.g. the 15C Deo Gracias.