‘Once, As I Remember…’ is John Eliot Gardiner’s recreation of the story of Christmas based on the Springhead Christmas Play. A nativity play made up of music, speech, dance and mime took place almost every Christmas in the Millroom at Springhead, home of the Gardiner family in Fontmell Magna, Dorset. The actors were school-children, farmers, farmhands and local craftsmen and women and teachers, supplemented, as the years went on, by young professional singers from London who came to celebrate the period between Christmas and New Year in Dorset. The play was the brain-child of Marabel Gardiner, who directed the mime and her husband Rolf who gave the readings which punctuated the music and action. Their three children, of whom John Eliot Gardiner is the youngest, all took part in one capacity or another.
Taking as its source almost exclusively music performed at those Christmas family and friend gatherings, the selection is amplified with music that Gardiner feels would have been a perfect fit for the time. The range is eclectic, the performances exquisite and Gardiner writes the extensive and affectionate note that accompanies this release.
ROBERT COWPER: Gloria in excelsis Deo
Katherine Fuge & Nicola Jenkin, sopranos
Elinor Carter, alto
Julian Podger, tenor
ANON.:
Ave Maria, gratia plena
Sara Mingardo, soprano
Angelus ad Virginem
GIOVANNI PIERLUIGI DA PALESTRINA: Alma Redemptoris Mater
Julian Podger, tenor
ANON.:Gabriel’s message
GIOVANNI BASSANIO: Hodie Christus natus est
Jeremy West & Michael Harrison, cornets
Sackbutts: Susan Addison, alto
Abigail Newman, tenor
Adam Woolf, tenor
Robert Goodhew, bass
Ian Watson, organ
ANON.: Jolly Shepherd
Rachel Beckett, soprano recorder
Noel Mann, drum
JAN PIETERSZOON SWEELINCK: Hodie Christus natus est
Jeremy West & Michael Harrison, cornets
Sackbutts: Susan Addison, alto
Abigail Newman, tenor
Adam Woolf, tenor
Robert Goodhew, bass
ANON.:
Past three a clock
Es ist ein Ros’ entsprungen
There is no rose of such virtu
LAJOS BARDOS: Ave maris stella
HERBERT HOWELLS: A Spotless Rose
Michael McCarthy, solo bass
WILLIAM BYRD: O magnum mysterium
HEINRICH SCHUTZ: Ach Herr, Du Schöpfer
Ian Watson, organ
ANON.:
This endris night
Entre le boeuf
Guillô, pran ton tamborin
Rachel Beckett, soprano recorder
Noel Mann, drum
Psallite
Sackbutts: Susan Addison, alto
Abigail Newman, tenor
Robert Goodhew, bass
Ian Watson, organ
RICHARD DERING: Quem vidistes pastores?
Jeremy West & Michael Harrison, cornets
Sackbutts: Susan Addison, alto
Abigail Newman, tenor
Adam Woolf, tenor
Robert Goodhew, bass
Ian Watson, organ
ANON.: The Cradle
WILLIAM BYRD: Lullaby
ANON.:
El Rorro
Once as I remember
JOHN TAVENER: The Lamb
JOHANN GOTTLIEB WALTHER: Joseph lieber, Joseph mein
JOHN ELIOT GARDNER: Entry of the Three Kings
John Anderson, oboe/cor anglais
ANON.: The King of all Kings
Katherine Fuge, soprano solo
ROBERT ARMSTRONG: Ring out ye crystal spheres
THOMAS WEELKES: Gloria in excelsis deo
Monteverdi Choir
John Eliot Gardiner
Executive Producer: Clive Bennett
Recording Producer: Nicholas Parker
Recording Location: Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, Salie, Norfolk, UK, May 1988
‘The performances are excellent throughout, singers and players all having the feel of the thing within them. The acoustic of the church at Salle in Norfolk is ideal, and Nicholas Parker’s production is both imaginative and unobtrusive … If you normally buy a record for Christmas, then I should think it’s pretty safe to say here is the one for this year. If you wouldn’t normally dream of buying a record for Christmas, well, you’ll just have to make an exception.’ Gramophone
‘For those who enjoy old English choral music, then this CD can become one of those you will have to listen to every christmas. This is one of mine.’ Customer review on Amazon.com