Coleridge-Taylor
Partsongs – Sea Drift; By the Lone Sea Shore; Isle of Beauty; The Lee Shore etc
The Choir of King’s College London/Joseph Fort
Delphian DCD34271 46:38 mins
A passionate admirer of Grieg and Dvořák, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor sought to create a ‘romantic Nationalism’ of his own, rooted in Black music. This he did in his extraordinarily popular Hiawatha cantatas of 1898-1900. The British-Sierra Leonean composer is however gladly no longer defined just by this trilogy of choral works, and this appealing album shines a light on his outstanding contribution to the partsong. These works may bear the hallmark of Coleridge-Taylor’s time at the Royal College of Music studying with the doyen of English church music, Charles Villiers Stanford, but they have a depth and drama all of their own and are well presented here by the Choir of King’s College, London under the skilful direction of Joseph Fort.
The album’s highlight is without doubt the opening track, ‘Sea Drift’. This terrifically vivid setting of Thomas Bailey Aldrich’s poem tells of a ghostly form who stands on the shore ‘in the lightning’s glare’ as the sea foams around her. Divided into eight parts, the choir lives every twist and turn of this exhilarating piece to produce a genuinely thrilling performance. The quicker, more characterful songs included are also well executed, notably the crisp and delicate ‘The Sea Shell’ and the fiercely dramatic ‘The Lee Shore’, which offers another stirring portrayal of stormy waters.
Elsewhere, there are some lapses in intonation and an even more varied exploration of timbre would sometimes be welcome, particularly in the quieter, more atmospheric songs, such as ‘Dead in the Sierras’, which conjures up the landscape of Sierra Nevada in a narrative telling of the death of a hunter. Nonetheless, this well-recorded album features some commendable singing and offers a welcome celebration of a still under-sung composer. Kate Wakeling
