Reviewed by Steven Whitehead

The strengths of this disc are also its weakness. The Chapel Choir of University College, Durham gives us three Evensongs with a musical emphasis on the Tudor period using settings by Tallis and Gibbons. Individually, all the settings are excellent but this reviewer found listening to all 70 minutes in one sitting hard going, as they sound too similar. The easy answer is, of course, to listen to one service a day or to dip into the whole as the mood takes you. For the record, the Choir sings well although sometimes sounding a little shrill in the top notes, where sopranos rather than boy trebles are used. The recordings were made in two chapels: the unaccompanied music in the Norman chapel and the hymns and Psalms in the Tunstall Chapel where David Jackson plays the organ. As a resource for choir directors this could be a useful tool and for those who cannot get to Evensong but would still like to listen it may be a Godsend. However, those who want to be entertained by choral singing may wish to look elsewhere, which begs several questions about the purpose of recorded worship. 

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

Interested in reviewing music? Find out more here.