Herald AV Publications

HAVPCD354 – The Bliss of Solitude

This beautiful album, recorded in the delightful surroundings of Brentwood Cathedral, features the magnificent tenor voice of Richard Dowling in partnership with the pianist Joanna Smith, who also contributes several enchanting pieces for solo piano. The recordings include Vaughan Williams’ On Wenlock Edge in the version for piano and voice, as well as the first recording of Andrew Wright’s exquisite The Bliss of Solitude – settings of verses by William Wordsworth – and music by Roger Quilter.

‘The Bliss of Solitude’, Andrew Wright. For someone who devotes the majority of their compositional endeavours to the liturgy of the Church, the shift to writing for the voice (in the form of the Song Cycle) is easy to comprehend. In the liturgy, the spoken word is, shall we say, lifted when sung; a simple chant can make the everyday of one’s vernacular language become the sacredness of the numinous – we are transported to somewhere outside of ourselves. And isn’t this what music is about? When Andrew Wright completed his Requiem in 2005 it was the culmination of some twenty years or more of composing; being his largest-scaled work thus far, as well as his most ambitious compositional project.

Richard Dowling (tenor) and Joanna Smith (piano)

After many years experience as an active musician, his tastes and interests are broadening: with his knowledge of the voice (he was a member of The Tallis Scholars) and his inherent love of nature (particularly the Lake District) he was increasingly becoming inspired towards a new area for compositional exploration. Then came the gift of a copy of the poetical works of William Wordsworth. This spurred Wright on to set the texts to music. The initial suggestion for these songs came from singer and oboist friend, Julia Bentham. Bentham and Wright had worked on the staff at the choristers’ school at Westminster Cathedral and so their musical acquaintance had been a long one when Bentham suggested Wright might set one or two of Wordsworth’s texts to music. After favourable reception of the earlier songs, the project was worked into a song cycle proper by Wright, with performances given in London and Grassmere.

HAVPCD356 – The Organ Works of Jonathan Bielby

Jonathan Bielby was born in Oxford, and appointed Organ Scholar of St John’s College, Cambridge. He became Assistant Organist of Manchester Cathedral before his appointment as Organist of Wakefield Cathedral in 1970. Without substantial funding or endowment, Jonathan has built up the fine reputation of the Cathedral Choir, which regularly broadcasts on national radio and television. He is a sensitive composer who has written extensively for his choir and the organ. He has nurtured the careers of many choristers and organists; among his former choristers are David Hill, Roger Wright and John Scott.

Jonathan has also worked in Huddersfield at the Town Hall as Kirklees Borough Organist; and for 25 years in Leeds at the College of Music as a full-time lecturer. He master-minded the highly successful rebuilds of the Father Willis organ at Huddersfield and the five manual Compton at Wakefield. He has performed in many cathedrals, town halls and universities, both in Britain and abroad. He has recorded CDs for Priory at Huddersfield Town Hall (Romantic Organ Music of Yesteryear), Rochdale Town Hall (Complete Organ Music of John Ireland) and Huddersfield University.

HAVPCD351 – COEPERUNT LOQUI Cheltenham College Chamber Choir

One of the finest and most prolific composers of the period, Orlando di Lassus, was born at Mons, Hainaut in 1532. Following a series of prestigious posts in Italy and Antwerp, in 1556 he entered the service of Duke Albrecht V of Bavaria in Munich.

The initial appointment was as a tenor in the chapel choir but he was soon promoted to maestro di capella, a post he retained for over thirty years until his death, being succeeded in turn by his two sons. Here he produced an enormous quantity of church music, including many motets, four passions and some sixty mass settings. Many of these are ‘parody’ masses, based on secular material such as chansons or madrigals or on motets written by himself or others, frequently including florid and intricate counterpoint handled with great skill. In contrast, the masses founded on plainsong are more typically concise, syllabic and straightforward and although not characteristic of the composer at his most sublime, they possess a coolly austere beauty….

By any other yardsticks these are very impressive performances, evoking the spirit and idiom of the music superbly, and much helped by Herald’s atmospheric recording from the lovely chapel at Cheltenham College. Ffinch shapes the music and controls the singers with unerring sensitivity, producing some matchless cadences (I particularly admire the closing of Tallis’s O sacrum convivium), while the singers themselves are capable of producing a sound of great depth and substance (as with the magnificent full-toned choral passages in Sheppard’s Reges Tharsis et insulae).
- Marc Rochester. International Record Review, March 2010.

Alexander Ffinch, the College Organist, founded the Cheltenham College Chamber Choir in 2007. Established with the clear purpose of performing demanding unaccompanied music, the Chamber Choir has rapidly gained a reputation as an excellent choir, with a distinctive repertoire. Having performed at Winchester Cathedral, and various Oxbridge Colleges, this CD, the Choir’s first release, comes on the back of a very successful tour to New York. Since its foundation, the choir has rehearsed and sung a variety of choral pieces, ranging from the 16th Century up to the modern works of John Tavener and Arvo Pärt. Whilst enjoying the range of pieces, the choir has felt an especial affinity with the music of the Renaissance. This is dynamic and powerful, reflecting the enormous creative energy across Europe that was present at the time.

Alexander Ffinch studied at the Royal College of Music and was later organ scholar of Keble College, Oxford where he subsequently became a pupil of Thomas Trotter. He was resident organist at Lancaster Town Hall where he gave over 100 recitals in the 1990’s also winning recognition in the St Albans Interpretation Competition in 1999. He performed regularly in the UK, Europe and the USA and is a wellknown international recitalist. Notable recent appearances have been in USA at Christ Church Greenville and St Mark’s Berkeley, CA and also in the Far East where he gave a recital to celebrate the Messiaen Centenary at The Academy for Performing Arts in Hong Kong. In 2009 he was organist on the newly released disc, ‘Salve Puerule’ (HAVPCD349) a collection of Christmas choral music. Recent recital engagements have included: The Cathedral of St John The Divine, New York; Westminster Abbey; and in 2010, Hong Kong Cultural Centre. He was appointed College Organist of Cheltenham College in 2004, after a three-year tenure as Director of Music at St Catharine’s College, Cambridge and established the College Chamber Choir in 2007.

This is a very creditable achievement indeed, and one which can hold its own against all but the most powerful competition.
- Marc Rochester. International Record Review, March 2010.