Lots of Britten!

 

The Choral Edition!

There are two, 3CD collections of Britten's a cappella and organ-accompanied choral music. This one from Paul Spicer and the Finzi Singers on Chandos, and another from Harry Christophers leading The Sixteen on Coro.

There are only one or two songs which the other collection doesn't have, so with each set you have a little more and a little less than the other, depending on your outlook.

I prefer this compilation, although both are equally fine. The Finzi Singers are a vibrato-heavy ensemble who are not afraid to attack the music head-on. Their finest soloist is Carys Lane, and Andrew Lumsden is a wonderful organist throughout the series.

Paul Spicer is a bit of a British choral scholar in addition to chorus master, so you know you are in fine hands in both performance and intelligent approach.

A review from 2021

Chandos’ conspectus of Benjamin Britten’s choral music here collects Paul Spicer and The Finzi Singers’ three previously released volumes from the late 90’s. 200-minutes of music across 3 CDs is pretty thorough, covering most of Britten’s a cappella and organ-accompanied works for chorus.

Britten’s choral music ranges from beautiful to demanding, to quirky and odd. Both sacred and secular works are included, and his writing for pipe organ is mighty characterful. His sets of hymns are beautiful, with his Hymn to St. Cecilia a downright masterpiece, and his many cantatas range from cathedral austerity to smiling playfulness. The secular works show his intense desire to set vivid words to music, and his musical language is always interesting, and quite often unexpected.

The Finzi Singers are an adult mixed chamber choir of around 18 singers, but they have a healthy, robust tone that lacks nothing in impact, cohesion, or beauty. They are freer with their vibrato than many English choirs, but I find in this collection The Finzi Singers are very judicious applying it. The alto section appears to be a mix of female and male altos, but work together as a group musically and are well-balanced. The solo work comes from directly within the choir, and for the most part they are sung beautifully, with soprano Carys Lane quite a find.

Of course, Benjamin Britten was a fine leader of his own music, often with soloists of his preferred sound world, but also with mixed qualities sonically. My personal preferences lie towards adult choirs, whereas the British tradition prefers cathedral boy choristers, so while I recommend hearing Britten’s own interpretations and style on Decca and on Eloquence, these Chandos recordings are very much to my preferences.

The Finzi Singers’ compilation comes directly in competition with The Britten Collection from Harry Christophers and The Sixteen on Coro, also across three discs. As far as differences between the two, Christophers includes A Sycamore Tree, A Shepherd’s Carol, and The Ballad of Little Musgrave, whereas Spicer includes the set of 7 a cappella works called A.M.D.G, both adding up to around 15 minutes of music. The Sixteen perform the Choral Dances from Gloriana with a short intro for tenor and harp whereas Spicer’s is completely a cappella. Of course, you can find an older 7-CD box set with much of Britten’s music on EMI as well, but the sources are of varying qualities.

Paul Spicer, a Britten authority in his own right, moves the music purposefully and makes sure to bring out Britten’s wit, edge, and beauty, without devolving into sameness or a lack of variety. I like this compilation, although if you are looking for individual works, the original volumes can still be found separately on Amazon. Otherwise, this 3CD set is a steal.

 

Performers
Susan Drake, harp
Andrew Lumsden, organ
Litchfield Cathedral Choristers
Finzi Singers
Paul Spicer, conductor

Label: Chandos
Year: 2013
Total Timing: 3.20.56

Not all of Britten's choral music works for me, but I recognize the composer's mastery, plus most of the composer's choral items are absolute treasures.

Either way, I enjoy these performances from Paul Spicer and the Finzi Singers.