Classical Music: Beauty for Ashes

Beauty for Ashes

Crux fidelis Sarah MacDonald; Psalm 6 Cheryl Frances-Hoad; Salisbury Service Ian Stephens; I sing of a maiden - Alison Willis; Hymn to St Alfege Roxanna Panufnik; Beati quorum via - Owain Park; The Pilgrimes Travels Judith Bingham; Feathers -David Lancaster; Leaf from leaf Christ knows - Judith Weir; The Lily of Heaven Owen Leech; Beauty for Ashes Bob Chilcott; God be in my head Paul Edwards.

The Elysian Singers
Sam Laughton Director
Mark Brafield Organ
Signum SIGCD797
www.signumrecords.com

One can rightly describe this thoroughly enjoyable disc as a unique collection of unrecorded music from some of the UK's foremost choral composers. While the program includes well-established classical musicians such as Bob Chilcott, Judith Weir, Judith Bingham, and Roxanna Panufnik, it also includes emerging voices such as Alison Willis, Cheryl Frances-Hoad, and Sarah Macdonald. Half of the contemporary composers featured on the recording are women, and their work exemplifies the enormous contribution female composers are making to the English choral tradition, in a genre where they have been historically under-represented and under-recorded.

It’s an exciting release as it not only highlights the quality of compositional writing but also showcases the brilliance of The Elysian Singers, who, under Sam Laughton’s direction, deliver well-balanced and controlled singing. 

Sarah MacDonald's Crux fidelis effectively borrows words from Emily Dickinson's poems and sets the tone for the disc. Ian Stephens’ Salisbury Setting (Magnificat and Nunc dimittis) is charming, with a lovely organ accompaniment capturing the simplicity of Evensong. The use of the reeds in the Nunc dimittis is atmospheric, especially the abrupt ending. Like many of these works, Alison Willis's I Sing of Maiden opens with lovely harmonics a characteristic of all the short pieces.

Owain Park, who is steeped in the a cappella world through his work conducting The Gesualdo Six, contributes his take on the Beati quorum via with lots of variety in the writing. Owen Leech’s The Lily of Heaven for double choir sets an E.E. Cummings poem to song, and again the harmonies are notable and beautiful.

There is so much to enjoy on this disc, and the variation in styles makes it captivating. Judith Weir's Leaf, as Leaf Christ knows, uses an idiosyncratic organ part. The final work by Paul Edwards is a setting of God be in my head, which brings this eclectic recital to an atmospheric close.

It's a disc highlighting a rich tapestry of musical gems all of which have been well chosen and curated.

The Elysian Singers impress with their grace, masterfully judging and executing the dynamics, intonation, and control.