Review: "Carols from Queen's" by Choir of Queen's College, Oxford

Review: Carols from Queen's (2015), Avie Records

Smooth is an adjective I usually reserve for my jazz reviews, but “Carols from Queen’s” by the Choir of the Queen’s College, Oxford, is all smooth, so smooth, it will make your holiday even more cheerful

What is great about the selection of the carols on this album is their association with Queen’s College.  Director Owen Rees elaborates the relation in the liner notes. Most notably related to Queen’s is “The Boar Head’s Carol.” 

In addition, the album has a range of composers related to the college. They range from Kenneth Leighton who studied at Queen’s College to Howells who read music at Queen's and was an Honorary Fellow of the college; and Harold Darke and Ivor Atkins were non-resident members of Queen’s. 

Others are related to Oxford: Stephen Stopford was organ scholar at Kebe College where this recording takes place. Rees also notes the relation of Queen’s to the co-editor of Carols for Choir I, Reginald Jacques, who was a student and later organist at Queen’s. The album includes several carols from Carols for Choir I.

Queen’s College, Oxford was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield (d'Eglesfield) in honor of Queen Philippa of Hainault (wife of King Edward III of England). It is the choir featured in the film“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.”

Regarding “The Boar’s Head Carol,” it is “sung in processing in the College hall: a bass soloist leads, followed by the boar’s head on a great silver charger carried by two chefs, after which comes the choir, halting for the solo verses and advancing during the refrains, and inviting the whole company assembled ‘in the Queen’s Hall’ to ‘be merry.’” Owen Rees, Liner Notes.

The choir performs a beautiful arrangement by Jim Clements of “Gabriel’s message,” with “Gloria”s sprinkled throughout the carol. They continue with the theme with Andrew Carter’s arrangement of “Angelus ad virginem.”

Amazing is the choir performance of Philip Stopford’s “Lully, Lulla, Lullay.” “Basic” is what Owen Rees uses to describe Stopford’s composition although not being disparaging, but describing, deservingly so, the excellence, but suppleness of Stopford’s composition.

Andrew Gant, in his recent book, The Carols of Christmas: A Celebration of the Surprising Stories Behind Your Favorite Holiday Songs, describes “O Holy Night” as an “art song,” however, not an “art song” for choir. He says, “It is meant for a soloist…It doesn’t really work sung by a choir….” (84).

When I read this, I said: “Wait a minute, I just heard a good version for choir.” I searched through the CDs had had recently received: Trinity College, Clare, and Queen’s. Yes, Queen’s proves Gant wrong here. Of course, the “Holy Night” is lent more credence through arraignment by John Rutter.

Several of the late David Willcock’s arrangements are included on this recording: “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” “The Sussex Carol,” and “O Come All Ye Faithful,” as well as Peter Warlock’s “Bethlehem Down” where the choir offers a gentle singing of Warlock’s classic.

In looking at Queen’s discography, in the short research I did, I could not find a prior album of carols, although they did do a recording of David Bednal’s “Welcome All Wonders” cantata in 2013. I continue looking.

In summary, Queen’s new recording will be a wonderful new addition to your carol collection.

Would I play this on Christmas Eve for the family?

Definitely.

Director Owen Rees

Soprano

Eleanor Bray

Helen Brown

Joanna Cousins

Merrryn Davies-Deacon

Pippa Ebel

Caroline Halls

Sonia Jacobson

Dabin Dwon

Sarah Mansfield

Fleur Smith

Alto

Helena Bickley

Esther Brazi

Amy Down

Eliot Parrot

Josei Perry

Hannah Street

Henry Taylor

Amalia Tudor Beamish

Tenor

Hugh Bennett

Marco Galvani

Alex Grigg

Lachan Hughes

Laurece Jeffcoate

Ethan Kelly

Felix Leach

Bass

Erik Andreoli

Robert Holbrook

Jake Mercer

Michael Pandya

George Parris

Jonathan Shen

Wiliams White

Organ scholars

Harry Meehan

Rebecca Baker

Recorded January 2015, Keble College Chapel Oxford

 

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