BBC Music Magazine

Spem in alium – Vidi aquam

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James Macmillan: Vidi aquam; Tallis: Spem in alium; In ieiunio et fletu; Derelinqui­t impius; plus choral works by Byrd, Ferrabosco, Gerarde and Van Wilder

ORA Singers/suzi Digby

Harmonia Mundi HMM902669.70

68:59 mins

Eight five-voice pods, 40 singers in total – Tallis’s Spem in alium remains one of the towering summits of the choral repertoire. Suzi Digby’s ORA Singers performanc­e, at a touch over nine minutes, is one of the fleetest on record, and boasts an expert choir whose tuning is immaculate and who munch the technical challenges of the piece for breakfast.

Just occasional­ly the purposeful flow of the interpreta­tion can seem a touch mechanical. But overall this is a formidable piece of singing, enhanced by Mike Hatch’s sensitivel­y tailored engineerin­g.

Not to release a surround-sound SACD version seems an opportunit­y missed, however – session photos show the performers standing in a circle, with a phalanx of directiona­l microphone­s in the centre.

To write a new piece based on Spem sounds suspicious­ly like a hiding to nothing. But

James Macmillan’s Vidi aquam

– an ORA commission, setting a text from Ezekiel – more than matches the challenge thrown down by Tallis’s masterpiec­e. It begins by imitating Renaissanc­e polyphony, but gradually adopts a more contempora­ry harmonic vocabulary, with flecks of polytonali­sm and wonderfull­y evocative echo effects.

Gripping dynamic contrasts – full choir abruptly sheared away to just a few voices – and some stratosphe­ric soprano writing stoke the dramatic tension further, and the ORA performanc­e is intensely committed. Shorter works by Tallis, Gerarde, Byrd, Ferrabosco and Wilder complete the recital, and a ‘making of’ DVD is included. But it is Macmillan’s Vidi aquam which makes this issue essential – it has the aura of a masterpiec­e about it. Terry Blain

PERFORMANC­E ★★★★

RECORDING ★★★★★

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