“This unusual disc contains fourteen works composed between 2001 and 2015 by the Melbourne-based singer and sound engineer, Vaughan McAlley. Unusual, because he has used the rules of Renaissance counterpoint as the compositional technique for every work, so the overall impression is that the music is at least six centuries old!”
The poets whose texts he used are all long gone- Christina Rossetti, Alexander Pope and Chaucer, and he has also set many Biblical passages. For the major choral work in 40 parts, he chose Omnes Angeli from the Book of Revelation. In other words, McAlley has not attempted to alter the essential character of this centuries-old style of music by using modern texts.
I did wonder why he had specialised like this! He studied composition under Brenton Broadstock and musicology under John Griffiths and at the University of Melbourne and he has also played flute in various orchestras. Having joined John O’Donnell’s chamber choir, Ensemble Gombert, in 1999, he developed a love of Renaissance choral works and decided then to adopt the Renaissance rules in his own compositions. These rules of good voice-leading and counterpoint that were developed in that golden age of melodic counterpoint (late 15th to late 16thcentury) were the building blocks of the great developments in western music in the next two centuries (eg. fugues, inventions, symphonies etc.). Renaissance choral works are very appealing to sing for several reasons. Passing musical phrases between the different voice parts (imitation) gives one a sense of belonging and sharing, the polyphony (two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody sounding simultaneously) holds one’s interest as each line has its own melody, and as harmony develops with them sounding together, the clear resolution of dissonances then gives one a satisfying sense of completion and relaxation.
His pieces sound strangely familiar to me as I too developed a deep love of Renaissance music whilst a member of University of Queensland Madrigal Singers under Gordon Spearritt. As a small experiment I played a couple of the choral tracks to my own small madrigal group (seven singers well versed in Renaissance music) and asked them to name the composer. Palestrina (c.1525-94) was their initial guess after some head-scratching, or perhaps William Byrd – so bravo Vaughan! Their interest was certainly piqued, and they were amazed to find they were composed so recently.
Three choral pieces open the recital. A Birthday for 5 voices (poem by Christina Rossetti) is a graceful piece with lots of imitation between the parts and McAlley uses a favourite chord progression from Josquin Desprez (c.1450- 1521). The opening text is” My heart is like a singing bird”, and then later reads “because my love is come to me”. The music certainly expresses this sentiment. Next, the Madrigal, for four voices, uses Pope’s poetry, and one becomes aware that this is not a choir of professional singers but a group of excellent musicians who clearly enjoy singing together as while the phrasing is good, the overall sound is not very well blended with occasional lapses in intonation. However, the composition itself is very satisfying. Next, To Rosamounde (Chaucer) shows the composers’ mastery of the style. It is a five-minute virtuosic piece for 8 voices with a marvellous coda written for 18 voices. Ensemble Gombert, directed by John O’Donnell, performs this work and their choral sound is better.
A more original soundscape than that found in the choral pieces could be heard particularly in the four Chorale Preludes for Piano in Mass Form, beautifully played by Michael Kieran Harvey. McAlley used Lutheran chorale melodies from the time of the Reformation. J.S. Bach, of course, used these melodies constantly and the fourth one, O Lamm Gottes unschuldig, appears in the opening chorus of his St. Matthew Passion. Here McAlley has treated each chorale differently, and the contrasts are interesting. In the first he exploits the full range of the piano keyboard with wide spacing between the top and bottom voices and it gives an appropriate sense of majesty to the whole. The second is very different – almost whimsical, fast with a decorated motif tossed between the parts. The third, Heilig, heilig, heilig is slightly reminiscent of Gounod’s well-known Ave Maria set above a prelude of Bach’s. It has broken chords in the piano played over several octaves accompanying the chorale melody, with classical harmonic progressions building the tension before a beautiful satisfying resolution. Harvey’s playing is masterful. The last, O Lamm Gottes unschuldig, has slow repeated chords in the left hand while the decorated chorale melody is shared between the upper voices in the first part, before a fine extended fugue.
Lamentations for 5 voices (text is Lamentations 2:13-15) again suffered a little from poor choral blending in the lower voices, but anyone who loves William Byrd’s Lamentations would also find McAlley’s piece most interesting with its beautiful harmonies. In principio erat verbum (from John 1:1,2,14), another work for 5 voices, was more successfully sung with a better sound and intonation.
The Lento from String Quartet (2015) on the next track is performed superbly by the Four Seasons Quartet. The way McAlley has used silences between the opening statements gives the piece a certain gravitas that is maintained throughout. It is intense and very beautiful, resembling pieces from the early classical period. A pizzicato section forms a gentle contrast and highlights the beauty of the melody played by the cello. The recapitulation of the theme and the climax is tonally interesting as all parts are playing in their highest registers.
Soprano Kate McBride (from Ensemble Gombert) then sings a psalm setting composed for her as a twenty-first birthday present- “I will lift mine eyes unto the hills”. The accompaniment to her high soprano voice is a different string quartet. She sounds angelic with a very pure straight sound. She is also the soloist in the second psalm “Lord, you have been our dwelling place” –an a cappella work for soprano and 4-part choir, used at the baptism of McAlley’s daughter in 2015. It is clear from the Cd notes by McAlley that his religious faith plays a major role in his life and his work. The Lord Bless you and Keep You, for recorder and 4 voices premiered at the baptism of his second daughter. This unusual combination of recorder and voices does not work well – the high piping recorder sound is so unlike the slow-moving choral sound, that it seems like two recorded pieces mistakenly playing at the same time.
Thomas Tallis wrote a motet in 1570 called Spem in Alium for 40 parts (8 choirs of 5 voices each), which is regarded as one of the finest English choral pieces of all time. It is exhilarating to sing and a major challenge for any choir. McAlley was considering having it performed at his 40th birthday celebration but his friends suggested that instead, he compose a similar work in 40 parts! Which he did of course, and the first section was sung at his birthday! It then took him another 2 years to complete his motet. The result is a truly magnificent piece called Omnes Angeli performed here by Ensemble Gombert. It was recorded in The Dome in Melbourne – a huge space with a high domed ceiling and a perfect place for such a venture, judging from the quality of the recording by Martin Wright.
The grandeur of the sound reflects the grandeur of the subject, taken from Revelation 7:11-12. It is the heavenly scene where angels, elders and animals worship the Lamb. Listening to this work gives one the sensation of standing before a huge tapestry of sound reaching to the heavens, where the ear travels from one place to another, delighting in all the different details and textures, but never losing the sense of the whole. What an extraordinary achievement! McAlley writes: “A forty-part choir allows gigantic and spectacular tuttis, but also many different combinations of smaller groups. Omnes angeli is written for ten four-part choirs, most with different voicings, which are arranged in a semicircle.” (from Cd notes). He uses more contrasts in the textures of the soundscape than does Tallis, and this fits the Revelation text as there are many different groups of worshippers. Like Tallis, sopranos singing in a high register sound angelic as they float above with delicate embellishments. There are two gigantic tuttis – an amen in the middle of the piece and another to end it. These have a majestic verticality like the soaring columns of a Gothic cathedral. The piece lasts a glorious eight and a half minutes and its overall effect is quite humbling and certainly a spiritual experience with its sense of static timelessness and its beauty. The Ensemble Gombert does a fine job, and no wonder the choir members look radiant in the photo below taken after they had performed. I imagine it would have been a wonderful experience for them all.
This disc is a celebration of McAlley’s achievements, and these well-composed pieces are most welcome additions to the repertoire for choirs and chamber ensembles.
