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The English Anthem, Volume 1 As I was discovering the breadth of Anglican choral repertoire for the first time, The English Anthem series from Hyperion was still in production. John Scott led the choir of St. Paul's Cathedral, London, in a series of eight quasi-encyclopedic recordings from 1990 to 2005. Recently, these recordings have been made available on streaming platforms.

This series loomed larger in my formation than perhaps I realized, and I recently delved back into this catalog for the first time in many years. In retrospect, this series served both as inspiration for a career in Anglican choral music and a kind of “bucket list.” I have made note of those pieces that I have yet to perform.

The English Anthem, Volume 1

Short Anthems

HADLEY My beloved spake
WOOD Hail, gladdening Light

Standard-length Anthems

BAIRSTOW Let all mortal flesh keep silence
FINZI God is gone up
GARDINER Evening Hymn
IRELAND Greater love hath no man
STAINER I saw the Lord
STANFORD Beati quorum via

Long Anthems

BAIRSTOW Blessed city, heavenly Salem
NAYLOR Vox dicentis: Clama
WESLEY Blessed be the God and Father

The English Anthem, as this first album is called, was released without a “Volume 1” designation, continuation of this series perhaps not yet being conceived.

The album opens with an electric rendition of John Stainer’s “I saw the Lord.” The organ is particularly convincing at the opening, even if the full choir sounds a bit distant in the louder sections. It makes for an arresting start and also proves the point: St. Paul’s Cathedral has been the cradle of a great deal of this music. Stainer was a choirboy at St. Paul’s in 1849, returning as organist and director of music in 1872. He knew the acoustic potential of this building, and stacking up the eight parts of the choir for “and the house was fillèd with smoke” creates an immense sacred smog indeed.

The long, sinuous lines of Balfour Gardiner’s Evening Hymn are also right at home here, with the additive sounds bubbling at a slower simmer.

Much of the music here happens at its own unhurried pace. It’s never unmusical, but one is always aware of the effects of the ample reverberation of St. Paul’s. In places, this reverb time is used to tremendous effect. At the opening of Naylor’s “Vox dicentis,” Scott dovetails the second entrance perfectly with the slow diminishing of the previous fortissimo chord at the back of the nave.

Aspirations

Of the works I’ve never performed (Bairstow, Hadley, Stainer, Naylor):

• Bairstow tops the list. I feel like I know this piece so well that I must have done it at some point in the past, but I can’t recall an occasion when I have.
• Stainer's “I saw the Lord” still lurks around in my planning notes for Trinity Sunday. It might surface one of these days.
• Naylor: I thought about this one recently, but it didn’t make the cut. Without a favorable acoustic, this is probably not as effective.
• Hadley: this one doesn’t do it for me. Your mileage may vary.

Labels: Bairstow, Balfour Gardiner, Charles Wood, Finzi, Hadley, John Ireland, John Scott, Naylor, St Paul's (London), Stainer, Stanford, The English Anthem series (Hyperion), Wesley

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