Search - Gustav Holst, William [composer] Walton, Simon Lawford :: Make We Joy: Christmas Music by Holst & Walton

An Excellent example of the English choir tradition

David A. Beamer | Clawson, MI United States | 10/30/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The 2 composers chosen for this collection, Gustav Holst and William Walton, are first-rate; the essence of 20th-century British style. The choir is a traditional English men-and-boys ensemble, and their performances here are also top-notch.If you boiled down the essence of the English choir sound and the compositions devised for it, you would get this CD. The subtitle of the recording (Music for Christmas...) is not quite accurate, as there are a few items here that are explicity New Years' carols. No matter; they are uniformly excellent.The "standards" are performed well, and with the precision we have come to expect from a choir of one of the main cathedrals in England. In The Bleak Mid-winter, Masters in this Hall (all 12 verses), and Personent Hodie are done "to a T". The title track is a carol that shifts back and forth between English and Latin, a common feature of older English carols. The same is true of "All This Time", which has a slightly angular melody in the verse and rock-solid cadences in the chorus.One of the real treats here is the extended "This have I done for my True Love". The version normally recorded is in a major key, and has only 4 verses. This one is in a minor key, and has many, many verses. The text stretches far past the Christmas birth, and all the way thru Jesus' life, death, and resurrection.The New Years' carols are done in rollicking good fashion, especially "What Cheer?" and "Bring us in Good Ale". And as a bonus, we get a Nunc Dimittis by Holst and Walton's setting of Psalm 100.An all-round excellent recording. My only caveat is that if you're not a fan of the real "hard core" English cathedral choir and 20th English harmonies, this may not appeal to you. It does to me -- in spades."

Unique Experience

R. Bohler | Jonesboro, GA United States | 03/05/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"What a unique opportunity to have a sampling of English Christmas music works over a period from the 15th to 19th centurys. The quality of works from little known to well known composers is well worth the listening again and again."