Let us now praise famous men
Finzi, Wesley, Bairstow

CONSORTIUM
Gareth Price - Organ
Edward Barbieri - Director

Playing time 56 mins.

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The Organ, Spring 2000

Lovers of Anglican cathedral music will love this disc which contains some of the best works by three seminal figures of English choral music - Samuel Sebastian Wesley, Gerald Finzi and Edward Bairstow. That both the choir and recording come not from a cathedral is a minor point that goes unnoticed in the performances. Consortium is a London-based vocal ensemble (with female sopranos) tbat brings together some of the best young choral singers in Britain, and for this, their first in a series for Deux-Elles, they have chosen the imposing church of St Alban the Martyr, Holborn as the venue. Situated not far from the Royal College of Organists the church is tucked quietly away behind the numerous office buildings and is, to say the least, large. The resulting acoustic is not only as impressive as the building but also incredibly useful to singers, for it moulds and blends their voices with no tendency to blur and confuse. In the west gallery sits a sizeable organ by Compton (reputed to be the loudest organ in London!) which possesses all the sounds to be found in an average cathedral instrument. In short, an ideal setting for music by three great composers who between them span almost a hundred and fifty years of cathedral music.

During his lifetime, Wesley held posts at the cathedrals of Exeter, Gloucester, Hereford and Winchester, and did much to move music performed by the choirs into the nineteenth century. His Thou judge of the quick and dead forms the final section of the imposing anthem Let us lift up our heart, written in 1835. Despite being written in eight parts the overall effect is one of simplicity and intimacy, particular in the subdued end. Blessed be the God and Father which follows shows Wesley at his more exuberant, with the sudden organ outbursts answered by the choir - a shining example of Wesley's ability to match music to text. Bairstow, organist at York Minster for thirty-six years, was again someone who knew how to obtain the best from the combination of choir, church and organ. This is ably demonstrated by his setting of The Lamentation, taking its texts from the Lamentations of Jeremiah. Using a chant setting it exploits to the full the accompanimental organ part, with Clarinets soaring above here, strings purring there - and then, just as such luxuriousness perhaps becomes too much, the refrain of "Jerusalem, Jerusalem" appears, in glorious harmony.

Unlike Wesley and Bairstow, Finzi was an agnostic but often turned to the intense imagery of religious texts for inspiration. His works have long been heard within our cathedrals, and rightly so, for they were lovingly worked upon and crafted into sumptuous pieces. God is gone up is just one example of Finzi's skill; ravishing harmony with an organ part that astounds. The performance by Consortium is superb, and the perhaps worrying presence of a female treble line is more than excused when heard. The choice of repertory together with spirited performance makes this disc a sure winner.
Simon FitzGerald.