Composer: David Bevan, Giovanni Croce, Gustav Theodore Holst, Fernando Las Infantas, Alonso Lobo, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Robert Parsons, Charles Villiers Stanford, Thomas Tallis, Tomás Luis de Victoria
Performer: The Bevan Family Consort
Conductor: Graham Ross
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Signum
Catalogue: SIGCD746
Release: 2023
Size: 1.15 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: cover
01. anon.: O Lux Beata Caelitum
02. Palestrina: Sicut cervus
Victoria: Missa Vidi speciosam
03. I. Kyrie
04. II. Gloria
05. III. Credo
06. IV. Sanctus
07. V. Agnus Dei
08. Lobo: Versa est in luctum
09. Tallis: O sacrum convivium
10. Parsons: Credo quod Redemptor
11. Croce: In spiritu humilitatis
12. Infantas: Dignare Me Laudare Te
13. anon.: Ave Maria
14. Bevan: Magnificat
15. Holst: Nunc dimittis, H127
16. Holst: Ave Maria, H49, Op. 9b
17. Stanford: Beati quorum via, Op. 38 No. 3
Soprano Mary Bevan writes: “In 1975, the original Bevan Family Choir released their debut album on vinyl, featuring an eclectic programme of sacred choral works, Welsh folk songs, and piano music.
“The Choir consisted of 11 of the 14 Bevan siblings and was conducted by their father, Roger. Later on the Choir was taken over by the second eldest son, David, who was to go on to become Assistant Director of Music at Westminster Cathedral.
“The musical tradition continued to flourish within the family until, in 2013, some of the second generation of cousins decided to create their own version of the family choir, naming themselves the Bevan Family Consort so as to distinguish them from their parents’ generation.
“The Consort has since ranged in size from 15-22 of the 53 first cousins.
“To honour David and the influence he had over us all as musicians, this disc consists of music that was introduced to us by him during his years at the Holy Redeemer Church and that have since become beloved by us as a choir.”
The Bevan Family Consort is an offshoot of the Bevan Family Singers, a unique choir that dates back to the 1970s. The members are, as promised, members of a single family that produced star soprano Mary Bevan, among others. The group stands apart from the work of their British compatriots in several respects. First is the choice of repertory, a subject into which the booklet notes go into a good deal of detail. Many of these pieces were favorites of founder David Bevan, and they are from an older layer of English music-making, with rich Counter Reformation polyphony and some favorite English composers. In some ways, the program holds together well; the simpler, vertical sound of Thomas Tallis makes an ideal foil for the dense music of Victoria and Palestrina. In other ways, it is a bit idiosyncratic; the pieces by Holst and Stanford at the end, lovely though they may be individually, seem tacked on. The choir’s sound, too, bears little resemblance to the current state of the English collegiate-cathedral style; it is richer, more caressing, and more openly lyrical. Consider the Versa est in luctum of Alonso Lobo, a piece often given an almost minimalist treatment; here, it is almost opulent. It would be wrong to say that The Bevan Family Consort is for people who don’t like the usual English sound, but it is definitely a choir with a difference, and listeners are encouraged to check out this latest iteration, which his classical best-seller charts in the spring of 2023.