LOOKING FORWARD, LOOKING BACK

LOOKING FORWARD, LOOKING BACK

Writtle Singers at All Saints’ Church

11.11.17

Unaccompanied songs of anticipation, grief and regret in this beautifully crafted sequence of music and readings.

The Singers began with Sterndale Bennett’s 1846 setting of Marlowe’s Come Live With Me, and ended with the equally upbeat Swansea Town, by Gustav Holst.

The Thaxted composer was also represented by a polished performance of his Five Part Songs – the first, Dream Tryst, could easily have been mistaken for Sullivan [not represented this time …].

Finzi’s spare settings of Elegies by Scots poet William Drummond were followed by Maxwell Davies’s beautiful Lullabye for Lucy. Tavener’s poignant Song for Athene was superbly sung; a selection of Parry’s Songs of Farewell included Campion’s Never Weather-beaten Sail and Vaughan’s My Soul, There is a Country.

The only non-British, non-English work was Whitacre’s hauntingly beautiful Lux Aurumque.

The readings, by Martyn Richards, included Great War poems written by women – Aelfrida Tillyard’s rationing rhyme of 1916 a parody of the Marlowe – as well as Carol Ann Duffy’s Last Post, written to mark the death in 2009 of the last of the Tommies who fought in that war.

The Writtle Singers were conducted, and the pieces were introduced by Christine Gwynn, who can now look back on twenty years at the helm. The future looks bright, too, with no fewer than six new voices in the ranks this time out. This is, alas, my last review of this excellent village choir. I can look back even further to less certain times, and I look forward to hearing many more of these carefully curated concerts in All Saints’.

Their next is the always popular Carols by Candlelight on Wednesday December 13.

Last Post

In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,
He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.

If poetry could tell it backwards, true, begin
that moment shrapnel scythed you to the stinking mud…
but you get up, amazed, watch bled bad blood
run upwards from the slime into its wounds;
see lines and lines of British boys rewind
back to their trenches, kiss the photographs from home-
mothers, sweethearts, sisters, younger brothers
not entering the story now
to die and die and die.
Dulce- No- Decorum- No- Pro patria mori.
You walk away.

You walk away; drop your gun (fixed bayonet)
like all your mates do too-
Harry, Tommy, Wilfred, Edward, Bert-
and light a cigarette.
There's coffee in the square,
warm French bread
and all those thousands dead
are shaking dried mud from their hair
and queuing up for home. Freshly alive,
a lad plays Tipperary to the crowd, released
from History; the glistening, healthy horses fit for heroes, kings.

You lean against a wall,
your several million lives still possible
and crammed with love, work, children, talent, English beer, good food.
You see the poet tuck away his pocket-book and smile.
If poetry could truly tell it backwards,
then it would.

TO THE FIELD OF STARS

Writtle Singers at All Saints' Church

20.11.16

The programming for this enterprising chamber choir has invariably been interesting and rewarding.

This concert, taking us from a damp Essex November to the heart of Spain, was affecting too, reminding us of a time when the church's rites alone held the keys to heaven, and pilgrimage was an obligation to which all aspired.

Luis de Victoria's Officium Defunctorum, based on the plainchant of the requiem mass, was given an atmospheric performance in the consecrated darkness of the church, the polyphony subtly underpinned by the cello of Alastair Morgan. The central Sanctus was especially moving.

The Singers, directed by Christine Gwynn, were joined by the cellist, and by Chris Brice and Nathan Gregory on a variety of bells, for Gabriel Jackson's To The Field Of Stars, commissioned to mark the 400^th anniversary of Victoria's death in 2011. Challenging for the choir, it blends ancient pilgrim hymns with settings of Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson – Miracles and Our Journey Has Advanced – as well as a prayer for travelling, a history lesson [spoken by bass Andrew Taylor] a murmured evocation of the stars, and at the last a glimpse of the glorious Basilica of Santiago, using an elaboration of the motet O Quam Gloriosum which opened the concert. 

An intriguing poetic reflection on pilgrimage and life's journeys, its elusive melodies and rich harmonies beautifully handled by the choir. Especially magical, suspending time for a moment, was the whispered litany of star names, decorated with tinkling bells and high cello melodies in a luminous evocation of Compostela, the Field of Stars.

Our journey had advanced —
Our feet were almost come
To that odd Fork in Being's Road —
Eternity — by Term —

Our pace took sudden awe —
Our feet — reluctant — led —
Before — were Cities — but Between —
The Forest of the Dead —

Retreat — was out of Hope —
Behind — a Sealed Route —
Eternity's White Flag — Before —
And God — at every Gate —

Emily Dickinson

pilgrim path photograph by Bishop Stephen Cotterell, who recently completed the Camino - his blog here

SOUNDS AND SWEET AIRS

SOUNDS  AND SWEET AIRS

Writtle Singers at All Saints' Church

16.07.16


Marking 400 years since Shakespeare's death, an enjoyably varied selection of choral works inspired by his words.
Beginning with a piece often heard on All Saints' aisle, Mendelssohn's Wedding March, in a witty, wordless arrangement by conductor Christine Gwynn.
More orchestral manoeuvres in Schubert's Sylvia, and plenty of opportunities to compare different settings of the same text: Come Away Death, for example, by way of Finland and New York, A Lover and His Lass from Shakespeare's time and our own – one of the Rutter Madrigals which ended the evening.
Even the Weird Sisters get a look in, their Double Double bubbling away in a dark, dramatic setting by Jaakko Mantyjarvi.
Local composers represented, too, with a richly traditional Winter Wind from Martin Taylor, and an inventive Sonnet 8 [Music to Hear] from Janet Wheeler, ending, sublimely, with a choral sigh.

SING FOR THE MORNING'S JOY

SING FOR THE MORNING'S JOY

Writtle Singers at All Saints Church

22.11.15

The title for this concert – and the first words we heard sung – is from Ursula Vaughan William's Hymn to St Cecilia, set by Herbert Howells. The hymn seemed ideally suited to the chamber choir, as was the same composer's Like As The Hart – a beautifully balanced sound.

November 22 is St Cecilia's Day – we heard the Britten/Auden Hymn here a couple of Novembers ago – and also the date of the first performance of Howells' “Take him, Earth, for cherishing”, a piece commissioned for the memorial service for John F Kennedy, assassinated exactly twelve months earlier. A dignified, deeply felt, expression of grief and loss, confidently tackled by the a cappella choir, augmented by the organist for the evening, Jonathan Dods, who gave us an agile Dialogue by Peter Hurford, as well as Howells' Master Tallis's Testament, a series of variations which grow in complexity and intensity, brilliantly performed on this modest instrument.

For the final work director Christine Gwynn chose Norman Caplin's Missa Omnium Sanctorum, a mass, lively and reverential by turns, written for All Saints' Margaret Street, with plenty of opportunity for solos and duets.

As ever, Writtle Singers excelled in celebration of the serendipitous and the lesser known, knowledgeably introduced and convincingly performed.

photograph of All Saints' St Margaret's Street by David Nicholls

WOMEN OF NOTE

WOMEN OF NOTE

Writtle Singers at All Saints' Church

18.07.15

Celebrating 100 years of the Women's Institute, this concert combined music by women composers [and others] with readings charting the history of the movement and celebrating some notable local ladies.

Bessie Blount, Beryl Platt and Margaret Anstee were joined by Writtle-born soprano April Cantelo and antipodean Dame Nellie Melba, who made radio history on “Two Emma Toc Writtle”.

Fanny Mendelssohn, sister of the more feted Felix, began the programme with two songs; Lili Boulanger's Soir sur la Plaine was followed by two charming piano duets by Cécile Chaminade, played by the Singers' director Christine Gwynn and their accompanist Caroline Finlay.

Four living composers were represented – Judith Weir's Love Bade Me Welcome, a lovely Upon Your Heart from Canadian Eleanor Daley, two pieces by choral conductor Janette Ruocco: a beautifully delicate Psalm 23 and a Shakespeare setting, with solos [for Puck and Oberon ?]. Ruocco joined us in the audience, as did Cecilia McDowell whose moving motet of Remembrance, Ave Maris Stella, originally commissioned by Portsmouth Grammar School, closed the first half.

A stirring Jerusalem, a cheeky Jericho and a political anthem set to Men of Harlech. To finish, two songs about women – enjoyable arrangements of Miss Otis and The Girl from Ipanema.

Lovely settings, lovingly performed, with Writtle's usual attention to detail both in interpretation and in programming: a worthy tribute to the WI, five of whose members were on hand to read the extracts.

MUSIC'S MEASURE

MUSIC'S MEASURE

Writtle Singers at All Saints' Church

22.11.2014

craftsman's art and music's measure
for thy pleasure
all combine

[Francis Pott – Angel voices]

Words and music carefully blended to mark the feast day of St Cecilia, patron saint of music and musicians.

The words came from Auden, once a friend and collaborator of Britten, and from Susan Tomes, who combines her career as a pianist with writing.

Sometimes the musician and the wordsmith were one and the same: William Byrd, whose Mass for Four Voices we heard, also wrote passionately urging everyone to take up singing - “It doth strengthen all parts of the brest, & doth open the pipes ...”. And Kodaly, an equally impassioned defender of music, was represented by Evening Song and Ode to Music – exquisitely sung by Writtle Singers directed by Christine Gwynn, with a wonderful wordless accompaniment under the melody.

The main work was JS Bach's Jesu Meine Freunde, an unaccompanied motet sung with a pure tone, precisely but eloquently phrased, with real dramatic power in the defiant “Trotz!” chorus.

Pour out your presence, O delight, cascading
The falls of the knee and the weirs of the spine,
Our climate of silence and doubt invading

[WH Auden – from “The Composer”]

stained glass image from Ohio:

http://stmaryshillsboro.diosohio.org/ST-CECILIA-WINDOW.html

HISPANIC TREASURES

HISPANIC TREASURES

Writtle Singers at All Saints' Church

29.03.2014

Yair Avidor with theorbo

A glorious programme of music from the Golden Age in Spain and Portugal, and the Latin American liturgical works which drew their inspiration from it.

Beginning with the culture clash – Victoria from the Spanish counter-reformation followed by an anonymous piece performed, impressively, in the original Inca language.

It was the meeting and melding of these two traditions which spawned the rich legacy of South American Catholic settings. Padilla's Mass, written for the cathedral at Puebla in “Nueva Espana”, is one famous example, and it formed the backbone of the second part of this concert, enriched and illuminated by other works of the period, both choral and instrumental: a lovely performance of Serafin by Joan Cererols and a showy Improvisation on Follias.

Our enjoyment was immeasurably enhanced by players from the authentic instrument group the Amphion Consort – viols, lute, theorbo and an array of percussion.

The music, sung with an impeccable sense of style, and a feel for the idiom and the rhythms of this fascinating repertoire, also featured some secular pieces, including a sparkling sequence by Juan del Encina. The Singers were conducted by Christine Gwynn, who devised and introduced the programme.

CANDLELIT CHRISTMAS CONCERT

CANDLELIT CHRISTMAS CONCERT
Writtle Singers at All Saints' Church

15.12.13

Under the real candles in the real chandelier, this enterprising chamber choir brought us seasonal delights from all over the world, as well as an opportunity to join their voices in perennial favourites like Holst's Rossetti setting, In The Bleak Midwinter.

Christine Gwynn conducted a bright, positive Adam Lay Ybounden to set the mood, then gentler sounds from Norway [an exquisite setting by Ola Gjeilo of A Spotless Rose], from the Basque Country [Javier Busto's Night Songs] and from Venezuela [the lovely Nino Lindo, beautifully sung].

My favourite pairing: The Huron Carol from Canada, and the Argentine For A World Without Faith, with its clever rhythmic effects. Both using the choral forces with inspired inventiveness.

The accompanist, Edward Wellman, played Blatchly's three charming Versets on Away In A Manger, after two brave youngsters joined the Singers for the Willcocks arrangement of the familiar carol.

And Martyn Richards' readings this year included Peter Howard's poem in which an ancient shepherd reminisces …

They say I'm old, that I should give up my flock,
stay back with the women in the warm.
They say the cold is bad for me, and hiking

over hills to find a lost sheep, sitting up
all night to nurse a lamb are young men's jobs.
When I tell my story, I see glances and disbelief.

Yet none would dare deny my flock's
the best-kept in the region, my memory
still sharp as winter wind. It was a night

much like this. We huddled round the fire,
and passed a cup for warmth. I was youngest.
Now the rest are gone, so when I die

there'll be no one to remember.
Each of us heard a voice that gave commands.
(Afterwards, we couldn't recall

what words were said, but all agreed
we had been instructed to go somewhere,
for a reason we didn't understand.)

While it spoke, Winter seemed
to withdraw, and it was Spring
(though still cold, dark, and wind blowing bitterly)

When the voice stopped, we didn't like to catch
our neighbour's eye: each thought
perhaps he should keep this to himself.

But there was a burst of light, that blinded us
as sunlight does when you
come out of a dark cave into the morning.

We had no doubt then, packed up our things,
and went, without much talking,
to where we had been directed.

At length, we stood, and saw. Just for a moment
it occurred to me that it was me that had been chosen
out of the whole world. Me, to stand here

and be a witness. Not kings, or lords or the village mayor,
but me. A warmth crept up like an August breeze,
or a woollen coat, or more like long thin fingers

trying to curl round me and drag me away.
Then it was gone, and I knew my thought
had been wrong, despicable. That is why

I'll tend my sheep, welcome the bitterest nights,
tell my story to anyone with half an ear,
and one day I will have atoned.

Writtle Singers are a friendly, ambitious group of musicians who care about what they do, and are ready for any challenge. In my experience, their concerts are invariably interesting, professionally performed and great fun.

In 2014 they will be looking to expand their ranks. If you are a musician [not necessarily a singer] who might enjoy working with them, doing something a little bit different, why not give them a try. You can contact them on info@writtlesingers.org or look at their Facebook page

https://www.facebook.com/groups/writtlesingers/

Remember, choral singing brings physical, psychological and social benefits hard to achieve by most other routes.

And it keeps dementia at bay …

http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/singing-happy1.htm

BLESSED CECILIA

BLESSED CECILIA

Writtle Singers at the Parish Church

09.11.13

The Writtle Singers celebrated Britten's 100^th – and the feast of St Cecilia – with a concert which paired him up with Henry Purcell, his great predecessor and artistic influence. Thou knowest, Lord, the secrets of our hearts, written for the funeral of Queen Mary, made an atmospheric opening to the second half, sung unaccompanied behind the audience at the west end of the darkened church.

A Jubilate from each man – Britten's with an intricate organ part [Laurence Lyndon-Jones], Purcell's with some excellent solos from within the choir, including Gavin Oddy's authentic alto.

And two Britten Hymns – the Hymn to St Cecilia, words by W H Auden: “appear and inspire”, and the Hymn to the Virgin, the choir divided east and west.

Sharing the continuo with Lyndon-Jones was cellist Alastair Morgan, who also gave, from memory, a stylish performance of Britten's first cello suite; not easy listening, and a huge technical and interpretative challenge for the performer. Morgan brought out the colourful heart of the music, especially in the dreamy Lento and the dramatic Serenata.

This satisfying programme, sung with confident conviction under Christine Gwynn, concluded with the Choral Dances from Gloriana, an opera written sixty years ago for the Coronation.

THE PAINTER'S EYE

THE PAINTER'S EYE

Writtle Singers at the Parish Church

13.07.13

This seriously enjoyable summer concert took its title from a sequence by Edinburgh composer Tom Cunningham to verses by Alexander McCall Smith. Philosophical musings on Ghirlandaio and Bruegel surrounded whimsical Waldteufelry for the one Scots painting, Raeburn's Skating Minister.

As ever, the evening was carefully curated round this theme, with work by the Writtle Art Group on display in the church. So we heard depictions of birds, dogs and flowers – Britten's Five Flower Songs, and Flora from an earlier East Anglian composer, John Wilbye.

Boats featured too: Debussy En Bateau, and, to conclude, Cecilia McDowall's intriguing Shipping Forecast, preceded by, what else, Binge's soothing Sailing By.

This versatile chamber choir relished the challenge of barking like Cerberus, babbling for Babel, and putting on speed to navigate the coastal waters off Newfoundland. The voices blended superbly in favourites like The Silver Swan and The Blue Bird, and, especially in the Cunningham, their enunciation enabled us to enjoy the poetry as well as the music.

The choir's director, Christine Gwynn, joined accompanist Caroline Finlay at the piano for a couple of Bizet children's games, and for a few of Francaix's interpretations of Renoir portraits of children, angelic, impressionistic little girls, but also a readily recognizable painful piano practice.

PARIS IN THE SPRING

PARIS IN THE SPRING

Writtle Singers in All Saints Church

17.03.13

In a typically meticulous programme, the Writtle Singers took us on an organ-stop tour of Paris churches.

Saint-Sulpice for Marcel Dupré, whose exquisite O Salutaris began the concert; round the corner to Sainte-Clotilde, and César Franck's familiar Panis Angelicus, with an impressive contribution from the men's voices. Still on the Left Bank, Saint Etienne du Mont for four plainsong motets by Duruflé, perhaps closest to the sound of the average French church choir.

Over the Seine to Notre Dame, for a miniature lullaby for the organ by Louis Vierne, played by the Singers' accompanist Simon Harvey. On Writtle's modest Johnson instrument, standing in this evening for nobler organs, he also gave us an arrangement of Fauré's Pavane. The same composer's Messe Basse, for upper voices, was given a touching, simple reading to end the first half.

After the interval [a very acceptable Corbières] some secular music – a light music madrigal from Fauré, a wicked gossip song from the Renaissance, and two charming traditional songs beautifully delivered by Elizabeth Tiplin. This mix of sacred and profane was an apt introduction to the Mass in G of Francis Poulenc, a challenging work sung unaccompanied, in a performance capably shaped by Christine Gwynn's direction, with a lively Gloria, richly textured Hosannas and an ethereal Agnus Dei to end.

CAROLS BY CANDLELIGHT

CAROLS BY CANDLELIGHT

Writtle Singers in All Saints' Church

16.12.2012

Glory and lowliness – the two themes of this beautifully presented concert – come together in Ted Hughes' powerful poem Minstrel's Song [read by Martyn Richards]. It was followed by a brief but brilliant Gloria, penned by Martin Shaw, a former organist at Writtle. A much older Gloria, by Robert Cowper, began the sequence, and a third, by Colchester composer Alan Bullard, ended it – Cantate Gloria, with its uplifting rhythmic drive.

In between, typically careful programming saw the one secular piece – Martin Taylor's Blow, Blow Thou Winter Wind, with its lovely Heigh-ho ending – leading into In The Bleak Midwinter; The Barn, a poem by Elizabeth Coatsworth, heralding an attractive arrangement of Silent Night, and the sublime simplicity of Tallis's O Nata Lux contrasted with the lively complexity of an old French carol, Célébrons La Naissance.

Some wonderful sounds in the candlelight from this ambitious chamber choir, directed by Christine Gwynn with Andrew Taylor as accompanist, as well as a chance to join in some old favourites before the mulled wine and mince pies.

Minstrel's Song

I've just had an astonishing dream as I lay in the straw.
I dreamed a star fell on to the straw beside me
And lay blazing. Then when I looked up
I saw a bull come flying through a sky of fire
And on its shoulders a huge silver woman
Holding the moon. And afterward there came
A donkey flying through that same burning heaven
And on its shoulders a colossal man
Holding the sun. Suddenly I awoke
And saw a bull and a donkey kneeling in the straw,
and the great moving shadows of a man and a woman—
I say they were a man and a woman but
I dare not say what I think they were. I did not dare to look.
I ran out here into the freezing world
Because I dared not look. Inside that shed.

A star is coming this way along the road.
If I were not standing upright, this would be a dream.
A star the shape of a sword of fire, point-downward,
Is floating along the road. And now it rises.
It is shaking fire on to the roofs and the gardens.
And now it rises above the animal shed
Where I slept 'til the dream woke me. And now
The star is standing over the animal shed.

Ted Hughes (1930–1998)

HORRORTORIO

HORRORTORIO and other eccentricities

Writtle Singers at All Saints' Church

14.07.12

A parasol over the pulpit for an ironical look at summer from the ever-inventive Writtle Singers. They trooped in, with their beachwear and their brochures, to Cliff's Summer Holiday, and whisked us off on Toch's Geographical Fugue, reprised at journey's end with Thurrock substituted for Titicaca, and a detour to the Mountains of Chelmsford. These peaks form part of The Shifty Land, Six Nasty Songs about Essex, by local writers Martin Taylor and David Lee: stylishly sung, and wonderfully cynical – I loved the Southend Road and the dark domestic tragedy of Reg's Frinton retirement.

Along the way, neatly shoe-horned into the concept, attractive arrangements of Cats and G&S.

And then the invites arrived – the interval bracketed by Swinglish Mozart and Mendelssohn marriage music – for the weird wedding of Dracula's daughter – superbly sung and acted by Jenny Haxell – and the Son of Frankenstein: Joseph Horovitz's Handelian spoof, with a nod to Kipling, Sullivan and Cage. The key here is deadpan delivery, and the Singers, under Christine Gwynn with Caroline Finlay at the piano, played it for all it was worth. Elizabeth Tiplin sang the Poe narrator role, with Gavin Oddy hard to forget as the Dowager Duchess – all the frocks and the fascinators followed a black and red theme. A creative hand had tweaked this work, too, with an Olympic moment and an encore for Private Willis [Peter Quintrell] serenading the two-headed Coalition freak offspring of Miss D and Martin Mason's Young Frankenstein.

ST JOHN PASSION

ST JOHN PASSION

The Writtle Singers at St John's, Moulsham

31.03.12

Heralding Holy Week in the most appropriate way possible, the Writtle Singers excelled themselves in this St John at St John's.

The generous Victorian acoustic presented this smallish group, and their soloists, to advantage. The choir filled the space with the impressive opening Chorus, and the closing Chorale "When My Last End Is Come" was sung with heart-rending intensity. They were equally effective as the fickle mob in the dramatic moments of the Passion story ["Let Us Not Divide It"].

Bene't Coldstream was the Evangelist, telling the story with conviction from the pulpit, and other soloists included Kara Florish, whose bright soprano rang true and clear over the softer tones of the flute, Jenny Haxell, who brought impressive depth of feeling to "O Heart Melt In Weeping", and Tom Kennedy, bass, [a lovely "Come Ponder, O My Soul"] who was also a forceful Pilate. Jesus was sung with rich sincerity by Peter Quintrell.

The Passion was accompanied by the Jericho Ensemble, led by Elizabeth Porter, and conducted by Christine Gwynn.

RECOLLECTIONS Writtle Singers

RECOLLECTIONS

Writtle Singers in All Saints Church

06.11.11

“The Fantasticks” now largely forgotten, save for the opening number, Try to Remember.

And this was the nostalgic curtain-raiser, in a gorgeous a cappella setting, for an evening of “Recollection” from the Writtle Singers, conducted by Christine Gwynn with Ed Wellman at the piano and the organ. Their sound has a remarkable clarity, with carefully shaped phrasing and dynamics.

It wasn't the only piece of light music – we also had Autumn Leaves, Lloyd Webber's Memory, the Berkeley Square Nightingale [with a nice period solo from Peter Quintrell], and to end a cheeky, Swinglish Lullaby of Birdland.

Two Renaissance versions of Jesu, Dulci Memoria, followed by a contemporary six-part setting, simple and accessible, by Paul Drayton. Stanford, Vaughan Williams and Elgar represented the late Romantic era, Peter Aston the present day [well, 1976].

Jenny Haxell was soloist in Cole Porter, and also in the glorious Dido's Lament, of Purcell, preceded by Peter Stickland's imagined account of the genesis of Nahum Tate's “Remember Me” text.

Martyn Richards' other readings included Laurie Lee's earliest memory, George Orwell's penniless time in Paris, and Marcel Proust's miraculous madeleine.

RADIANCE

Music of Light – The Writtle Singers at All Saints' Church

12.03.11

This satisfyingly ambitious programme was one of the Singers' best.

It began with plainsong – a form older than the building in which we were listening – with the choir processing to the four corners of the nave. Here they gave an impressive performance, from memory, of the challenging twenty-first century motet O lux beata Trinitas, a setting of words by St Ambrose.

James McMillan's Missa Brevis was the central work. Again, beautifully delivered, especially in the closing Agnus Dei, with its finely grained Miserere and its movingly humble Dona Nobis Pacem.

There was Bach, too, Brewer and Bairstow, whose I Sat Down Under His Shadow had a lovely diminuendo at the end.

Simon Harvey was at the organ – as soloist he gave Fireworks by Handel, and joined the Singers' inspirational director at the piano for a light-hearted duet from Fauré's Dolly Suite.

Secular music to finish, though in the lovely Saint-Saens Calme des Nuits it was really only the words that were secular. Not so in the delicious luminescent lollipops - On the Sunny Side of the Street and I'm Beginning to See the Light - sung with the same passion, the same precision, as the Holst, the Wood or the Rutter.