A Ceremony of Carols by Benjamin Britten is hardly 'new music', and not written by me, but this recording of a BBC broadcast from 1965 (when I was a boy chorister in Canterbury Cathedral Choir), sounds as fresh as the air on a cold, dry, sunny winter day.
I've digitally remastered the original recording from an acetate - no vinyl was ever produced - to bring out the clearest sound of the performance, which took place in the Chapter House of the Cathedral, with Maria Korchinska on the harp.
Please share with me
how this piece makes you feel when you listen to it (comment below).
Thank you.
I thought the sounds of the boys voices had a certain muscularity which was refreshing – it’s not precious – Allan Wicks’s influence I suppose?.e.g.Deo gratias… has a certain rawness about it! But also shows Britten’s insight into what is really a distinctive sound world rarely explored these days by composers????. Choral Intonation in the high register, phrasing and ensemble pretty impressive. The balance with the harp well engineered.
I entered the choir school late 1965 and would not have sung in this as too young and not in the 36.
Who is the boy soloist?