Andrew Nethsingha - Tomkins: Sacred Choral Works (2022) [Hi-Res]

Thomas Tomkins worked well into the 17th century, his public career coming to an end only in 1642 as a result of England's Civil War, and organ works for his own use (such as the unique A Sad Pavan for Distracted Times, heard here) were written even after that. His music reflects no trace of the Baroque procedures that were well entrenched by then, even in England, but to call him conservative, as is so often done, misses the point even though it is technically accurate. Tomkins wrote quite a few madrigals in a style not that far from Thomas Morley's (the two were both students of William Byrd). His sacred music, not often recorded and nicely represented here, is uniquely madrigalian, often with an intensely emotional response to the text that's rare even in the works of the Italian mannerists. Did he get that from the Baroque, or was it simply his own musical personality? Either way, a piece like the magnificent When David heard that Absalom was slain (track 1) has few counterparts in English sacred music, and the whole program ought to be heard more often than it is. Director Andrew Nethsingha understands that a classically impersonal English collegiate choir sound is not what is called for here, and he molds the Choir of St. John College, Cambridge, into a very expressive instrument. When David heard that Absalom was slain, for example, is given a hushed, genuinely tragic atmosphere, and the choir's emotional range under Nethsingha is impressive. There are British choirs with greater pitch precision in complex high-up textures, but in general this is a collection of Renaissance polyphony that's both beautiful and often very moving. ~ James Manheim