Over the decades there have been numerous recordings that contain one or more of the works featured on this sturdy and comprehensive collection of “choral masterpieces” by Vaughan Williams and Walton, performed here by one of England’s finest choirs and recorded in the venerable Winchester Cathedral. The term “masterpiece” can be taken somewhat loosely–Vaughan Williams’ “mess-up” of the hymn known as Old Hundredth hardly qualifies, nor does the same composer’s slight little anthem O Taste and See. And although we can muster a lot more enthusiasm for supremely crafted works such as Walton’s A Litany (a very sensitive setting of the text “Drop, drop, drop, slow tears” that he wrote in his school days) and Vaughan Williams’ Benedicite (a choir/orchestra tour de force written for a festival in 1930), we may find ourselves less impressed than before with the big, Brahms-like choral/orchestral “poem” Toward the Unknown Region and the grandiose coronation march Orb and Sceptre.
But speaking of royal celebrations, Walton’s Coronation Te Deum (for Queen Elizabeth’s in 1953) certainly accomplishes its flamboyant purpose–as does Vaughan Williams’ O Clap Your Hands (composed in the 1920s). These two works capture the essence of English pomp and circumstance–as does the unison song Let us now Praise Famous Men, with its inexorable forward marching movement. And so, this compilation from Australian Eloquence–a reissue of Decca’s 1991 recording–turns out to be more a presentation of some of the showiest flowers from the 20th century English choral garden than a timeless collection of enduring, perennial masterpieces. For choral fans, that won’t be a bad thing at all, although the sound takes on a harsh quality in the big tuttis (of which there are many) and doesn’t fully achieve the acoustical grandeur of many more recent recordings from this venue.
