Listeners who love the sound and mood of the most traditional Christmas carols and hymns should be delighted with this collection of choral arrangements made by
Ralph Vaughan Williams. The majority of the pieces are traditional English carols, many of which the composer collected himself as part of his research on folk song. For several of the carols where only a text survives, he wrote the melody. A few of the selections may be familiar to American audiences and a few more to fans of English choral music, but by and large these carols will be obscure to general audiences. Their tone tends to be gently contemplative rather than exuberantly celebratory; they're more similar to "Away in a Manger" than "Joy to the World."
Vaughan Williams' intent was to create music that could be sung by the average church congregation or church choir, so the arrangements are simple and traditional, with organ accompaniment. Some are arranged for unison singing, but most are in four parts. The Cardiff Festival Choir, led by
Owain Arwel Hughes and accompanied by organist Robert Court, sings with lovely, direct tone and with restraint, not trying to make more of these simple works than is appropriate. Griffin's sound is clean and nicely ambient. The CD should appeal especially to fans of English hymnody.