Classical Music: Welcome Joy – A Celebration of Women’s Voices

Welcome Joy – A Celebration of Women’s Voices

Gustav Holst Two Eastern Pictures, Dirge and Hymeneal; Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda: Third Group Elisabeth Poston An English Day-Book Imogen Holst Welcome Joy and Welcome Sorrow; Hilary Campbell Our Endless Day; Olivia M. Sparkhall Lux Aeterna;Gemma McGregor Love was his meaning; Judith Weir We sekyn here rest;hruthi Rajasekar Ushāa – Goddess of Dawn; Priestess

Corvus Consort
Freddie Crowley
with Louise Thomson harp
Chandos CHSA 5350
chandos.net

The Corvus Consort has turned its attention to a rich tapestry of choral music written specifically for women’s voices and harp. With a group of 12 upper voices, they excel in their ensemble blend and word clarity. Crowley has curated a programme of exquisite repertoire, encompassing a century's worth of music for upper voice and harp.

The opening work is Imogen Holst’s setting of Keats' Welcome Joy and Welcome Sorrow. Her father Gustav, who taught at St Paul's Girls' School, is represented by Two Eastern Pictures and Dirge and Hymeneal. As Frankie Perry points out in the excellent note, Holst repurposed ideas from The Planets, including the oscillating chords, for 'Saturn' and then set aside the Dirge and Hymeneal. It was first performed in 1986 at the
Cheltenham Festival.

Holst taught himself Sanskrit, and there is a delightful nod to this with Indian composer Shruthi Rajasekar invited to compose for this programme in response to the Third Group of Gustav Holst’s Choral Hymns. Both Ushās—the Goddess of Dawn and Priestess—not only add exciting new repertoire for these unusual forces but also explore directly Holst’s engagement with ancient Hindu texts. The musical writing is captivating, especially the ‘rushing away’ end.

An expansive solo harp interlude, marking the halfway point in Elizabeth Poston's An English Day-Book cycle, nods to motifs from previous movements, acting as a meditation on the time passed up to this point. This is the substantive work on the album, and there is a collection of shorter pieces by young female composers. Olivia Sparkhall's Lux Aeterna for double choir is beautiful; the musical writing captures the spirit of eternal light.

Other composers include Hilary Campbell with Our Endless Day, Gemma McGregor with Love was his meaning, and Judith Weir, the former Master of the King's Music, with We Sekyn Here Rest.