Composer: Herbert Norman Howells, Gabriel Jackson, Kenneth Leighton, Charles Villiers Stanford, Herbert Sumsion, Michael Kemp Tippett
Performer: Choir of St John’s College Cambridge
Conductor: Andrew Nethsingha
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Signum
Catalogue: SIGCD588
Release: 2019
Size: 970 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Stanford: Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in A
01. Magnificat
02. Nunc Dimittis
Leighton: Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis (The Second Service)
03. Magnificat
04. Nunc Dimittis
Sumsion: Magnificat and Nunc dimittis in A
05. Magnificat
06. Nunc dimittis
Howells: Magnificat & Nunc dimittis (Gloucester, 1946)
07. Magnificat
08. Nunc Dimittis
Jackson: Magnificat & Nunc Dimittis (Truro Service)
09. Magnificat
10. Nunc Dimittis
Tippett: Magnificat & Nunc dimittis (Collegium Sancti Johannis Cantabrigiense)
11. Magnificat
12. Nunc Dimittis
Magnificat was recorded to explore the breadth of imagination with which composers have approached the texts, which have been sung in Christian worship for over 1000 years. Stanford’s starting point was the Germanic symphonic tradition; Howells took his inspiration from the architecture and acoustics of the Cathedral in Gloucester; Tippett was inspired by the unique Spanish trumpet stop at St John’s.
With the Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis being part of the daily evensong, the choir sings an arrangement of the texts in some form at least once everyday. This is therefore a collection of pieces which the choir sing on a regular basis. The Evening Cantincles chosen for this record relate to a particular period of music making in the life of St John’s conductor, Andrew Nethsingha; his time at the Royal College of Music; at Truro and Gloucester Cathedrals, and lastly his time at St John’s.
Founded in the 1670s, The Choir of St John’s College, Cambridge, is one of the finest collegiate choirs in the world – known and loved by millions for its rich, warm and distinctive sound, expressive interpretations and ability to sing in a variety of styles.
As conductor of the Choir of St. John’s College, Cambridge, Andrew Nethsingha has somewhat modernized the repertory of the venerable group. However, a straight traditional program is certainly within his arsenal, and with this set of 20th century (and very early 21st century) settings of the Magnificat and Nunc dimittis, that’s exactly what you get here. The program is both roughly chronological and illustrative of changing interpretations of the canticle texts: from the grand Victorian self-assurance of Stanford’s setting you proceed through the inward complexity of Kenneth Leighton, the calm pastoralism of Herbert Sumsion and the discursive Herbert Howells, the sunny contemporary sound of Gabriel Jackson, and the angular Michael Tippett. All the music (you can really sample anywhere here) gets readings of absolute clarity, and there are deeper specificities in the program explicated by St. John’s Canon Mark Oakley in a detailed booklet note. For instance, the Tippett setting was inspired by an organ stop distinctive to St. John’s. Best of all is the sound, with the singers apparently separated spatially. The result is that the space is fully encompassed, but the texts remain distinct. Signum engineers often do well with this choir, but here they have exceeded even high expectations. If you’re choosing just one English collegiate choir recording this year, you may do well to make it this one.