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www.jansmusic.co.uk - for musical independence
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JANSMUSIC RECOMMENDED RECORDING
Granville Bantock: Two
Choral Symphonies
BBC Singers
Albany Records TROY 180
Atalanta in Calydon; Vanity of
Vanities
Back in 1995 I worked for the BBC Singers, and it wasn’t until I read the box of this CD closely that I realised that I was present at the recording – it was a public concert in that year, in St.Paul’s Church Knightsbridge, and I’d had to set up the lighting for them, which wasn’t quite as easy as it sounds.
These 2 huge works, entitled “Choral Symphonies”, by Granville Bantock are just wonderful. Bantock is as English as his name suggests, and his works couldn’t be from any other country. I have to say that these are fabulous performances too.
Atalanta in Calydon, tells the story of Atalanta , the fleet-footed nymph, who was a master huntress and who drew first blood from the wild boar sent to plague Calydon. It’s a straightforward narrative, but the set up of the choir is complex, with its many parts and detailed seating plan. The first movement is for men only, in quite close harmony, and focuses on the theme of life – fruits and flowers, nymphs and gods, streams and grasses, the laughing and the pursuit – with some gorgeous men-only singing, for which I am such a sucker. However the second movement has some sensational drawn-out harmonic effects, with the entry of the ladies’ voices – this movement talks about man, and his fixed life span i.e. it introduces the notion of death. Movement 3 is more delicate – as you would expect in an orchestral symphony (scherzo?) and contrasts love with death – using the women’s voices to weave an ethereal sound blanket. The last movement is a joy to listen to, with its layering of voices and harmonies and dense textures, alternating with solid chordal blocks and feathery commentaries that float around – this movement is a commentary on man’s fate at the hands of God. A final note on the lighting – each movement uses a different colour light – respectively green, grey, white changing to rosy, and red.
Vanity of Vanities was written a couple years later than Atalanta, and is different in style, maybe more conventionally choral. It is written for 2 6-part choirs and while there are moments of full choir, with full harmonic spread, the writing is quite simple.. The words are taken from Ecclesiastes. There is no doubt of both the nationality and era of the work – reminiscent of Elgar, Holst and Vaughan Williams. The second movement contains a good deal of vocalising – creating a sound curtain, around which weave the words, which is rather unusual, and the fourth movement is a tenor solo with choral phrases echoing and confirming the solo lines. I could listen to this CD on endless repeat, because of the sound world it weaves around – never dull, with changing effects and gorgeous harmonies that you could drown in.
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