By JulesAudio
16-Sep-2011

Evensong Excellence  

A superb recording of a truly mouth-watering list of music for choral evensong, which should appeal to anyone who loves church music.

From the opening of the versicles and responses, I found the music impossible to set aside until the very end.

The Stanford Mag & Nunc in G (one of my particular favourites, anyway) is delightfully performed, with the accompaniment a little understated for my liking, but a worthy performance for all that.

The Finzi, a difficult work to master, is presented with consummate assurance, which is sustained from start to finish - an especially pleasant musical experience.

Although I could go on waxing lyrical almost ad infinitum, I heartily commend this CD to anyone interested in first-rate Church music, and look forward to more output from this particular ensemble.
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By JD88992
20-Sep-2011

Almost like being there  

Anyone who’s had the pleasure of attending Evensong at one of the great British cathedrals or colleges will know exactly what to expect from this disc. For the less fortunate, it’s a service of prayers, readings and music, part of the Church’s traditional observance of the hours of the day, in this case offered at Oxford’s New College for several hundred years. The service on this recording is given with all the readings and responses you would hear if you were present. Although there are a lot of notes about the school, the choir, and the service, there are no texts. (If you were actually in the chapel, you would of course be given an Order of Service so you could follow along).

All the music is British, and much of it is by composers associated in some way with the college. The canticles by Stanford were new to me, while Tallis’ Canon is one of my very favorite hymn tunes. The sound is clear but slightly distant, as if you had decided not to sit too close to the front.
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