Fans of English cathedral music of the 1920s, ’30s, and ’40s will find much to savor on this fine recording from the illustrious Choir of St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle. William Henry Harris served as organist at St. George’s for nearly 30 years, and many of the works represented here were written for the resident choir. Several of these anthems are extended works lasting more than 10 minutes, including the skillfully-wrought evening hymn, The night is come, recorded for the first time and performed in appropriately heartfelt, dramatic fashion. Another world-premiere is the lovely carol The shepherd-men were keeping, its charming, picturesque text set in a straightforward hymn style with an attractive, catchy tune.
Listeners who enjoy the thick-textured, ardently emotional, emphatically inflected character of this kind of music will appreciate Harris’ declamatory choral writing and powerful use of the organ as both support and intermittent commentary. It’s pretty standard stuff, yet Harris did contribute one or two works that have become repertoire staples, such as the beloved anthem Faire is the heav’n. Although the rendition heard here is fine enough, it threatens to become tedious, and at nearly six minutes it suffers in comparison to the Cambridge Singers’ more nimble and refreshingly crisper and more clearly elucidated version for Collegium. In general, the disc’s sound tends to become saturated in louder tutti sections, a common problem in large church spaces–but this should not be a deterrent to listeners looking to experience this fine composer’s music in an authentic setting, sung by a first-rate choir, the descendant ensemble of Harris’ own group. Enjoyable!
