Vaughan Williams: Earth's Wide Bounds Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital Chelsea, Joshua Ryan & William Vann

• Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872 - 1958): Te Deum in G Major:
• 1 Williams: Te Deum in G Major 06:47
• Christopher Robinson (b. 1936), Ralph Vaughan Williams: For All the Saints Who from Their Labours Rest:
• 2 Robinson, Williams: For All the Saints Who from Their Labours Rest 04:23
• Ralph Vaughan Williams: He Who Would Valiant Be:
• 3 Williams: O Clap Your Hands 03:06
• He Who Would Valiant Be:
• 4 Williams: He Who Would Valiant Be 02:00
• Communion Service in G Minor:
• 5 Williams: Communion Service in G Minor: I. Responses to Commandments 05:50
• 6 Williams: Communion Service in G Minor: II. Kyrie 04:09
• 7 Williams: Communion Service in G Minor: III. Creed 07:05
• 8 Williams: Communion Service in G Minor: IV. Sanctus 02:35
• 9 Williams: Communion Service in G Minor: V. Benedictus 02:18
• 10 Williams: Communion Service in G Minor: VI. Agnus Dei 03:39
• 11 Williams: Communion Service in G Minor: VII. Gloria in Excelsis 04:01
• I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say:
• 12 Williams: I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say 02:15
• O Taste and See:
• 13 Williams: O Taste and See 01:25
• Sidney Campbell (1909 - 1974), Ralph Vaughan Williams: Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence:
• 14 Campbell, Williams: Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence 03:03
• Ralph Vaughan Williams: Prayer to the Father of Heaven:
• 15 Williams: Prayer to the Father of Heaven 05:25
• O God of Earth and Altar:
• 16 Williams: O God of Earth and Altar 05:12
• Let All the World in Every Corner Sing:
• 17 Williams: Let All the World in Every Corner Sing 03:07
• Ralph Vaughan Williams, Christopher Robinson: Come Down, O Love Divine:
• 18 Williams, Robinson: Come Down, O Love Divine 03:16
• Ralph Vaughan Williams: Valiant for Truth:
• 19 Williams: Valiant for Truth 05:50
• 3 Nocturnes: No. 2, By the Bivouac's Fitful Flame:
• 20 Williams: 3 Nocturnes: No. 2, By the Bivouac's Fitful Flame 05:39
• Total Runtime 01:21:05

Info for Vaughan Williams: Earth's Wide Bounds

This album is a choral compendium of works by Ralph Vaughan Williams comprising premiere recordings of both the Communion Service in G minor and the Nocturne: By the Bivouac's Fitful Flame, plus the Te Deum in G and hymns and anthems including Valiant for Truth.

The centrepiece here is the first complete recording of the Communion Service in G minor the 1923 English translation and revision of the Latin Mass in G minor which had been published just a year earlier. In keeping with the 1662 Anglican communion service then in use, the Gloria comes at the end; the service begins with sung responses to the ten commandments, read by Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury.

Five movements require a quartet as well as a double chorus. William Vann has confidence in every member of his Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital, Chelsea, so each of those movements has a different quartet, thus giving individual voice to 20 of the choristers.

It is surprising that 'By the Bivouac's Fitful Flame', an early Walt Whitman setting, has lain neglected in manuscript for so long. This lovely setting for unaccompanied chorus started life as a Ballade for quintet in 1904 and was revised as a Nocturne, still for quintet, in 1906. The choral version must have come soon afterwards, thus representing the next stage in the experiment.

'Valiant-for-Truth' is a popular work, but few of the standard reference books on RVW have very much to say about it. Even Michael Kennedy does little more than tell us that it was written in November 1940. That date when the war news was bleak is the key to the selection of the text. It has nothing to do with the (then unfinished) opera 'Pilgrim's Progress' it's drawn from altogether the wrong part of the novel but Mr Valiant-for-Truth had fought three 'rogues', emerging scarred but victorious; he passed through the River to his reward, 'and the trumpets all sounded for him on the other side.'"

Joshua Ryan, organ
Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital Chelsea
William Vann, musical director

Joshua Ryan
is a postgraduate organ student at the Royal Academy of Music, where he studies on a scholarship with Professor David Titterington. He is currently Organ Scholar at the Royal hospital, Chelsea, where he regularly accompanies the professional choir at weekly services, concerts, and occasions of national significance. He has previously held positions as Assistant Director of Music at St Michael’s, Croydon, and as Assistant Organist at St Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney.

Alongside his organ studies with Professor Titterington, Joshua also studies harpsichord with James Johnstone and Pawel Siwczak, and choral conducting with Patrick Russill. He is regularly involved in numerous projects with period and modern ensembles as a soloist and continuo player, such as in the Bach the European series. Joshua has also been involved in the premiering of new works for organ, by composer Morgan Hayes, as part of the Academy’s bicentenary celebrations. In addition to his instrumental studies, He is currently researching how the interpretation of English Virginalist music is influenced by historical instruments. In recognition of his outstanding achievements at the Academy, he was awarded a Diploma of the Royal Academy of Music (DipRAM). In 2021 Joshua was made an Associate of the Royal College of Organists.

Joshua completed his undergraduate studies in 2018. He obtained a Bachelor of Music (Honours First Class) from the Conservatorium of Music, The University of Sydney. During his studies, Joshua received numerous academic prizes and scholarships, including the prestigious University Medal. In 2015, he was involved in the premier performance of ‘Requiem for a City’ by Matthew Hindson and Paul Mac, as part of the Conservatorium’s centenary celebrations. Joshua’s past teachers have included Thomas Wilson, Peter Jewkes, and Oliver Brett. During his studies at the Conservatorium, Joshua was Organ Scholar of Christ Church St Laurence, Railway Square.

Joshua’s postgraduate studies at the Royal Academy of Music have been made possible by the generous support of the Royal Academy of Music, the Australia Council for the Arts, the University of Sydney, the Ian Potter Cultural Trust, Ars Musica Australis, the Tait Memorial Trust, the Eric Thompson Trust, and private supporters.

Booklet for Vaughan Williams: Earth's Wide Bounds