Search - James Gilchrist, Simon Bailey, Stephen Farr :: The Crucifixion

Music 3 Stars; Performance 5 Stars

J Scott Morrison | Middlebury VT, USA | 05/20/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"One is well-aware that in some circles Stainer's 'The Crucifixion' is much beloved. Certainly in England, where it premièred in 1887, it was for the better part of a century a much-performed work and beloved of parish choirs. It requires relatively modest forces -- a choir, tenor and bass soloists, and an organ accompaniment -- and surely has suffered truly awful performances as well as magnificent ones in such places as St. Paul's Cathedral where Stainer was organist. John Stainer (1840-1901) was the John Rutter of his day. He wrote many melodious sacred works that could be performed by parish forces but which lacked the last bit of distinction that would assure they would last into posterity. It did not help that he was writing at the height of Victorianism with its sanctimony, smugness and artistic mediocrity. 'The Crucifixion' is almost certainly one of his best works and it became hugely popular both in England and America. The four-part chorus 'God So Loved the World' became extremely popular and was often extracted and performed independently, either accompanied or a cappella. I well remember accompanying it any number of times in the 1940-50s in my rural Oklahoma church.



And it is hard to imagine a better performance than this one by the marvelous Choir of Clare College, Cambridge -- interestingly, Rutter's own college and the same forces that recorded his 'Requiem' so beautifully -- under the direction of Timothy Brown, with organ accompaniment by Stephen Farr. The extraordinary tenor is James Gilchrist, the marginally less effective bass is Simon Bailey. The blend and tuning of the Clare College Choir is simply breathtaking.



That said, I suspect this recording is more for those who already love the work, having perhaps sung or performed it at some time or other. This is not a work to put alongside, say, the Bach Passions (on which it is modeled) or the Brahms or Fauré Requiems. One could say it is superior Gebrauchsmusik for the Anglican (or other Protestant) church. It is probably not something to listen to very often for its music qua music.



TT=66:50



Scott Morrison"

A definitive recording ?

Douglas M. Overman | Ontario,Canada | 07/28/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It is indeed a treat to have such a well-engineered and wonderfully

sung version of one of the great Christian works of the Victorian

era.Most of us who sing in choirs have sung parts of the work,

especially John 3:16 but have seldom performed the work in its'

entirety.The recording is a marvellous "wallow"."

A voice teacher and early music fan

George Peabody | Planet Earth | 03/22/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"THE MUSIC OF BACH IS INCLINED TO COMPLEXITY; WHILE THE MUSIC OF STAINER EXUDES SIMPLICITY. BUT I GREET THEM BOTH WITH MUCH FELICITY!

(DEPENDS ON MY MOOD)

'The Crucifixion'(1887) by John Stainer(1840-1901) is a meditation/oratorio on the Sacred Passion of Jesus Christ, for tenor and bass soloists, SATB choir, and organ, with hymns for congregational participation (text written and selected by Reverend J. Sparrow-Simpson, and revised by Michael Pilkington). This recording was made in June of 2004.



John Stainer was a leading organist of his era and a music educator at the University of Oxford. During his sojourn as organist at St. Paul's Cathedral, he raised the standard of music to new heights and composed over 230 services as well as oratorios, anthems, hymns and cantatas. According to musicologist Sir George Grove "amongst his most successful and artistic pieces of choral music must be named the well-known 'Sevenfold Amen'".



Stainer wrote his work 'The Crucifixion' specifically for 'Passion Week' AND specifically wrote it so that it was well within the amateur capabilities of a typical small town or village choir, and it is said, by many who knew him well, that he never dreamt that this work would become one of the most popular devotional choral works in the history of Anglican choral music. Even though the text has often been criticized as being awkward and amateurish containing an abundance of Victorian piety, this has not prevented 'The Crucifixion' securing a permanent position in the English sacred choral repertoire.



The very impressive and effective opening chorus is the ambitious number 'Processional to Calvary' which is preceded by a splendid lengthy introduction for organ, played most skillfully here by Stephen Farr. The chorus enters with the repeated cry of the peremptory 'Fling wide the gates' which displays Stainer's unquestionable gifts for melody and harmony and is exceptionally and indeed brilliantly performed by the Choir of Clare College, Cambridge. Mention must be made of the perfectly lovely 'For God so Loved the World' that has been much sung and recorded throughout the world, and Clare College more than does justice to it. Their diction is flawless and their tone quality exquisite.



Tenor James Gilchrist (always a favorite with me) exudes integrity. In fact, I would have purchased this record just on the basis of Gilchrist's performance alone throughout this work. His solo 'The Majesty of the Divine Humiliation' is absolutely stunning as is most of what he contributes on this recording. The impressive soloists that include bass Simon Bailey(his voice is a bit rough at times, but dramatically in place) are spirited and fully immersed in the direct and tuneful singing of the music. Stephen Farr plays the organ with much surety and strength.



The good quality sound and the annotatons from Nicholas Temperly rounds off this very excellent performance under the capable direction of Timothy Brown.



The packageing is very attractive and includes a booklet with all pertinent information that also has the complete text. It was recorded in 2004."