For reasons that will become clear I probably won’t be posting here an account of a performance of any of the following in future Holy Weeks:
a) Maunder, Olivet to Calvary. I sang this at a local church a few years ago and cannot remember anything much about the music, except that it didn’t impress me at all!
b) Malcolm Williamson, Procession of Palms. The only time I came across this was when I sang it a long time ago in a church in Reading. It was an odd piece in a mish-mash of styles, including a token modernist passage which stuck out a mile. (An internet search reveals an item about the piece in Ship of Fools, which confirms my impression of it).
c) Charles Wood’s St. Mark Passion. This was a Manchester favourite, in which I once sang one of the soprano arias, but I remained as immune to it as I am to just about all of Wood’s music. There’s one beautiful melody in it; however it’s not by Wood but lifted from Tallis for one of the hymns! Someone tried to convince me at the time that it was a standard piece in the repertoire of King’s College Choir, not realising that I’d recently spent six years in Cambridge and knew better ….
After recalling these I realise that Stainer’s Crucifixion has its merits and is certainly worth singing every few years (as I find myself doing), despite its cornier moments as regards music and text (anyone who’s familiar with the piece will know what these are).
i loved procession of palms – i thought it was very 60s, reflecting the period of its writing. I felt the mish-mash of different styles made it a very interesting piece; it also ensures that everybody should like some of it; i particularly liked the arragngement of “all glory laud and honour.”