Choral, organ, and recorder recital

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32976, 24 July 1972, Page 14

Choral, organ, and recorder recital

The Sacred Heart Church, Addington, provided an acoustically and aesthetically ideal venue for a recital of choral, organ, and recorder music last evening. Given in aid of the new organ appeal, the recital was not so successful in retaining the atmosphere engendered by the architecture of the building. Much of this was because of the inadequacies of the present organ. A long bracket of 12 items sung by the Sacred Heart Schola, conducted by Sister Mary Pascal, opened the programme. The schola is a fine ensemble, well trained and disciplined in the best virtues of choral singing. The weakness in much of what was sung lay in the poor choice of repertoire, musically unrewarding to both performer and listener. Not surprisingly, the most acceptable items, with the exception of Britten’s Corpus Christi Carol — sensitively accompanied by Don Whelan—were unaccompanied. Three short pieces were played on the organ by Albert Gillette.

The rest of the programme was contributed by the Rolf Just Recorder Consort with Elizabeth Day, a soprano. The clarity of line given out by each instrument provided a significant and striking contrast with the distortion of the preceeding organ music.

In a bracket of three Jacobean songs for recorder quartet and soprano, the consort and Miss Day again showed how the style and music of the sixteenth’ century retains its earthiness and immediacy of appeal. In each song, the essential unspoiled simplicity of the vocal part was faithfully presented. It is a pity that in these arrangements the vocal line should be doubled throughout by a recorder. The recital ended with a

“Serenade for Lisa” by Zvi Nagan, and Quartette in G for recorders by Gaston Saux. Both composers belong and have contributed to the repertoire of the twentieth century, but idiomatically much of the writing could have come from earlier periods of composition. Rhythmically, and much of the time, harmonically, the music followed classical lines. One is entitled to assume from the music of the “Serenade” that Lisa was a dull character with a penchant for repeating herself, while the second movement of the Quartette had surprisingly strong melodic references to “Sweet and Low.”

The final movement of the Quartette, a gay and ebullient affair, was played with the same impeccable artistry given to all items contributed by the consort. —W.R.H.