Trinity Service (Mäntyjärvi) - from CDA68266 - Hyperion Records

Reviews

‘[Mäntyjärvi] knows exactly how to build up a structure that rejoices in both sonorous depth and melodic distinctiveness, rather like Poulenc—try the first of the Stuttgarter Psalmen for an example of this. Characteristic of all three Psalms, too, is a mastery of repetition; that is to say, a knowledge of how often to repeat a phrase, or a variant of a phrase, to create an atmosphere in miniature that is then expanded upon, as is the case with the third Psalm, ‘Richte mich, Gott’ … an intriguing selection, then, that brings out the best from the Trinity choir, the sound beautifully captured by Hyperion’s team’ (Gramophone)

‘It’s a quality of performance and recording we’ve come to depend on from [Stephen Layton and Trinity College Choir] … I love the sound of the recording itself’ (BBC Record Review)

‘The stupendous recital on this CD unfolds with a glorious setting of Ave Maria, intensely prayerful and deeply felt—a wonderful by-product of its composer's participation as a course tutor in Aosta in northern Italy. Sonorities are rich and textures focus on middle and lower vocal registers. More athletic choralism emerges from the Stuttgart Psalms, written in 2009 to commemorate the birth of Mendelssohn 200 hundred years before. Mäntyjärvi creates compelling choral textures, and each and every syllable rings crystal-clear to even the most reluctant listener—who would have to be hard-hearted not to be deeply moved by these psalm-based motets with their stunningly delivered solo segments and vocal ‘standout’ features impressively delivered from within the choir … a Rolls-Royce of a recording from Stephen Layton and his singers. It is a ‘must-have' for all serious music lovers’ (Cathedral Music)» More

‘The temptation is merely to write that Stephen Layton and his Trinity College choir have done it again. So accustomed are those of us who review choral music to enjoying flawless excellence from them (as well as the magnificent Hyperion engineering and production team) that we have come almost to take it for granted. But even with such high expectations from the outset, the very first item here transports us into an altogether higher realm of sublimity, while the first of the three Stuttgart Psalms presents choral singing of a brilliance which simply sets new standards … there is a vast wealth of musical interest here, linked only by a thorough understanding of the medium and a musical language which is immensely lovely’ (MusicWeb International)» More

‘Even heathens surely cannot help but enjoy to the bottom of their soul the sacred a cappella choral music of Jaakko Mäntyjärvi’ (Helsingin Sanomat, Finland)» More

‘Having become accustomed to the rather sweet sounds of Finnish choirs doing Mäntyjärvi, this new release from Hyperion comes across as wonderfully sumptuous … it takes a world-class ensemble to fully bring out the sumptuousness of all this harmonic colour, and the Choir of Trinity College Cambridge is just such an ensemble … Jaakko Mäntyjärvi’s works have been recorded on many occasions in the past, to be sure, but he certainly deserves—and perhaps needed—a showcase album by a top-quality choir’ (YLE, Finland)» More

‘The opening Ave Maria d’Aosta is heavenly and the concluding O magnum mysterium remains in my head long afterwards. This is a disc to immerse oneself in and return to—both for the totality and for picking one’s personal plums. It is a triumph in every respect’ (MusicWeb International)» More

‘This is a very fine disc indeed. By now we’ve come to take for granted that any recording by the Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge will feature singing of the highest quality; that’s emphatically the case here. It must be an extraordinarily stimulating experience to be a member of this choir because not only does Stephen Layton demand and obtain the highest possible standards but also, he continually presents his young singers with the rewarding challenge of expanding their repertoire horizons, as he has done with this programme … the sessions were safely in the experienced hands of engineer David Hinitt and producer Adrian Peacock. They work regularly with this choir and this venue; it shows. The recording of all the pieces is first rate. The production also benefits from excellent booklet notes by Francis Pott. It’s very illuminating to read the insights of one distinguished composer of choral works into the music of another. I’m delighted that I’ve made the acquaintance of the music of Jaakko Mäntyjärvi through this outstanding CD’ (MusicWeb International)

‘These are world class performances allied to Hyperion’s classy engineering and production, which together will generate a much-deserved recognition for this abundantly gifted Finnish composer’ (Opera Today, USA)» More

‘Jaakko Mäntyjärvi (b. 1963) is probably currently Finland’s internationally most successful composer of choral music, and his Trinity Service, commissioned by the distinguished Choir of Trinity College Cambridge, forms the core of this new disc focusing on his sacred music … the other major item and artistic high point is the Stuttgarter Psalmen triptych, which sets itself apart from the more subdued smaller pieces surrounding it with its darker tone and more extensive palette of compositional resources … the final track, O magnum mysterium, avoids the saccharine excesses of contemporary choral hits and sustains a mystical feeling with a melodic line resting on a bed of thick, sonorous harmony. The choir is of the very finest quality throughout the disc’ (Rondo, Germany)» More

Introduction
English

Music constituting a complete Evensong for Trinity College—the Trinity Service—came about when Stephen Layton expressed a desire to record pieces by Mäntyjärvi not already available. This led to a new Magnificat and Nunc dimittis: something usable regularly by the Choir, rather than concert pieces difficult to accommodate within everyday worship. Mäntyjärvi’s Lord’s Prayer (2002) was an inclusion from the start, and gradually the idea evolved of setting the entire service, including introit, Responses (with the earlier Lord’s Prayer embedded), a psalm chant and an anthem. As the composer has remarked, ‘this would have been a daunting proposition if presented to me right at the start, but by that time I had been to quite a few Evensongs at Trinity and had sufficient feel for the place to be confident’. The result was an extensive commission from The Choir of Trinity College Cambridge.

Notable for listeners is the impact of vocal divisions in the setting of Psalm 128 and also in the Responses. The psalm chant combines plangent richness with haunting introspection by oscillating freely between chords of six notes and (through unison doubling) just three. After three iterations of the double chant (covering six verses), the psalm’s concluding seventh verse necessitates modified treatment through a single chant. Mäntyjärvi heightens the effect here through upward transposition of the chant’s opening by a whole tone. For the Gloria, the double chant returns at its original pitch. Mäntyjärvi’s palette includes frequent dividing of the basses, combined with low-lying bass registers evocative of music from the Russian Orthodox liturgy. The impact on ears attuned mainly to the Anglican tradition is vivid, fresh and unexpected, especially when complemented by elliptical ‘false-relation’ harmonies espoused in the past by free atonalists such as the Swiss composer Frank Martin (1890-1974). Naturally, the more extended items are the canticle settings and the anthem. Ever the pragmatist, however, Mäntyjärvi heeds the diurnal pressures on rehearsal time for Evensong. The brief introit is a further Ave Maria setting, unexpectedly fleet of foot owing largely to the almost incessant quaver movement of its bass line. Creating a mood of expectancy, this integrates the music into Mäntyjärvi’s conception of the service as a complete, specific occasion.

The Magnificat is contemplative and ethereal, characterized by simplification of the rhythmic momentum. Similarly, the occasional challenge of unexpected harmonic directions (for example, at the phrase ‘the rich he hath sent empty away’) is mitigated by a high proportion of stepwise melodic motion, albeit without any hint of imaginative constraint. Here, and in the Nunc dimittis, one notes the insight of a composer who is a practising singer and conductor, able to conjure myriad nuances and elevations of his verbal text through subtle variations in the deployment of his musical materials. The end of the Nunc dimittis is marked by a startling bass descent which seems to reach the ocean floor as it settles on a ‘bottom’ A flat. This is given as an alternative ending in the score—but the composer was surprised to find no fewer than four Trinity basses equal to the task!

O lux beata Trinitas revisits the Phrygian modality favoured by the composer, with the flattened second note of its scale casting doubt that the sustained bass pedal octave beneath it is truly the tonal centre of gravity. This pedal note continues uninterrupted until liberation occurs with the words ‘Te mane laudum carmine, / Te deprecemur vespere’, whereupon the harmony acquires a new mobility, gradually blossoming forth. The pedal returns in the closing stages. Austere plainchant-like passages are offset by ethereal commentary from the upper parts, creating an impression of simultaneous earthbound and heavenly music.

Recording details: Various dates
Trinity College Chapel, Cambridge, United Kingdom
Produced by Adrian Peacock
Engineered by David Hinitt
Release date: October 2020
Total duration: 28 minutes 4 seconds

Cover artwork: On the River of Life (1896) by Hugo Simberg (1873-1917)
Finnish National Gallery / Ateneum Art Museum / Photograph courtesy of Finnish National Gallery / Antti Kuivalainen

Trinity Service

The Choir of Trinity College Cambridge, Stephen Layton (conductor)

Reviews

Introduction