REMEMBRANCE

Duruflé: Requiem; Farrant: Call to Remembrance; Tomkins: When David Heard; Trad: Kontakion of the Dead; Tavener: Song for Athene; Ramsey: How are the mighty fallen; Harris: Bring us, O Lord God; Monk: Abide with me (arr. Ross); Elgar: They are at rest; Weelkes: When David heard Jennifer Johnston (mezzo), Neal Davies (bass), Guy Johnston (cello); Choir of Clare College, Cambridge/graham Ross; Matthew Jorysz (organ)

Harmonia Mundi HMU 907654 78:10 mins

This is a beautifully programmed and performed disc. While the ‘Remembrance’ of the title is nominally the central theme, what we have here is various ref lections on death – both its occurrence and its aftermath – in works dating from Farrant and Tomkins in the Renaissance to John Tavener in the late 20th century, by way of the likes of Elgar, William Harris and Russian Orthodox chant. All are unaccompanied until Duruflé’s Requiem, the final and most substantial work, at which point we are joined by Lincoln Cathedral’s mighty Father Willis organ (the rest of the disc is recorded in the gloriously resonant acoustic of Ely Cathedral).

Some conductors like to f loat celestially or linger prayerfully on Duruflé’s Gregorian chant-inspired melodic lines. Graham Ross takes a more full-on approach, with tempos brisk and passions raised – mezzo Jennifer Johnston’s ‘Pie Jesu’ is, in particular, an emotional tour de force. Never, though, does Ross let those passions run riot, and the choral ensemble and balance is immaculate throughout.

Of recordings of the choir and organ version of Duruflé’s Requiem, I’ve heard none better. This, though, is just the crowning point of an engaging and thought-provoking recital, including a perfectly poised and paced Harris Bring us, O Lord God and conductor Graham Ross’s exquisite own arrangement of Abide with me. Jeremy Pound