SRCD.363 STEREO DDD

MICHAEL HURD (1928- 2006) Michael Hurd Choral Music Volume 1 Choral Music Volume 1 1 (1987) SATB/organ 7’54” 2 (1987) SATB 6’07” (1996) SATB 9’55” 3 I Antiphon 1’03” 4 II The Pulley 3’13” 5 III Vertue 2’47” 6 IV The Call 1’05” 7 V Exultation 1’47” 8 (1987) SATB/organ 3’00” (1994) SATB 20’14” 9 I Will you Come? 2’00” Vasari Singers 10 II An Old Song 3’12” 11 III Two Pewits 2’06” Jeremy Backhouse, conductor 12 IV Out in the Dark 3’07” 13 V The Dark Forest 2’28” 14 VI Lights Out 4’28” 15 VII Cock-Crow 0’54” 16 VIII The Trumpet 1’59” Vasari Singers Jeremy Backhouse, conductor

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20 SRCD.363 SRCD.363 1 Michael Hurd was born in Gloucester on 19 December 1928, the son of a self- (1966) SSA/organ 11’14” employed cabinetmaker and upholsterer. His early education took place at Crypt 17 I Kyrie eleison 1’39” Grammar School in Gloucester. National Service with the Intelligence Corps involved 18 II Gloria in excelsis Deo 3’17” a posting to Vienna, where he developed a burgeoning passion for opera. He studied 19 III Sanctus 1’35” at Pembroke College, Oxford (1950-53) with Sir Thomas Armstrong and Dr Bernard 20 IV Benedictus 1’40” Rose and became President of the University Music Society. In addition, he took 21 V Agnus Dei 3’03” composition lessons from , whose Gallic sensibility may be said to have (1980) SATB 5’39” influenced Hurd’s own musical language, not least in the attractive and witty Concerto 22 I Captivity 2’34” da Camera for oboe and small orchestra (1979), which he described in his programme 23 II Rejection 1’03” note as a homage to Poulenc’s ‘particular genius’. 24 III Escape 2’02” Following a six-year term (1953-59) as Professor of Music Theory at the Royal Marines (1987) SATB 3’38” School of Music in Deal, he settled in West Liss, Hampshire, dedicating the rest of his 25 I Sweet Suffolk Owl 1’07” life to a variety of musical pursuits - composing, writing, conducting, lecturing and 26 II Barn Owl 1’45” broadcasting. He shared with a desire to be involved in his local 27 III The Owl 0’46” community by taking part actively in music-making. His involvement as conductor, 28 (1966) SATB/organ 2’53” player and singer in events staged within his native Hampshire, and particularly his long association with the Farnham and Festivals, was an affirmation of his Total playing time strongly-held belief in the composer as a useful member of society. He travelled widely and was a frequent visitor to Australia where he helped to found the Port Fairy Music Festival which staged the premieres of his last two operas. He died in Petersfield, Other works by MICHAEL HURD available on Lyrita Hampshire on 8 August 2006, at the age of 78. The Aspern Papers & The Night of the Wedding Michael Hurd’s books reflect a deep and passionate interest in early twentieth-century Owen Gilhooly, Pippa Goss, Clare McCaldin, Louise Winter, Nicholas Morton, Matthew Buswell, Garry Humphreys, Rhian Lois, British music and he wrote seminal studies of Rutland Boughton1 and Ivor Gurney2 as Ulster Orchestra, Simon Lepper, George Vass, Ronald Corp………..…………..SRCD.2350 well as concise biographical portraits of Britten, Elgar, Vaughan Williams and Tippett. He possessed a gift for addressing complex issues with clarity and incisiveness, something which served him well in a series of Young Person’s Guides to concerts, opera, Cover image: Pewits in flight, istockphoto.com 1 (1962), London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, updated as Producer: Adrian Peacock (1993). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Engineers: Dave Rowell & Will Brown 2 (1978), Oxford: Oxford University Press; reprinted in paperback by Faber and Faber Recorded at the Church of St Jude-on-the-Hill, Hampstead Garden, London. in 2008. 12-14 February 2016 2 SRCD.363 SRCD.363 19 VASARI SINGERS, founded over 30 years ago under Jeremy Backhouse, is among the English music and sailors’ and soldiers’ songs. Among his other publications is a leading chamber choirs in Britain, performing music ranging from Renaissance to percipient introductory portrait of ‘The Composer’, a figure unfashionably but contemporary with passion and sensitivity, to exacting standards and considerable acclaim. accurately described as ‘the most important person in music’,3 and a vivid account of The choir performs regularly at major concert venues and other locations in London and the early history of the music publishing firm Novello & Company,4 with whom he had elsewhere, including Europe. Cathedral residencies are an important part of the choir’s year, a long-standing association. His last book, co-edited with Howard Ferguson, presents with regular visits to Canterbury and other cities performing the music for services and other correspondence between the latter and and amounts to a dual-biography occasions. New music is central to the choir’s activities, and since 2000 Vasari has of the two featured composers.5 commissioned over 25 works from British composers. The choir also has an extensive discography, including a number of first recordings. UK Registered Charity No. 1071299 Hurd’s love of literature and the human voice illuminated a natural talent for word- www.vasarisingers.org setting. Hence his catalogue is dominated by choral and vocal works, including operas, Sopranos: Sarah Cumbers, Harriet Gritton, Liz Isherwood, Liz Limb, Rosalind Newis, ‘pop’ cantatas, songs and anthems. He was especially noted for his many scores for Felicity Rice, Rachel Robinson, Julia Smith, Jocelyn Somerville, Jess Stansfield, Susan Waton children and amateurs, and his care to ensure that the material he wrote was within the Altos: Elizabeth Atkinson, Alison Benton, Alex Brougham, Jane Elliott, Julia Field, Stephanie reach of non-professional singers and accompanists accords with his conviction that May, Sarah Mistry, Julia Ridout composers should adopt a practical approach to their craft. Tenors: Giles Gabriel, Paul Robertson, Jon Scott His music for the stage consists of a children’s nautical opera Little Billy (1964); the Basses: Imants Auzins, Malcolm Field, John Hunt, Keith Long, Paul Newis, Richard ‘operatic entertainment for children’ Mr. Punch (1970; a one-act chamber opera The Semmens, Charles Talbot, Matthew Wood Widow of Ephesus (1971); the three-act opera The Aspern Papers (1995) and the one-act chamber opera The Night of the Wedding (1998).6 Numerous scores written for radio, theatre and television include a wide-ranging series of projects undertaken with director comprising the 1969 film Flickcorna; Play Things (1980), a theatre production designed by Andy Warhol and premiered in the English Theatre, Vienna; the hard-hitting 1982 feature film Scrubbers, set in a closed women’s borstal and Sunday Pursuit (1990), a short film for television starring Denholm Elliott and Rita Tushingham. A series of popular cantatas began with the highly successful Jonah-Man Jazz (1966) and continued with Swingin’ Samson (1973), Hip Hip Horatio (1974), Rooster Rag (1975), Adam-in-Eden (1981), Captain Coram’s Kids (1988), Prodigal (1989, rev. 1991) and Pop Pied Piper (1998). In several of these tuneful and witty pieces for children’s

3 (1968), London: Oxford University Press. 4 (1981), London: Granada Publishing Ltd. 5 (2001), Woodbridge: Boydell Press. oto: Matt Pereira Matt oto: 6 and are available on a 2-CD Lyrita set (SRCD.2350). Ph 18 SRCD.363 SRCD.363 3 groups, Hurd uses a narrator and this device was also employed in his ‘music-hall guide JEREMY BACKHOUSE is one of Britain’s to Victorian living’, Mrs. Beeton’s Book (1982), whose ‘every detail of good advice’ is leading conductors of amateur choirs. He taken from the first edition (1861) of Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management, to began his musical career in Canterbury humorous effect. Cathedral where he was Senior Chorister. Jeremy has been the sole conductor of the His skilful treatment of texts is also evident in more serious works and enriches such Vasari Singers since its inception in 1980. Since diverse settings as Shore Leave, five songs for baritone and strings (1967), performed at winning the prestigious Sainsbury’s Choir of the 1998 Gloucester Three Choirs Festival; The Phoenix and the Turtle (words by the Year competition in 1988, the Vasari Shakespeare), for mezzo-soprano, choir, timpani and strings (1974), and the choral Singers have performed regularly in cathedrals symphony Shepherd’s Calendar (words by John Clare), for baritone solo, chorus and and concert halls throughout the UK and orchestra (1975), commissioned by the Southampton Choral Society. abroad, and have a substantial discography. Jeremy is totally committed to contemporary Among a select number of non-vocal works may be mentioned the Sinfonia Concertante music and, with Vasari, he has commissioned for violin and strings (1968, rev. 1973); Overture to an Unwritten Comedy (1970, rev. over 20 new works, most recently Jonathan 1979); Harlequin Suite, for brass quintet (1971, rev. 1983); Dance Diversions (1972); Rathbone’s ‘Under the Shadow of His Wing’ Bagatelles, for solo piano (1986); Five Preludes, for solo piano (1989); Sonata for violin which the choir recorded for its VasariMedia in and piano (1989), and Three-Piece Suite, written in 2004 for recorder-player John 2015. Turner. The last of these, which exists in versions with piano- , string quartet- and In 1995 Jeremy became Music Director of the

string orchestra-accompaniment, turned out to be the composer’s final piece, Vivace Chorus and conducted a thrilling Mills Ash oto: characteristically droll and effective. performance of Mahler’s “Symphony of a Ph Thousand” (2011) and Verdi’s (2014) in the with the Royal Lyrical and lucid, Michael Hurd’s music is directly communicative. His relaxed and Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2017, he will conduct the Vivace Chorus and the Philharmonia approachable style is sufficiently versatile to tap emotional depths, as in the poetic Largo Orchestra in the in a programme of Brahms (Ein deutsches Requiem) and of the flute/recorder sonatina (1964, rev. 2002), the wistful setting of John Clare’s poem the world premiere of their own commission from Francis Pott. ‘O Love is so deceiving’ from The Shepherd’s Calendar and the beautiful central In 2009 Jeremy was appointed Music Director of the Salisbury Community Choir, a 180- passacaglia from the Sinfonia Concertante. Hurd offered this typically balanced and strong non-auditioned choir. For its 21st Birthday in 2013, it commissioned and gave the first perceptive assessment of his own creative output: ‘my music is accessible and, in the performance in Salisbury Cathedral, of Will Todd’s A City Garden, and later in Lincoln traditional sense, very tuneful. It is, however, not entirely predictable: certain rhythmic (2014) and Guildford (2015) cathedrals. 7 and harmonic subtleties lifting it, I hope, somewhat out of the ordinary’. Jeremy has also guest conducted the BBC Singers, the Brighton Festival Chorus, the Philharmonia Chorus, the London Chorus and many other leading British adult and youth 7 Michael Hurd in , eds. Brian Morton and Pamela Collins (1991), London: St James choirs. Press, p.431. 4 SRCD.363 SRCD.363 17 When merry milkmaids click the latch, These ‘rhythmic and harmonies subtleties’ are readily discernible in Hurd’s choral And rarely smells the new-mown hay, works. The sacred and secular examples presented here range from brief anthems to And the cock hath sung beneath the thatch substantial settings of his favourite poetry. They are all indicative of a desire to engage Twice or thrice his roundelay, Twice or thrice his roundelay; singers and listeners instantly and a natural aptitude for enhancing the text. Alone and warming his five wits, The white owl in the belfry sits. A Secular Anthem, for SATB choir and organ (1997) sets words from To Music: a Song Commissioned by the Beccles Music Festival, for performance Poem by Robert Herrick (1591-1674) and Musick’s Empire by Andrew Marvell (1621- in March 1987. 1678). The current setting is a revised and substantially rewritten version of a work for chorus and orchestra commissioned by the Hastings Philharmonic Choir and first 28. Praise Ye the Lord performed on 4 November 1978. The choral incarnation of the score was premiered in (f.p. October 1966; pub. 1966) Leeds by the St Peter's Singers, conductor Simon Lindley, on 28 June 1987. Additional Psalm 148, verses 1-5 minor revisions were made in 1997 when the work was being prepared for publication. Praise ye the Lord. A short introduction for organ introduces the three main elements of the anthem’s Praise ye the Lord from the heavens: praise him in the heights. material: a relaxed, fanfare-like motif; a lyrical, gently undulating phrase, and a lively Praise ye him, all his angels: praise ye him, all his hosts. linking episode in 6/8. Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise ye him, all ye stars of light. Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens. [Let them praise the name of the Lord:] Genesis, for SATB unaccompanied (1987) sets words by Geoffrey Hill (1932-2016), for he commanded, and they were created. using the unrevised text of the poem ‘Genesis’ from the collection For the Unfallen, [Alleluia.] published in 1959. Hurd’s setting is fluent and purposeful, with wide-ranging vocal Commissioned for the Choir of St Lawrence, Alton, to celebrate the rebuilding of the Organ. lines and subtly shifting harmonies. It was commissioned by St Peter's Singers, conductor Simon Lindley, and premiered on 28 June 1987 in Leeds Parish Church.

Five Spiritual Songs (1995) for SATB unaccompanied sets words by George Herbert (1593-1633). It was commissioned by Portsmouth Festival Choir, conductor Robert D'Cruze, in celebration of the choir’s 25th anniversary and first performed in Portsmouth Cathedral on 22 June 1996. Each of the five songs adopts a different tempo and explores a particular expressive trait. Hence, the opening ‘Antiphon’ is flowing and spirited; ‘The Pulley’ is spacious and hushed; ‘Vertue’, which follows without a break, is measured and serene; ‘The Call’ is moderately-paced and resolute, and ‘Exultation’ is fast and jubilant.

The anthem Rejoice With Us, for SATB and organ (1987) sets words by Revd Dr F. Pratt

16 SRCD.363 SRCD.363 5 Green (1903-2000). It was commissioned by Holy Trinity Church, Northwood for Upon my trouthe I sey yow feithfully, 25-27. A Parley of Owls That ye ben of my lyf and deeth the quene; (f.p. March 1987; pub. 1987) performance on Trinity Sunday, 1987. Rhythmic and fervent, the outer sections are For with my deeth the trouthe shal be sene. animated by flourishes spanning an octave, whilst the quiet central passage offers a brief Your eyen two wol slee me sodenly, 1. Sweet Suffolk Owl moment of repose. I may the beautè of hem not sustene, Thomas Vautor (fl. 1592-1619) So woundeth hit through-out my herte kene. Sweet Suffolk owl, so trimly dight Night Songs of Edward Thomas, for SATB unaccompanied (1990) was commissioned by 2. Rejection With feathers, like a lady bright; Norman Morris and The Reading Phoenix Choir with the assistance of funds from So hath your beautè fro your herte chaced Thou sing'st alone, sitting by night, ‘Te whit! Te whoo!’ Southern Arts. It was premiered at Newbury on 27 April 1991. In his ‘Composer’s Pitee, that me ne availeth not to pleyne; For Daunger halt your mercy in his cheyne. Note’ for the score, Hurd writes: ‘It is essential to study the poems first as poems in Thy note that forth so freely rolls Giltles my deeth thus han ye me purchaced; With shrill command the mouse controls; order to achieve an effective interpretation of the music - particularly in terms of the And sings a dirge for dying souls. phrasing’. These elegant and warmly expressive settings of Edward Thomas (1878- I sey yow sooth, me nedeth not to feyne; [So hath your beautè fro your herte chaced ‘Te whit! Te whoo!’ 1917) illustrate Hurd’s concern to allow the words to guide the music. Hence, the first Pitee, that me ne availeth not to pleyne.] 2. Barn Owl song, ‘Will you come?’ is punctuated with a variety of significant pauses, giving point to Anthony Rye (1904-1975) the entreaties of the text. The second song, ‘The sun set’, features consecutive bars in Allas! that nature hath in yow compassed different time signatures as the composer takes his cue from the natural rhythm of the So greet beautè, that no man may atteyne This is the old, immortal bird, To mercy, though he sterve for the peyne. Phantasmal through an age of night, words; it concludes with a quotation from the sea shanty The Maid of Amsterdam So hath your beautè fro your herte chaced Whose bitter travesties of tune, once heard (A-roving). Among various hushed and nocturnal songs in the cycle, the extended, Pitee, that me ne availeth not to pleyne; Faint ears affright. For Daunger halt your mercy in his cheyne. berceuse-like no.6, ‘I have come to the borders of sleep’ is perhaps the most affecting It is his instrument to startle flight due to its plain and straightforward treatment of Thomas’s poem Lights Out. After a 3. Escape In shrinking things afeared, succession of slow and measured settings, the energy and fervour of the last two songs, Sin I fro Love escaped am so fat, And, as he flies, silent and white and weird, performed continuously, brings some welcome vitality. I never thenk to ben in his prison lene; Kindles in them, who know their end has neared, Sin I am free, I counte him not a bene. Life’s last, intensest, light. Missa Brevis, for SSA and organ (1966) is dedicated to Lennox and Freda Berkeley. It He may answere, and seye this or that; Text reproduced with kind permission of Mr Gabriel Langlands. I do no fors, I speke right as I mene. was commissioned for performance at the Farnham Festival by members and parents 3. The Owl [Sin I fro Love escaped am so fat, of the Farnham Girls’ Choir, conductor Mary Joynes. The opening ‘Kyrie’, with its Alfred Lord Tennyson (1809-1892) I never thenk to ben in his prison lene.] melismatic lines, and the ardent closing ‘Agnus Dei’ both contain brief soprano solos When cats run home and light is come, and the writing throughout seeks to obtain the utmost variety of sound from its Love hath my name y-strike out of his sclat, And dew is cold upon the ground, upper-register voices. The central ‘Sanctus’ has an affecting simplicity and the delicacy And he is strike out of my bokes clene And the far-off stream is dumb, For ever-mo; ther is non other mene. And the whirring sail goes round, and fastidiousness of the entire score evokes the music of Lennox Berkeley, Hurd’s Sin I fro Love escaped am so fat, erstwhile mentor and the work’s co-dedicatee. And the whirring sail goes round; I never thenk to ben in his prison lene; Alone and warming his five wits, Sin I am free, I counte him not a bene. The white owl in the belfry sits. Merciles Beaute, three rondels for SATB unaccompanied (1980) sets texts by Geoffrey GLOSS: halt] holdeth. Sclat] slate 6 SRCD.363 SRCD.363 15 17-21. Missa Brevis Alas! Alas! That nature hath endowed you with so Chaucer. Hurd also provided a modern (pub. 1966) great a beauty! paraphrase (not used here), ‘for the benefit I Kyrie eleison Tormented and in pain, your mercy no man may of those who feel daunted by the problems II Gloria in excelsis deo attain. of pronouncing Chaucer's English’. It was III Sanctus So far hath beauty from your heart chased pity, written for Garrett O'Brien and the Exultate Nothing can avail me to complain. IV Benedictus Singers. The three songs follow each other V Agnus dei So far hath beauty from your heart chased pity, without a pause. Two slow and expansive For Lennox and Freda Berkeley. Nothing can avail me to complain. treatments, ‘Captivity’ and ‘Escape’, frame Have mercy on the creature love hath slain. the fierce and impulsive central setting of 22-24. Merciles Beaute (Three Rondels) III Escape ‘Rejection’. (pub. 1980) Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1340-1400) – modern Since love and I now go another way, paraphrase by the composer. Why heed the bitter days in his company? A Parley of Owls, for SATB unaccompanied I am no more his captive: I am free. (1987) sets three texts: ‘Sweet Suffolk owl, I Captivity He may answer and say this or that, so trimly dight’ (anon, 17th century); ‘This Within your eyes I seek a destiny: a distant shore I know him not, nor what his purpose be. is the old immortal bird’ (from The Inn of the beyond the raging main. For love upon my heart his hand hath lain. Love from his summons hath removed my name, Birds by Anthony Rye, 1904-1975), and And thus rejected he has set me free for ever more: ‘When cats run home’ (Alfred Lord A single word – ah, speak not hastily – Have I not paid the fee! Tennyson, 1809-1992). Commissioned by Shall heal the wound, shall ease the pain. Within your eyes I seek a destiny: a distant shore Since love and I now go another way, Beccles Music Festival, it received its first beyond the raging main. Why heed the bitter days in his company? performance on 28 March 1987. Once I am no more his captive: I am free. again Hurd shows great sensitivity in his Give me but leave to serve you faithfully, A captive servant to your beauty’s noble reign: For Garrett O’Brien and the Exultate Singers. approach to the texts: the chorale-like In life, in death my love shall remain. opening song has an archaic flavour; the Merciles Beaute (A Triple Roundel) intimate central setting has a touching Within your eyes I seek a destiny: a distant shore Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1340-1400) beyond the raging main. dignity and the terse but jocular closing song is rounded off by a droll gesture. For love upon my heart his hand hath lain. 1. Captivity YOUR eyen two wol slee me sodenly, The anthem Praise Ye The Lord, for SATB and organ (1966) is a brief setting of Psalm II Rejection I may the beautè of hem not sustene, So woundeth hit through-out my herte kene. 148 vv.1-5. It was commissioned for the Choir of St Lawrence, Alton, Hampshire, to So far hath beauty from your heart chased pity, celebrate the rebuilding of the organ in October 1966. Even in this short piece, Hurd Nothing can avail me to complain. And but your word wol helen hastily takes great care to vary the pace and vocal textures. The organ part plays a key role in Have mercy on the creature love hath slain. My hertes wounde, whyl that hit is grene, establishing and sustaining the celebratory tone. Guilty of nothing yet condemned am I: Your eyen two wol slee me sodenly, Tell the truth, no need have I to feign. I may the beautè of hem not sustene. Paul Conway, 2017 14 SRCD.363 SRCD.363 7 1. A Secular Anthem [Victorious sounds! yet here your homage do 6. Lights Out 7. Cock-Crow (f.p. 28 June 1987; pub. 1997) Unto a gentler conqueror than you: Who though he flies the music of his praise, I have come to the borders of sleep, Out of the wood of thoughts that grows by night Would with you heaven’s hallelujahs raise.] The unfathomable deep To be cut down by the sharp axe of light, To Music: A Song Forest where all must lose Out of the night, two cocks together crow, Robert Herrick (1591-1674) Commissioned by the Hastings Philharmonic Choir, 1978. Their way, however straight, Cleaving the darkness with a silver blow: Music, thou queen of heaven, care-charming spell, New revised version, performed here, published 1997. Or winding, soon or late; And bright before my eyes twin trumpeters stand, That strik’st a stillness into hell; They cannot choose. Heralds of splendor, one at either hand, Each facing each as in a coat of arms: Thou that tams’t tigers, and fierce storms that rise, Many a road and track With thy soul-melting lullabies; The milkers lace their boots up at the farms. 2. Genesis That, since the dawn’s first crack, Fall down, down, down from those thy chiming Up to the forest brink 8. The Trumpet (f.p. 28 June 1987; pub. 1990) spheres, Deceived the travellers, Geoffrey Hill (1932-2016) – unrevised text from [To charm our souls, as thou enchant’st our ears.] Suddenly now blurs, Rise up, rise up, For the Unfallen (1959) And in they sink. And, as the trumpet blowing Music’s Empire Chases the dreams of men, Andrew Marvell (1621-1678) I Here love ends, As the dawn glowing Against the burly air I strode, Despair, ambition ends; The stars that left unlit First was the world as one great cymbal made, Where the tight ocean heaves its load, All pleasure and all trouble, The land and water, Where jarring winds to infant Nature played; Crying the miracles of God. Although most sweet or bitter, Rise up and scatter All music was a solitary sound, And first I brought the sea to bear Here ends in sleep that is sweeter The dew that covers To hollow rocks and murmuring fountains bound. Upon the dead weight of the land; Than tasks most noble. The print of last night’s lovers Jubal first made the wilder notes agree; And the waves flourished at my prayer, Scatter it, scatter it! The rivers spawned their sand. There is not any book And Jubal tuned music’s [first] jubilee: Or face of dearest look While you are listening He called the echoes from their sullen cell, And where the streams were salt and full That I would not turn from now To the clear horn, And built the organ’s city where they dwell. The tough pig-headed salmon strove, To go into the unknown Forget, men, everything Each sought a consort in that lovely place; Curbing the ebb and the tide’s pull, I must enter, and leave, alone, On this earth new-born, And virgin trebles wed the manly base. To reach the steady hills above. I know not how. Except that it is lovelier Than any mysteries. From whence the progeny of numbers new II The tall forest towers; Open your eyes to the air Into harmonious colonies withdrew. The second day I stood and saw Its cloudy foliage lowers That has washed the eyes of the stars The osprey plunge with triggered claw, Some to the lute, some to the viol went, Ahead, shelf above shelf; Through all the dewy night: Feathering blood along the shore, And others chose the cornet eloquent, Its silence I hear and obey Up with the light, To lay the living sinew bare. These practising the wind, and those the wire, That I may lose my way To the old wars: And myself. To sing men’s triumphs, or in heaven’s choir. And the third day I cried: ‘Beware Arise, arise! Then music, the mosaic of the air, The soft-voiced owl, the ferret’s smile, [I have come to the borders of sleep.] Commissioned by Norman Morris and the Reading Phoenix The hawk’s deliberate stoop in air, Did of all these a solemn noise prepare: Choir, with the assistance of funds provided by Southern Arts. With which she gained the empire of the ear, Cold eyes, and bodies hooped in steel, Including all between the earth and sphere. Forever bent upon the kill.’

8 SRCD.363 SRCD.363 13 I walked elate, my bridge always 4. Out in the Dark III 3-7. Five Spiritual Songs Just one step from my feet: And I renounced, on the fourth day, (f.p. June 1996; pub. 1996) Out in the dark over the snow A robin sang, a shade in shade: This fierce and unregenerate clay, George Herbert (1593-1633) And all I did was to repeat: The fallow fawns invisible go With the fallow doe; Building as a huge myth for man ‘I’ll go no more a-roving I Antiphon With you, fair maid.’ And the winds blow The watery Leviathan, Fast as the stars are slow. The sailors’ song of merry loving And made the glove-winged albatross Chorus Let all the world in ev’ry corner sing, With dusk and sea-gull’s mewing Stealthily the dark haunts round Scour the ashes of the sea My God and King. Mixed sweet, the lewdness far outweighed And, when the lamp goes, without sound Where Capricorn and Zero cross, Verse The heav’ns are not too high, By the wild charm the chorus played: At a swifter bound A brooding immortality – His praise may thither fly: ‘I’ll go no more a-roving Than the swiftest hound, Such as the charmed phoenix has The earth is not too low, With you, fair maid: Arrives, and all else is drowned; In the unwithering tree. His praises there may grow. A-roving, a-roving, since roving’s been my ruin, And star and I and wind and deer, IV I’ll go no more a-roving with you, fair maid.’ [Chorus Let all the world in ev’ry corner sing, Are in the dark together, near, The phoenix burns as cold as frost; My God and King.] In Amsterdam there dwelt a maid Yet far and fear And, like a legendary ghost, Mark well what I do say Drums on my ear The phantom-bird goes wild and lost, Verse The church with psalms must shout, In Amsterdam there dwelt a maid In that sage company drear. Upon a pointless ocean tossed. No door can keep them out: And she was a mistress of her trade: But above all, the heart I’ll go no more a-roving How weak and little is the light, So, the fifth day, I turned again Must bear the longest part. With you, fair maid: All the universe of sight, To flesh and blood and the blood’s pain. Love and delight, Chorus Let all the world in ev’ry corner sing, A-roving, a-roving, since roving’s been my ruin, V I’ll go no more a-roving with you, fair maid. Before the might, My God and King. If you love it not, of night. On the sixth day, as I rode 3. Two Pewits In haste about the works of God, II The Pulley 5. The Dark Forest With spurs I plucked the horse’s blood. Under the after-sunset sky When God at first made Man, Two pewits sport and cry, Dark is the forest, and deep, and overhead By blood we live, the hot, the cold, Having a glass of blessings standing by, More white than is the moon on high Hang stars like seeds of light To ravage and redeem the world: Let us (said he) pour on him all we can: Riding the dark surge silently; In vain, though not since they were sown was bred There is no bloodless myth will hold. Let the world’s riches, which dispersed lie, More black than earth. Their cry Anything more bright. Contract into a span. Is the one sound under the sky. And by Christ’s blood are men made free They alone move, now low, now high, And evermore mighty multitudes ride Though in close shrouds their bodies lie So strength first made a way; And merrily they cry About, nor enter in; Under the rough pelt of the sea; Then beauty flowed, then wisdom, honour, To the mischievous Spring sky, Of the multitudes that dwell inside pleasure: Never yet was one seen. Though earth has rolled beneath her weight When almost all was out, God made a stay, Plunging earthward, tossing high, The bones that cannot bear the light. Over the ghost who wonders why Perceiving that alone of all his treasure The forest foxglove is purple, the marguerite Rest in the bottom lay So merrily they cry and fly, Outside is gold and white, Commissioned by the St Peter’s Singers (conductor Simon Nor choose ’twixt earth and sky, Nor can those that pluck either blossom greet Lindley), and first performed at Leeds Parish Church on 28 For if I should (said he) While the moon’s quarter silently The others, day or night. June 1987. Text reproduced with kind permission of Penguin Bestow this jewel also on my creature, Rides, and earth rests as silently. Random House (www.penguinrandomhouse.com) He would adore my gifts instead of me, 12 SRCD.363 SRCD.363 9 And rest in Nature, not the God of Nature: Come, my Joy, my Love, my Heart: 1. We would rejoice again, and yet again, If the night So both should losers be. Such a Joy, as none can move: that God reveals this truth to mortal men, Has a moon, Such a Love, as none can part: unveils for all to see, Full and bright? Yet let him keep the rest, Such a Heart, as joys in love. in what God is, what we ourselves may be. O, will you come? But keep them with repining restlessness: Antiphon Let him be rich and weary, that at least, V Exultation [Easter] Would you come? If goodness lead him not, yet weariness 2. How long and earnestly the Fathers strove Would you come May toss him to my breast. Rise heart; thy Lord is risen… to frame in words a faith we cannot prove; If the noon but O how dead our creeds Gave light? III Vertue I go me flowers to straw thy way; I got me boughs off many a tree: unless they live in Christ-like aims and deeds! Not the moon? Beautiful, would you come? Sweet day, so cool, so calm, so bright, But thou wast up by break of day, 3. So let us all, rejecting none, remove The bridal of the earth and sky: And brought’st thy sweets along with thee. whatever thwarts a reconciling love, Would you have come? The dew shall weep thy fall tonight; Rise heart; thy Lord is risen… all ills that still divide Would you have come For thou must die. the fold of Christ, and all the world beside. Without scorning, Sweet rose, whose hue angry and brave The Sun arising in the East, Antiphon Had it been Thou he give light, and th’ East perfume; Still morning? Bids the rash gazer wipe his eye: 4. Rejoice with us that we may yet achieve Thy root is ever in its grave, If they should offer to contest Beloved, would you have come? With thy arising, they presume. what God himself has dared us to believe: And thou must die. the many live as one, If you come, Sweet spring, full of sweet days and roses, Rise heart; thy Lord is risen… each loving each, as Father, Spirit, Son. Haste and come. Owls have cried; A box where sweets compacted lie; Can there be any day but this, [Commissioned by Holy Trinity Church, Northwood, for It grows dark My music shows ye have your closes, Though many suns to shine endeavour? performance on Trinity Sunday 1987. Text reproduced with To ride. And all must die. We count three hundred, but we miss: kind permission of Stainer and Bell Ltd (www.stainer.co.uk)] Beloved, beautiful, come. Only a sweet and virtuous soul, There is but one, and that one ever. Like seasoned timber, never gives; Rise heart; thy Lord is risen! 2. An Old Song But though the whole world turn to coal, 9-16. Night Songs of Edward Thomas Then chiefly lives. Commissioned by the Portsmouth Festival Choir (conductor (pub. 1994) The sun set, the wind fell, the sea Rupert D’Cruze) in celebration of its twenty-fifth anniversary, Edward Thomas (1878-1917) Was like a mirror shaking: IV The Call and first performed in Portsmouth Cathedral, June 1996. The one small wave that clapped the land 1. Will you Come? A mile-long snake of foam was making Come, my Way, my Truth, my Life: Will you come? Where tide had smoothed and wind had dried Such a Way, as gives us breath: Will you come? The vacant sand. Such a Truth, as ends all strife: 8. Rejoice with Us (f.p. Trinity Sunday, 1987; pub. 1989) Will you ride And such a Life, as killeth death. So late A light divided the swollen clouds F. Pratt Green (1903-2000) And lay most perfectly Come, my Light, my Feast, my Strength: At my side? Like a straight narrow footbridge bright Such a Light, as shows a feast: Rejoice with us in God, the Trinity, O, will you come? That crossed over the sea to me; Such a Feast, as mends in length: The Three, forever One. Forever Three, Will you come? And no one else in the whole world Such a Strength, as makes his guest. Fountain of Love, Giver of Unity! Will you come Saw that same sight.

10 SRCD.363 SRCD.363 11 CHORAL MUSIC VOLUME 1CHORAL MUSIC MICHAEL HURD SRCD.363 VOLUME 1CHORAL MUSIC MICHAEL HURD STEREO DDD

MICHAEL HURD (1928-2006) Choral Music Volume 1

1 A Secular Anthem (1987) 7’54” 2 Genesis (1987) 6’07” 3-7 Five Spiritual Songs (1996) 9’55” 8 Rejoice with us (1987) 3’00” JEREMY BACKHOUSE JEREMY VASARI SINGERS JEREMY BACKHOUSE JEREMY VASARI SINGERS 9-16 Night Songs of Edward Thomas (1994) 20’14” 17-21 Missa Brevis (1966) 11’14” 22-24 Merciles Beaute (1980) 5’39” 25-27 A Parley of Owls (1987) 3’38” 28 Praise Ye the Lord (1966) 2’53” Total playing time 70’47” Vasari Singers conducted by Jeremy Backhouse SRCD.363 SRCD.363

LYRITA c LYRITA ©