IF Geraint Bowen ever decides to write his autobiography, I can suggest a title - Blow the Trumpet in the New Moon.
The words come from Psalm 80, but the connection to the director of music at Hereford Cathedral is that they are sung at a key moment in a superb anthem, Sing Joyfully, one of the gems on the cathedral choir's latest CD.
All 19 pieces on the disc were written by William Byrd, arguably the greatest English composer of the 16th century, and this collection illustrates the originality, variety and quality of his work.
There are anthems, motets and services, most sung in Latin, but some in English, and the character of the pieces range from the hauntingly sad Ne Irascaris to the lively Sing Joyfully.
They were recorded in the cathedral in January, and I wonder whether the wintry conditions affected the acoustics, or if the engineer changed his set-up from one day to the next, for some pieces are brighter and free from the reverberations which cloud the sound on others.
If you are sampling the disc, play the last track, Laudibus in Sanctis, first. It is a joyful motet, showing Byrd at his most creative.
Under Geraint Bowen's direction, the trebles soar effortlessly to their high notes and the words are heard more distinctly than on some of the other tracks. Indeed, the trebles are the glory of the current choir, though sometimes their extra numbers make it hard work for the lay clerks singing the lower parts to hold the balance.
But overall, on this showing the cathedral choir has every reason to blow its own trumpet in the new moon.
Frank Page
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