COMPOSERS: Buxtehude,Darke,JS Bach,Kirkpatrick,Leighton,Ord
LABELS: Herald
WORKS: Carols by Darke, Kirkpatrick, Ord, Buxtehude, Leighton, JS Bach etc
PERFORMER: Chichester Cathedral Choir/ Sarah Baldock; Mark Wardell (organ)
CATALOGUE NO: HAVPCD 350
There is any number of ‘traditional’ carol CDs on the market, but this new collection from Chichester Cathedral stands out by dint of its sense of dedication and sheer musical quality. There are beautiful solos to relish from boy treble and tenor soloists in a rapt ‘In the bleak mid-winter’ (Darke version), gorgeously balanced ensemble harmonies in Leighton’s ‘Lully lulla’, limpid diction and telling dynamic gradations in ‘Sussex Carol’, more superb solo work in the lithe, elastic account of ‘Gaudete’ (Brian Kay’s arrangement). The singing throughout is totally unforced, naturally devotional and expressive – the English cathedral tradition at its very finest.