HERBERT HOWELLS - Requiem and other Choral Works - Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge -
Stephen Layton (Conductor) - 034571179148 - Released: April 2012 - Hyperion CDA67914
1) A Hymn for St Cecilia
2) Salve regina
3) Gloucester Service
-Magnificat
-Nunc dimittis
4) Take him, earth, for cherishing
5) St Paul's Service
-Magnificat
-Nunc dimittis
6) Requiem
-Salvator mundi
-Psalm 23
-Requiem aeternam (I)
-Psalm 121
-Requiem aeternam (II)
-I heard a voice from heaven
7) All my hope on God is founded
I may not always like the music, but never has a recording of choral music conducted by Stephen Layton failed to move me. This
one is no exception, and in this particular case, the music happens to be admirable. The choral works of Herbert Howells (1892-1983), including
his Requiem, are well represented in the recording catalogues and very well served. But even though the market may be
saturated at the moment, this new Hyperion CD with the Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge should enter
the charts with a bullet and make its way up to the top very quickly.
Despite the fact that the Choir of Trinity College is always in transition due to the constantly flowing student pipeline, they outsing
and outperform many, many professional choirs by a longshot. They always, most likely by following Stephen Layton's guidance and enthusiasm, seem
to easily clear the bar, no matter how high it's set, and produce an energetic sound that seems to flow effortlessly and glow from within. And I would really like to know what
recording engineer David Hinitt eats for breakfast, because again, as in the other brilliant Layton/Trinity recording of the music
of David Briggs,
he's not only captured perfectly the sound of the pipe organ and voices, but also the scope of the space that sound resonates in. Everyone involved
with this recording, including organists Simon Bland and Jeremy Cole, deserve an extended round of applause
and a gold star on their report cards. Magnificent!