レスト・ウィ・フォーゲット

約900年という長い歴史を持つサセックス州のチチェスター大聖堂で、年間約300回の演奏を行っているチチェスター大聖堂聖歌隊。2018年の第一次世界大戦終戦100周年を記念したアルバム、「レスト・ウィ・フォーゲット(戦没者の死を私たちは忘れない)」は、スタンフォード、アイアランド、パリー、エルガー、ハウエルズら近代イギリスを代表する作曲家たちの戦争と平和をテーマにした作品集。ホルストが「木星」のテーマに歌詞を付け、戦没者追悼の歌として親しまれている「我は汝に誓う、我が祖国よ(I vow to thee, my country)」も収録。14人の少年聖歌隊による美しいトレブルと、6人のプロのミュージシャンによるアルト、テノール、バスで、決して忘れてはならない戦争の惨禍と平和への祈りが歌われます。
東京エムプラス

A number of recordings, choral and otherwise, appeared in 2018 to mark the centenary of the armistice that ended World War I. Among the choral group, you can find blood-and-guts programs as well as loftier ones, semi-religious in tone, from the period. With Lest We Forget, you'll find a powerful combination of the two. Part of the appeal comes from the presence of a pair of organ works played by Charles Harrison, also the conductor of the Chichester Cathedral Choir since 2014. These bring the war up close, and they're not well-known pieces. Sample the Rhapsody, Op. 17, No. 3, which Herbert Howells wrote in a single night during German zeppelin raid. That work and the other organ pieces showcase the fine Chichester Cathedral organ, which will make you want to hear more, perhaps some Bach works, on this instrument, and they make a strong foil for the more reflective choral pieces. The cathedral itself has a rather stark, craggy acoustic that certainly sets this choir apart from its better-known counterparts; you get neither the warmth nor the perfect smoothness here that you may associate with the cathedral sound, but what you do get is an unusually committed performance that fits the subject matter in an uncanny way, with some extraordinary organ pieces. Highly recommended.