Polyphony, Stephen Layton - 'At Twilight': Choral music by Percy Grainger and Edvard Grieg (1995) Reissue 2006

The pairing of the Australian-British-American Percy Grainger, whose brief works drew heavily on the folk songs of those countries, with the hefty late Romanticism of Norway's Edvard Grieg, seems odd at first. But the two met and spent considerable time together in the months before Grieg's death in 1907, and Grainger later championed the Four Psalms, Op. 74, of Grieg heard here, and translated their texts from Norwegian into English (that's the version included here). The disc mostly consists of Grainger, whose music resembles neither the nationalism of the late nineteenth century nor the pastoralism of Vaughan Williams. Most of the works on this disc are choral elaborations of folk songs, plus a few works in a similar vein setting quasi-folk poems, by the likes of Kipling or Robert Burns. The dimensions of Grainger's work are modest, but what he was attempting to do was build up imposing musical spaces out of folk songs – adding chromaticism, extending lines, setting groups of singers against each other. There's a certain sameness to these settings, but there are a few surprises – hear the whistled descant in Ye banks and braes o' bonnie Doon (track 16). The results somewhat resemble what the great American arrangers of spirituals might have come up with had they started with raw materials from the British Isles – and this is either fascinating or over-precious, depending on one's point of view. Perhaps the most interesting pieces are a few in which Grainger, who had very catholic musical interests, did actually turn to American songs – Shenandoah, and the African-American sea chantey Dollar and a Half a Day, which sounds, right down to its use of a racial epithet, as though it might have served as the model for "Ol' Man River." The five works by Grieg come in the middle of the disc; four are based on Norwegian folk hymns, and they make a convincing middle act for this group of unusual manifestations of the musical-national idea. The major weakness of this reissue disc is the sound. It is no doubt easy for Polyphony, a sweet-sounding and very precise choir, to choose sonic environments that show off its perfect blend, and in the sacred Grieg works the formal, rich space of London's Church of St. John-at-Hackney serves the group well. For the Grainger, the church is all wrong – it drains the texts of their impact, swallows up the sound of the otherwise able soloists, and generally introduces an unfortunate emotional distance into works that were youthful, original, and a bit impetuous. Nevertheless, this is an offbeat program that will appeal to lovers of choral music, Grainger, the musical scene at the turn of the nineteenth century to the twentieth, or any combination of these.

Review by James Manheim, Allmusic.com

This is a welcome reissue of a disc that was previously available at full price as CDA66793.

It was a good idea to couple vocal music by these two composers. Meurig Bowen points out in an excellent booklet note that the two composers met in 1906 and though Grieg died not long afterwards, in the relatively short time between their meeting and Grieg’s death “a remarkable friendship and artistic affinity was struck up”. Taking the linkage one step further, this release intelligently juxtaposes a good deal of music by both composers that has its roots in folk music.

Grieg’s Four Psalms are not, perhaps, as well known as they might be, at least not outside Scandinavia – I can’t recall hearing them before. These are, in fact, his last completed compositions and are based on old Norwegian church melodies. They make an interesting set, the more so when they are as well sung as here. David Wilson-Johnson contributes excellent solos and Stephen Layton directs fine, committed performances. These pieces make an admirable foil for the secular Grainger settings. I have known – and loved – Grieg’s Ave, maris stella for years. It’s a little jewel but it’s not an easy piece to sing – as I’ve found out. Polyphony make it sound easy, however, in a rapt performance. I fully agree with Meurig Bowen’s suggestion that the piece is reminiscent of Bruckner’s Latin motets.

Works by Grainger occupy the lion’s share of the disc and one thing that’s striking is that although all the pieces are short – the longest lasts only just over four minutes – they display a wide musical range. Many of them are arrangements, rather than original compositions, and very skilful and sympathetic they are. The three Sea-Chanty (sic) settings (tracks 2 – 4) are scored for male voices alone. As Meurig Bowen comments they “benefit from a ravishing sense of spatial sonority”. David Wilson-Johnson is a splendid soloist in all three pieces – and Paul Agnew is equally good in Dollar and a half a day. The three pieces are marvellously done.

I also enjoyed several of the folksong arrangements, particularly the lovely Near Woodstock Town and the sprightly The Gypsy's Wedding Day. The latter was one of a number of folksongs that Grainger collected on expeditions to Lincolnshire in 1905 and 1906. His most celebrated ‘catch’ from these trips was, of course, Brigg Fair. In this performance the plangent tenor solo is splendidly taken by James Gilchrist.

Not all Grainger’s folksong settings were of English songs. There are a couple here from Sweden, including a wordless setting, Dalvisa. Scotland is represented, tellingly, by a fine setting of Burns’s Ye banks and braes and by Mo nighean dubh. The title of this song translates as ‘My dark-haired maiden’. It’s aptly described in the notes as tender and nostalgic. I loved the exquisite, touching performance that Layton and his choir deliver. The concluding piece, which gives the album its title, is one of the original compositions. It’s a gorgeous piece. It’s sung ravishingly with another fine solo, taken this time by Andrew Carwood.

In all honesty there isn’t a performance on the whole disc that is less than first class. Tuning, balance, clarity and diction are all excellent and Layton and his singers serve both composers admirably. The recording is very good indeed, allowing just the right amount of resonance but never sacrificing clarity for atmosphere. With excellent notes and full texts, the presentation is up to the usual high standards of the Hyperion stable.

I thoroughly enjoyed this disc and I hope that many other collectors will derive equal pleasure from it.

Review by John Quinn, MusicWeb-International.com

Exact Audio Copy V1.1 from 23. June 2015

EAC extraction logfile from 27. August 2016, 2:58

Polyphony, Stephen Layton / Grainger & Grieg - Choral Music

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==== Log checksum 7FBBD2BABFC253FDD9B173B43E9455FBBD60D641A2065EBAA180CD6E0F90E830 ====

foobar2000 1.2 / Dynamic Range Meter 1.1.1
log date: 2016-10-04 13:46:32

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Analyzed: Polyphony, Stephen Layton / Grainger & Grieg - Choral Music
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DR Peak RMS Duration Track
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DR14 -2.80 dB -26.28 dB 3:47 01-Percy Grainger: Irish Tune from County Derry
DR13 -7.48 dB -26.85 dB 3:37 02-Percy Grainger: Dollar and a Half a Day
DR12 -5.66 dB -25.66 dB 1:51 03-Percy Grainger: Shenandoah
DR13 -10.45 dB -29.69 dB 1:32 04-Percy Grainger: Stormy
DR13 -5.74 dB -27.09 dB 1:59 05-Percy Grainger: The Gypsy's Wedding Day
DR16 -7.02 dB -30.36 dB 2:58 06-Percy Grainger: Brigg Fair
DR16 -7.15 dB -30.90 dB 4:56 07-Percy Grainger: Mo nighean dubh
DR14 -9.00 dB -31.19 dB 2:00 08-Percy Grainger: O Mistress Mine
DR16 -1.53 dB -25.20 dB 5:24 09-Edvard Grieg: Four Psalms, Op.74 - How fair is Thy face
DR16 -0.46 dB -22.64 dB 6:22 10-Edvard Grieg: Four Psalms, Op.74 - God's Son hath set me free
DR14 -10.62 dB -30.86 dB 7:22 11-Edvard Grieg: Four Psalms, Op.74 - Jesus Christ our Lord is risen
DR16 -1.22 dB -23.75 dB 5:44 12-Edvard Grieg: Four Psalms, Op.74 - In heav'n above
DR14 -3.26 dB -26.05 dB 3:44 13-Edvard Grieg: Ave, maris stella
DR14 -6.81 dB -28.03 dB 3:35 14-Percy Grainger: Soldier, soldier
DR14 -6.54 dB -27.56 dB 2:40 15-Percy Grainger: Mary Thomson
DR15 -7.19 dB -28.95 dB 2:55 16-Percy Grainger: Ye banks and braes
DR11 -21.85 dB -39.18 dB 1:05 17-Percy Grainger: Dalvisa
DR11 -8.98 dB -27.65 dB 2:07 18-Percy Grainger: Australian Up-Country song
DR14 -7.41 dB -30.25 dB 2:40 19-Percy Grainger: Near Woodstock Town
DR13 -5.28 dB -27.29 dB 1:52 20-Percy Grainger: The Sussex Mummers' Carol
DR15 -7.11 dB -28.19 dB 2:44 21-Percy Grainger: A Song of Vдrmeland
DR16 -1.86 dB -24.36 dB 4:19 22-Percy Grainger: At Twilight
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Number of tracks: 22
Official DR value: DR14

Samplerate: 44100 Hz
Channels: 2
Bits per sample: 16
Bitrate: 448 kbps
Codec: FLAC
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