Young British Voices Raised

Among England’s cultural treasures, the centuries-long tradition of collegiate choir singing surely ranks at the top of the scale. These university institutions are charged, first and foremost, with the habitual singing of Anglican liturgies, a sacred tradition that has spawned some of England’s finest choral repertory. Yet they also present a steady diet of other performances, including concerts, recordings, radio broadcasts, and tours. 

It’s a tradition that simply doesn’t exist in this country, and the rare occasions when English collegiate choirs travel to the U.S. present unparalleled opportunities for live encounters with these exceptionally vibrant ensembles.

This month, Bay Area audiences can experience one of the best of the bunch: the Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge, led by Grammy-nominated conductor Stephen Layton. With a heritage dating from the 14th century, Trinity’s choir was reconstituted into its present mixed chorus of some 30 undergraduates in 1982 and today ranks among England’s finest choral ensembles. You can hear them at Stanford University’s Memorial Church, San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral, and St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Oakland.

The English collegiate choir tradition isn’t just about longevity; it also embraces a distinctive sound, one that, according to Layton, involves a special combination of elegance and energy. “The sound we make is interesting — there’s something intriguing about a choir of students, ages 19 to 22, who are making a fairly blended sound. You can get a lot of power out of this blend; it’s quite an interesting sound, as a result.” The result can be thrilling and exuberant, without going over the top. (Layton reassures that “I try to let them sing as much as they want, and then bottle it in.”)

Layton applies this sound to a fascinating selection of repertory, an intoxicating mixture of styles and nationalities highlighted by several works rarely performed stateside. There’s a healthy dose of English music, with classics such as Tallis’ O nata lux and Purcell’s Hear My Prayer, juxtaposed alongside modern works such as John Tavener’s “Mother of God,” from his seven-hour-long 2003 oratorio Veil of the Temple. German classics by Bach and Mendelssohn are situated against music of Baltic composers, all of whom write in a highly accessible style: two pieces by Arvo Pärt, a Nunc dimittis by the young Polish composer Pawel Lukaszewski, and music of Vytautas Miškinis, whom Layton calls “the John Rutter or Morton Lauridsen of Lithuania.”

Asked why he wanted to visit our fair Western shores, Layton cites the inspiration of Californian composers Lauridsen and Eric Whitacre, “whose music has made me want to come to this part of the world for some time.” There’s also another, more practical reason: “This time of year gets miserable, weather-wise, in England, and I understand the weather is delightful in California.”