Carol Recital In Cathedral

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30633, 26 December 1964, Page 12

Carol Recital In Cathedral

Many hundreds of people packed the peaceful stalls of the Cathedral during the busy hours of Christmas Eve to enjoy the singing of the Cathedral Choir in a programme of “Carols from Many Lands.” Under the organist and master of the choristers, Mr C. Foster Browne, the choir was in fine form. Sixteen carols, well chosen for the season and nicely contrasted in musical content, retold the facts of Christmas and gave expression to the more subtle of the comments which tradition has offered concerning the Nativity of Our Lord. From the vital polyphony of Lassus and Sweelink to the convincing harmonic manipulations of Brian Barrett’s two charming carols, the choir mastered a variety of styles with aplomb and conviction. An appropriate tone colour was found for each work.

Richly sonorous effects were achieved with confident relaxation while passages of great delicacy came through with the penetrative clarity

which only expert placing of the voice brings. Many of the arrangements were by Mr Browne himself and they betrayed his intuitive confidence in the choral medium. There was nothing more effective in this collection than the Spanish carol, “A La Nanita Nana” with its undulating rhythms and its alternating minor and major tonalities. This was a recital to remember. It was listened to in such an appreciative silence that the choir’s members can have no doubt of the high regard in which they are held by the community they serve so well. —-J.A.R.