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Edward Higginbottom leads the Choir of New College Oxford in a solid performance of A Ceremony of Carols and a selection of British Christmas anthems. In the Britten, he offers a traditional approach in terms of tempos, and while he avoids the eccentricities and distortions that some directors perpetrate on the piece in trying to bring new light to it, he also misses the subtle spark that can make a performance transcendent. But in a work with so many possible pitfalls, a solid, technically secure, and musically sensitive reading is not to be taken lightly. The soloists are particularly fine, and their intonation and enunciation are exemplary. Harpist Frances Kelly finds just the right balance for a part that can easily be over- or underplayed; the instrumental underpinning at the end of There is no rose is beautifully audible, and the Interlude strikes an ideal tone of subdued reverence. The choir's tone quality is generally good, except that in the upper register, the boys' voices tend to sound shrill, a problem that's not helped by the engineering. The anthems, many of which are relatively unfamiliar, give the album considerable interest. Herbert Howells' Long, long ago sounds startlingly modern, especially coming from a composer frequently associated with Edwardian fustiness, and the full choir manages its alternately tart and ripe harmonies with assurance. The group brings the same confidence and expertise to works by Holst, Richard Rodney Bennett, Kenneth Leighton, Peter Warlock, John Joubert, H. Diack Johnstone, Herbert Kennedy Andrews, Andrew Carter, and Peter Wishart. The sound is clear, but lacks warmth or much sense of ambience.
© TiVo
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Benjamin Britten, Composer - Edward Higginbottom, MainArtist - Choir of New College Oxford, MainArtist - Francis Kelly, FeaturedArtist
(C) 1994 CRD Records Ltd. (P) 1994 CRD records Ltd.
Benjamin Britten, Composer - Edward Higginbottom, MainArtist - Choir of New College Oxford, MainArtist - Francis Kelly, FeaturedArtist
(C) 1994 CRD Records Ltd. (P) 1994 CRD records Ltd.
Benjamin Britten, Composer - Edward Higginbottom, MainArtist - Choir of New College Oxford, MainArtist - Francis Kelly, FeaturedArtist
(C) 1994 CRD Records Ltd. (P) 1994 CRD records Ltd.
Benjamin Britten, Composer - Edward Higginbottom, MainArtist - Choir of New College Oxford, MainArtist - Francis Kelly, FeaturedArtist - Philip Hallchurch, Soloist
(C) 1994 CRD Records Ltd. (P) 1994 CRD records Ltd.
Benjamin Britten, Composer - Edward Higginbottom, MainArtist - Choir of New College Oxford, MainArtist - Francis Kelly, FeaturedArtist - Philip Hallchurch, Soloist
(C) 1994 CRD Records Ltd. (P) 1994 CRD records Ltd.
Benjamin Britten, Composer - Edward Higginbottom, MainArtist - Choir of New College Oxford, MainArtist - Francis Kelly, FeaturedArtist
(C) 1994 CRD Records Ltd. (P) 1994 CRD records Ltd.
Edward Higginbottom, MainArtist - Choir of New College Oxford, MainArtist - Various Composers, Composer - Francis Kelly, FeaturedArtist
(C) 1994 CRD Records Ltd. (P) 1994 CRD records Ltd.
Benjamin Britten, Composer - Edward Higginbottom, MainArtist - Choir of New College Oxford, MainArtist - Francis Kelly, FeaturedArtist
(C) 1994 CRD Records Ltd. (P) 1994 CRD records Ltd.
Benjamin Britten, Composer - Edward Higginbottom, MainArtist - Choir of New College Oxford, MainArtist - Francis Kelly, FeaturedArtist - Daniel Lochmann, Soloist
(C) 1994 CRD Records Ltd. (P) 1994 CRD records Ltd.
Benjamin Britten, Composer - Edward Higginbottom, MainArtist - Choir of New College Oxford, MainArtist - Francis Kelly, FeaturedArtist - Jerome Finnis, Soloist - Philip Hallchurch, Soloist
(C) 1994 CRD Records Ltd. (P) 1994 CRD records Ltd.
Benjamin Britten, Composer - Edward Higginbottom, MainArtist - Choir of New College Oxford, MainArtist - Francis Kelly, FeaturedArtist
(C) 1994 CRD Records Ltd. (P) 1994 CRD records Ltd.
Benjamin Britten, Composer - Edward Higginbottom, MainArtist - Choir of New College Oxford, MainArtist - Francis Kelly, FeaturedArtist
(C) 1994 CRD Records Ltd. (P) 1994 CRD records Ltd.
Frances Kelly, FeaturedArtist - Andrew Smith, FeaturedArtist - Herbert Howells, Composer - Edward Higginbottom, MainArtist - Choir of New College Oxford, MainArtist - Various Composers, Composer - Timothy Morris, FeaturedArtist
(C) 1994 CRD Records Ltd. (P) 1994 CRD records Ltd.
Frances Kelly, FeaturedArtist - Andrew Smith, FeaturedArtist - Edward Higginbottom, MainArtist - Richard Rodney Bennett, Composer - Choir of New College Oxford, MainArtist - Various Composers, Composer - Timothy Morris, FeaturedArtist
(C) 1994 CRD Records Ltd. (P) 1994 CRD records Ltd.
Gustav Holst, Composer - Edward Higginbottom, MainArtist - Choir of New College Oxford, MainArtist - Francis Kelly, FeaturedArtist - Tim Bowes, Soloist
(C) 1994 CRD Records Ltd. (P) 1994 CRD records Ltd.
Gustav Holst, Composer - Edward Higginbottom, MainArtist - Choir of New College Oxford, MainArtist - Francis Kelly, FeaturedArtist
(C) 1994 CRD Records Ltd. (P) 1994 CRD records Ltd.
Gustav Holst, Composer - Edward Higginbottom, MainArtist - Choir of New College Oxford, MainArtist - Francis Kelly, FeaturedArtist - Duncan Saunderson, Soloist
(C) 1994 CRD Records Ltd. (P) 1994 CRD records Ltd.
Gustav Holst, Composer - Edward Higginbottom, MainArtist - Choir of New College Oxford, MainArtist - Francis Kelly, FeaturedArtist
(C) 1994 CRD Records Ltd. (P) 1994 CRD records Ltd.
Kenneth Leighton, Composer - Edward Higginbottom, MainArtist - Choir of New College Oxford, MainArtist - Francis Kelly, FeaturedArtist - Nicholas Witcomb, Soloist
(C) 1994 CRD Records Ltd. (P) 1994 CRD records Ltd.
Frances Kelly, FeaturedArtist - Andrew Smith, FeaturedArtist - Edward Higginbottom, MainArtist - Peter Warlock, Composer - Choir of New College Oxford, MainArtist - Various Composers, Composer - Timothy Morris, FeaturedArtist
(C) 1994 CRD Records Ltd. (P) 1994 CRD records Ltd.
Frances Kelly, FeaturedArtist - Andrew Smith, FeaturedArtist - Edward Higginbottom, MainArtist - Richard Rodney Bennett, Composer - Choir of New College Oxford, MainArtist - Timothy Morris, FeaturedArtist - Richard Robert Bennett, Conductor
(C) 1994 CRD Records Ltd. (P) 1994 CRD records Ltd.
Frances Kelly, FeaturedArtist - John Joubert, Composer - Andrew Smith, FeaturedArtist - Edward Higginbottom, MainArtist - Choir of New College Oxford, MainArtist - Various Composers, Composer - Timothy Morris, FeaturedArtist
(C) 1994 CRD Records Ltd. (P) 1994 CRD records Ltd.
Frances Kelly, FeaturedArtist - Andrew Smith, FeaturedArtist - Edward Higginbottom, MainArtist - Philip Cave, Soloist - Choir of New College Oxford, MainArtist - Various Composers, Composer - Fergus McLusky, Soloist - Timothy Morris, FeaturedArtist - H. Diack Johnstone, Composer
(C) 1994 CRD Records Ltd. (P) 1994 CRD records Ltd.
Frances Kelly, FeaturedArtist - Andrew Smith, FeaturedArtist - Edward Higginbottom, MainArtist - Choir of New College Oxford, MainArtist - Various Composers, Composer - Timothy Morris, FeaturedArtist - H.K. Andrews, Composer - Phil Hallchurch, Soloist
(C) 1994 CRD Records Ltd. (P) 1994 CRD records Ltd.
Frances Kelly, FeaturedArtist - Andrew Smith, FeaturedArtist - Andrew Carter, Composer - Edward Higginbottom, MainArtist - Choir of New College Oxford, MainArtist - Various Composers, Composer - Timothy Morris, FeaturedArtist
(C) 1994 CRD Records Ltd. (P) 1994 CRD records Ltd.
Frances Kelly, FeaturedArtist - Peter Wishart, Composer - Andrew Smith, FeaturedArtist - Edward Higginbottom, MainArtist - Choir of New College Oxford, MainArtist - Various Composers, Composer - Timothy Morris, FeaturedArtist
(C) 1994 CRD Records Ltd. (P) 1994 CRD records Ltd.
John Joubert, Composer - Francis Kelly, FeaturedArtist - Choir of New College Oxford/Edward Higginbottom, MainArtist
(C) 1994 CRD Records Ltd. (P) 1994 CRD records Ltd.
Album review
Edward Higginbottom leads the Choir of New College Oxford in a solid performance of A Ceremony of Carols and a selection of British Christmas anthems. In the Britten, he offers a traditional approach in terms of tempos, and while he avoids the eccentricities and distortions that some directors perpetrate on the piece in trying to bring new light to it, he also misses the subtle spark that can make a performance transcendent. But in a work with so many possible pitfalls, a solid, technically secure, and musically sensitive reading is not to be taken lightly. The soloists are particularly fine, and their intonation and enunciation are exemplary. Harpist Frances Kelly finds just the right balance for a part that can easily be over- or underplayed; the instrumental underpinning at the end of There is no rose is beautifully audible, and the Interlude strikes an ideal tone of subdued reverence. The choir's tone quality is generally good, except that in the upper register, the boys' voices tend to sound shrill, a problem that's not helped by the engineering. The anthems, many of which are relatively unfamiliar, give the album considerable interest. Herbert Howells' Long, long ago sounds startlingly modern, especially coming from a composer frequently associated with Edwardian fustiness, and the full choir manages its alternately tart and ripe harmonies with assurance. The group brings the same confidence and expertise to works by Holst, Richard Rodney Bennett, Kenneth Leighton, Peter Warlock, John Joubert, H. Diack Johnstone, Herbert Kennedy Andrews, Andrew Carter, and Peter Wishart. The sound is clear, but lacks warmth or much sense of ambience.
© TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 27 track(s)
- Total length: 01:11:02
- Main artists: Choir of New College Oxford Edward Higginbottom
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: CRD Records
- Genre: Classical
(C) 1994 CRD Records Ltd. (P) 1994 CRD records Ltd.
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