Rubbra - Masses
St Margaret’s Westminster Singers, Richard Hickox
Awards:
-
Gramophone Magazine, November 2007, Re-issue of the Month
How good it is to have these deeply sympathetic performances (which were recorded in the presence of the grateful composer at St Alban's Church, Holborn, over one December day in 1975) restored...
Rubbra - Masses
St Margaret’s Westminster Singers, Richard Hickox
Purchase product
Awards:
-
Gramophone Magazine, November 2007, Re-issue of the Month
How good it is to have these deeply sympathetic performances (which were recorded in the presence of the grateful composer at St Alban's Church, Holborn, over one December day in 1975) restored...
About
Richard Hickox writes, ‘This recording has so many special memories for me. Not only was the choir of St Margaret’s Westminster in a particularly golden era, but I adored the music, and, above all, I knew what it meant to the composer himself. I had met Edmund Rubbra at the age of seven at a Guy Fawkes party. I remember him celebrating the fact that he had just completed a symphony that very day. Little did I think that three or four decades down the track I would have recorded his entire symphonic output for Chandos. The masses, and particularly the two carols, are perhaps the most personal music in Rubbra’s output. After I had not seen him for many years, he came to the recording sessions. As the last carol at the last session was completed, I went down to the recording room to find Edmund in the corner with tears running down his cheeks. The most humble of men, he said he was just so grateful that we had done the project at all, and I like to think too that he’d been moved by the performances we gave.’
Contents and tracklist
- St Margarets Westminster Singers, Richard Hickox, Ian Watson
- St Margarets Westminster Singers, Richard Hickox
- St Margarets Westminster Singers, Richard Hickox
- St Margarets Westminster Singers, Richard Hickox
Awards and reviews
-
Gramophone MagazineNovember 2007Re-issue of the Month
2010
How good it is to have these deeply sympathetic performances (which were recorded in the presence of the grateful composer at St Alban's Church, Holborn, over one December day in 1975) restored to the catalogue. Richard Hickox and the St Margaret's Westminster Singers bring to both these rapt and timeless Mass settings an unhurried, intuitive understanding and devotional glow. The two unaccompanied carols are special too, in particular the ravishing Dormi Jesu (Rubbra's first published work, written in 1924 when he was a student of Holst).
With the mastertape sadly damaged beyond repair, Chandos had no option but to turn to a pristine copy of the original 1976 RCA LP. In the circumstances, the transfer to CD is remarkably successful, for the sound remains rich, clear and atmospheric. Detailed notes by the composer and Timothy Storey enhance the appeal of a mid-price reissue that long-standing Rubbrarians will surely want to own.
2011 edition
These Masses were recorded in the presence of the composer and are given with the greatest eloquence and finesse...A must for all collectors of choral music, even those who do not normally respond to Rubbra.
