Search - Benjamin Britten, Robert Jones, James O'Donnell :: Britten: A Ceremony of Carols

Boy trebles show brilliant style, unusual timbre

R. J. Tuggy | 05/16/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"There is a kind of effortlessness to the singing of the English cathedral choirboy (at the highest levels of selection and training) which tends to produce a wistful, often plaintive sound. It is a timbre that is artless in the finest sense, and most perfect for the Anglo-Catholic liturgical repertoire. I think that even in today's climate of social uniformity one cannot sensibly deny that there is a natural difference between the tendencies of emotional expression between boys and girls. So the boy treble in the finest Anglican cathedral tradition is generally trained to demonstrate that kind of natural emotional detachment in his singing which, for me, profoundly expresses the ineffable nature of traditional cathedral music (if the expression of the ineffable is not a contradiction in terms).

Having said that, some English boy choirs have cultivated a subtly different style of expression, and the Choir of Westminster Cathedral is one of the foremost models for this. Some musicologists believe it began with George Malcolm, the Cathedral's music director in the 1950s and 60s (it was for Malcolm and the choir that Britten composed the album's Missa Brevis in D, in 1959). Malcolm taught the boys to sing in a style that is sometimes referred to as the 'Continental' sound. It involves a more physical effort on the part of the young trebles, a full-throated singing; this in contrast to the lighter 'head' voice, traditionally cultivated in Anglican cathedral trebles. David Hill, the music director on this album, is another exponent of the larger continental sound. In recent years, he also directed the famed men and boys' choir of St. John's College Chapel, Cambridge, where this sound continues as a great legacy from the days of the brilliant choirmaster George Guest, who led St. John's around the same time that George Malcolm was with Westminster Cathedral. Incidentally, this Westminster is not to be confused with the more famous Westminster Abbey, the Anglican seat of English kings and queens. Westminster Cathedral is the English Roman Catholic mother church. For lovers of Anglican cathedral singing, that fact is a pleasant curiosity, as it is generally agreed that the Catholic cathedrals have not produced the quality of choral singing (especially with boys) as the Anglican tradition.

But with the Choir of Westminster Cathedral we have the one great exception, at least of which I am aware. Here we have treble singing (and treble and men singing) that is as superlative as any of the English cathedral choirs and the great Cambridge and Oxford collegiate choirs. Hearing the precise sonorities produced by the boys (listen especially to 'Wolcum Yole' and to the 'Sanctus' in the Missa Brevis) I am reminded of the tonal qualities of the finest St. John's boys over the years, and of the wonderful ensemble sound and crystal clear projection of the boys of the Temple Church Choir under the fabled choirmaster George Thalben-Ball.

All the work of the masterful Benjamin Britten is to be cherished, as is this album."

Holiday choral music

J. A. Riley | MA USA | 01/12/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This collection of holiday choral music by Benjamin Britten and the fantastic choir of the Westminster Cathedral is a real treat. It is a nice change from the more popular holiday choral music. Chorus members will love listening to it and will appreciate the work that goes into creating such beautiful sounds."

Exquisite - don't miss

Susan Szekely | ellicott city | 12/24/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a must-have on everyone's holiday music list. I purchased one for my family; upon receipt, quickly ordered two others for gifts. Heavenly!!"