Ralph Allwood has established
a tremendous reputation as a choral
conductor. Not only is he Director of
Music at Eton College but he also directs
the Eton Choral Course, which he founded,
and the superb Rodolfus Choir. Here
he directs his Eton choir in a Christmas
programme that’s nicely varied and splendidly
executed.
As will be seen from
a glance at the track listing the chronological
range of the programme is wide. The
listener is taken from plainchant through
medieval music, polyphony, the Romantic
period and right up to 1987, when John
Tavener wrote his splendid Christmas
Proclamation, God is with us.
The Tavener is a marvellous piece and
it’s very well executed here. The unnamed
tenor soloist sings with suitable ardour
and the great coup of the sudden organ
entry at the end is still thrilling
even when you know it’s coming. Here
Thomas Winpenny conjures up great wells
of sound, especially in the pedals,
from what I assume is the organ in Eton
College Chapel.
Among the other twentieth-century
pieces I enjoyed the suave performance
of Pierre Villette’s gorgeous Hymne
à la Vierge and also Warlock’s
lovely Bethlehem Down. Ralph
Allwood paces this latter piece just
a touch more quickly than one often
hears it and I think the resultant sense
of flow benefits the music. He also
obtains a lovely performance of the
wonderful piece by Howells and, in contrast,
leads a beautifully pointed account
of John Gardner’s infectious, bouncy
Tomorrow shall be my dancing
day.
Generally he and his
choir are just as successful in the
music of earlier ages. The very first
piece on the disc, Handel’s Resonet
in laudibus is sung joyfully with
just the right amount of rhythmical
verve. I was just a touch disappointed
with Riu, riu,
chiu. This is an earthy piece
and while the choir enters into the
spirit well I felt that the soloist
was perhaps just a bit too polished
and "nice". No reservations,
however, about the polyphonic pieces.
Parsons’ Ave Maria is a glorious
creation and Allwood’s choir delivers
it with wonderful care and sensitivity
for the music. The concluding ‘Amen’
accounts for nearly 25% of the length
of the entire piece and it’s not a bar
too long. Parsons’ polyphonic textures
roll serenely on and the choir spins
the lines beautifully. I also liked
very much Quid petis, O fili by
Richard Pygott. I can’t recall hearing
this before but it’s a marvellous work,
rather restrained in tone but very well
done by the Eton singers.
However, mention of
this Pygott piece brings me to my one
quibble about this release. The documentation
is barely adequate, even though it includes
a useful, brief essay, which touches
on many of the pieces. However, we’re
not given the full names of most of
the composers and there are no texts.
It may be argued that one doesn’t need
texts since this is "just a disc
of carols" but I’d disagree. The
chosen programme contains quite a good
deal of music which is less than familiar.
The Pygott anthem is one such case and
my enjoyment of the piece was compromised
because I had no idea what the text
is about. Again, the Britten work is
not one that I know and we are told
absolutely nothing about it. It’s a
shame that listeners haven’t been given
more information.
That apart this is
a successful, very well executed and
thoroughly enjoyable disc that should
give a good deal of enjoyment this Christmas.
John Quinn
Eton College Chapel Choir/Thomas Winpenny (organ)/*Francis
Faux (director/cantor)/Ralph Allwood 
