For whatever reason, it’s always been unusual for German choirs (or French ones, or Italian ones, for that matter) to venture into English/English language choral repertoire. It’s odd, especially considering, for instance, the centuries of repertoire in the realm of British music, as old as and much of it as important as anything in the continental canon. To their credit, on this program Figuralchor Köln and its director Richard Mailänder cover several of those centuries and many of those important works, representing a number of the leading composers of English church music. Not all the composers are technically English (Stanford was born in Ireland), and nearly half of the pieces have Latin texts, but that leaves a substantial number–10 out of 19–sung in their original English language–again, not a common occurrence with German choirs.
Beginning with a stately and beautifully sustained rendition of Robert Parsons’ 16th-century Ave Maria (among the gems of all church music), the choir proceeds through a fairly wide-ranging collection of anthems and motets, notably Tomkins’ When David heard–the most profoundly moving of all settings of this text; Byrd’s finest version of the Agnus Dei (from the four-part Mass); Morley’s oft-performed motet Nolo mortem peccatoris and Tallis’ Salvator mundi. Also a highlight is Stainer’s most famous work, God so loved the world, a chorus from his oratorio The Crucifixion (text from John 3:16), along with Parry’s ideal setting (from Songs of Farewell) of Henry Vaughan’s text My soul, there is a country, and Stanford’s beautiful and beloved Beati quorum via (a little strange here, for the choir’s insistence on the odd pronunciation of the Latin “Beata” as “bee-ahta”).
The choir also isn’t afraid to tackle some of the most “English” of English cathedral music, such as William Crotch’s How dear are thy counsels, Elgar’s O salutaris hostia, and Stanford’s hugely popular anthem O for a closer walk with God, all with fine organ accompaniment by Martina Mailänder–and they are performed well and with the conviction and full sound expected from any British church choir. And for the most part this can be said for the entire program–there are some instances and pieces where a bit more dynamic contrast and expression would be welcome, but the choral sound and technical aspects of ensemble show a first-rate choir, very well-rehearsed in this music. As sometimes happens with Carus, the notes are only in German; texts are provided only in their original languages, Latin or English. But don’t let any of that stop you from considering this very fine recording, which hopefully won’t be this choir’s last musical voyage across the Channel.
