Kerensa Briggs Requiem; Prelude on ‘Pange lingua’; The Windsor Service; Inner Light; Psalm 121 ‘I will lift up mine eyes’ The Choir of King’s College London/Joseph Fort; Richard Gowers (organ) Delphian DCD34298 55:57 mins
Kerensa Briggs may only be in her early thirties, but this resplendent first portrait album is fruitful evidence of a long immersion in choral singing. Having grown up around cathedrals thanks to her organist father, Briggs is now enriching the choral repertoire herself. Much of her writing develops from chant, whether Gregorian in the Requiem or Anglican in The Windsor Service. Briggs is consummate in controlling the way the harmony moves out of, then back into focus in the touching Inner Light or pacing the increasing radiance of ‘I will lift up mine eyes’.
The Requiem is a substantial statement, Briggs bringing her own colours to the generally assuaging tradition of Duruflé and Fauré. Eschewing the customary angelic treble, a mezzo-soprano soloist, the beguiling Anita Monserrat here, acts as advocate, from the rousing opening call of ‘Requiem aeternam’ to its more accepting recall at the close, via arabesques and curlicues periodically burnishing the choral textures in between. Organ provides the only accompaniment, its generally restrained contributions sensitively handled by Richard Gowers. A few moments of mild imprecision aside, the Choir of King’s College London under the assured direction of Joseph Fort are strong advocates for Briggs’s alluring and heartfelt music.
Christopher Dingle