Review Details
ALTERNATIM! ROGER B. WILLIAMS, organ THE FRIDAY SCHOLA
Alan Cooper
02 October 2009
King's College Chapel
The first in a new series of regular Friday late afternoon concerts took place in King’s College Chapel this week. The concerts promise an exploration of one of the early traditions of liturgical music called Alternatim. This tradition was common across several European countries and basically it does what the word Alternatim suggests, namely in some sections of the Mass voices with their concomitant texts are replaced by instruments, usually organ. It is an interesting idea and for me, it brought to mind the early ecclesiastical books where the words were brilliantly decorated and illuminated by artwork of mind boggling complexity. Perhaps the music had something of this function allowing the composer and the listeners to meditate freely on the ideas in texts which would have been familiar to congregations who had been listening to them since early childhood. How much did these congregations understand of the Latin Mass? I suspect far more than we imagine and perhaps the music opened up wider perspectives for those who listened.
This week we heard the earliest such example from the UK. The Missa in die Sanctae Trinitatis was by the little known Welsh composer Philip ap Rhys (fl.1545-1560).
Beautifully seamless plainsong floated from the gallery sung by the all-male voices of the Friday Schola. The monochrome of this vocal delivery was then embellished by fine harmonies and rhythmic colours masterfully coaxed from the Aubertin Organ by Dr Williams. Much of this keyboard music sounded surprisingly modern and it certainly had a lively impetus to it. In the dimly lit Chapel, as twilight was descending, the effect was both wonderfully peaceful and splendidly refreshing. It was certainly worth hearing and I hope a larger audience turns out for next week’s event.