BRITTEN: Choral Dances from “Gloriana”; Hymn to St. Cecilia; A Hymn to the Virgin; Five Flower Songs; A.M.D.G. – RIAS Kammerchor/ Justin Doyle – Harmonia mundi 902285 [Distr. by PIAS] 53:42 ****:
There have been many albums of the choral music of Benjamin Britten. He is, after all, one of the preeminent songsters of the twentieth century, and one of the few masters of the choral idiom. It is hard to imagine choral music of the last 120 years without him, so influential and masterly is his craft. And it is also hard to recall any album as well sung as this one, coupled with crystallized sound that is clear as a bell.
The earliest here is A Hymn to the Virgin, amazingly composed by the then sixteen-year-old composer who already was demonstrating an astounding lyrical propensity. Gerard Manly Hopkins seven song series A.M.D.G. (Ad majorem Dei gloriam) was dedicated to the young Peter Pears, with whom Britten had begun a relationship, but surprisingly never heard during his lifetime. Now recognized as one of his supreme choral compositions, it was not published until 1989!
Benjamin Britten,
by Hans Wild
The great a capella masterwork Hymn to St. Cecilia is a 1942 work with texts written for it by WH Auden. Truly one of the most complex and intricate of works, its use of shifting moods and spectacular balance make it one of the most performed works of all time. Possibly the most beautiful piece on this disc is the Five Flower Songs. It was written as a twenty-fifth wedding anniversary gift for Britten’s friends and patrons of the arts Leonard and Dorothy Elmhirst, also botanists who created one of the world’s great English gardens at their Dartington Hall Estate. Each of the five songs conveys a specific emotion and tonal quality according to the flower under consideration.
Finally, the Choral Dances from Gloriana display a simplicity and utter lyrical charm as a set of pieces culled from his opera on the life of Elizabeth I. Their melodiousness and engaging harmonies show why the composer is such a master of the choral art.
The RIAS choir sings with tremendous verve and formidable technical acumen. This is beautifully done.
—Steven Ritter
