after hours: a cappella from...
TRANSCRIPT
AFTER HOURS
THE KING’S MENCAMBRIDGE
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1 Get AroundThe Beach Boys, arr. Keith Roberts 02:05
2 Swing Low, Sweet ChariotTraditional Spiritual, arr. Ed Rex 03:06
3 WonderwallOasis, arr. Tom Recknell 02:30
4 A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley SquareManning Sherwin and Eric Maschwitz, arr. Ruari Bowen 03:36
5 Forget YouCee Lo Green, arr. Ed Rex 02:45
6 Never Had a Dream Come TrueS Club 7, arr. Peter Lindsay and Joe Adams 03:07
7 SeptemberEarth, Wind and Fire, arr. Ed Rex 04:04
8 Tears in HeavenEric Clapton, arr. Tom Recknell 03:59
9 I Want It That WayBackstreet Boys, arr. Tom Recknell 03:03 SoloistBenGoble
10 Minnie the MoocherCab Calloway, arr. Ed Rex 02:58 SoloistDavidBagnall
11 Call Me MaybeCarly Rae Jepsen, arr. Ed Rex 03:30 SoloistsDavidBagnall,FeargalMostyn-Williams
12 Old Man RiverJerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein, arr. Ruairi Bowen 04:16 SoloistHenryHawkesworth
13 Every Time We Say GoodbyeCole Porter, arr. Ed Rex 02:08
14 I Want You BackThe Jackson 5, arr. Ed Rex 02:29 SoloistMikeHamway
Total Time 43:36
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Tracks 1-4, 6-10, 12 & 13recordedatStGeorge’sChurch,Chesterton,18-19Marchand25-26June2013Tracks 5, 11 & 14recordedatWestRoadStudio,20March2013Producer BenjaminSheenEngineersMatthewDilley(Chesterton)andDanielHalford(WestRoadStudio)Mastering EngineerNickWatson
Cover DesignAndyDoeBooklet Design & LayoutDavidMillingerImages©TheKing’sMenLabel managementAndyDoe
AFTERHOURS A cappella from Cambridge
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The King’s Men
The King’s Men(formerlyknownas‘Collegium Regale’–simplyLatinfor‘King’s College’)isthecloseharmonygroupmadeupofthechoralscholarsoftheChoirofKing’sCollege,Cambridge.AsChoralScholars,ourdutiesincludesingingthedailyservicesintheChapel,withbusyrecordingandtouringschedulesinthevacations,and,ofcourse,thefamousFestivalofNineLessonsandCarolsonChristmasEve,broadcastbytheBBCallaroundtheworld.
ButalongsidethesechoircommitmentsruncountlessengagementswithThe King’s Men,whichfunctionsasaseparateentityfromtheChoiritself,runbythechoralscholars.WemightexpecttohaveasmanyassixtyKing’s Menengagementseachyear,andtheseincludeconcertsinandaroundCambridge,entertainmentatfunctionsinCollege,singingatumpteenCambridgeMayBalls(oftenatsilly-o-clockinthemorning)andourannualtour,forwhichourfourteenmemberssplitintotwogroups,andpileintofourunfortunatecars,tovisitvenuesintheNorthandSouthofEngland.WehavealsosungattheHongKongClubinHongKong(funnilyenough),inNewYork,andatPrincetonUniversity.AstheBeachBoyssoaptlyputit,wedoGet Around.
Wehavealsohadthepleasureofperformingindependentlywithsuchstarsastrumpeter,AlisonBalsom,andtheworld’spremieroperaticcountertenor,AndreasScholl.Therewas
alsoanow-fabledappearanceasbackingvocalistswithDizzeeRascalattheElectricProms.ThegrouphassungforsuchluminariesasLordSainsbury(underthedirectionofStephenCleobury),StephenHawking,andDanielCraig.WewerealsoengagedtosingattheGreenwichRoyalNavalCollegeatanofficialdinnercelebratingthe2012Olympics.
Allthisisabsolutelybrilliantfun,butitrequiresquiteadealofhardworktokeepstandardsup–therearefrequentrehearsalsinterm-timeledbyourappointedmusicaldirectors,andourbusinessmanagerhasthecolossaltaskoforganisingeveryeventforthegroup.Asifthiswerenotenough,eachyearthemostexperiencedthird-yearsingersleavethechoirandanewcropofwide-eyedfreshersarrives.Ifyouweretoleavethegroupandcomebackthreeyearslater,itwouldbeacompletelydifferentsetofsingersfromtheoneyoustartedwith.
Insomeways,ofcourse,thispresentsdifficulties(notelearning,forone),butinothersitisasourceofstrength,asnewgenerationsbringnewideasandkeepthegroupconstantlyonitstoes–thingscannotstagnate,becausethereissimplynotenoughtimeforthemto.
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ENThe King’s Men
High AltoMikeHamwayFeargalMostyn-Williams
AltoPatrickDunachieColmTalbot
High TenorDavidBagnallJoelWilliams
TenorPhilipBarrettRuairiBowen*
BaritoneBenGobleRobStephen*
BassDanield’SouzaSamLandman
Low BassHenryHawkesworthBenOakley
(*MusicalDirectors)
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A Year With The King’s Men
AsMichaelmasTermbegins,freshersarriveandleaversemptytheirroomsaftertheirfinalsummerconcertsasmembersoftheChoir.Despitethebalmyoverhangoftheprevioussummer,oureyesarealreadysetonChristmas,threemonthsaway.Thefirstannualengagementeveryyearisalarge(free)concertinKing’sHallofChristmasrepertoireattheendofterm,butthemainprioritytostartwithistoteachthefreshersasmuchofthestandardconcertmusicaspossible.Thatway,theycanstartparticipatinginperformancesassoonaspossible.AswestayinCambridgeaftertermendstorecordCarols from King’sforBBCtelevisionanyway,thisallowsustodoourannualcarolconcertattheEaglepubinreturnforahealthy(orunhealthy,perhaps)tabbehindthebarandtosingtothepatientsatAddenbrookesHospitalwhocannotgetbacktotheirhomesatChristmas–alwaysarewardingexperience.OnChristmasEve,weoftenhaveaBBCradiobroadcastinthemorning,withjustthemenoftheChoir,ontopofthemorefamousFestival of Nine Lessons and Carolslaterintheday.Afteratwohourrehearsalforthat,wegooutandserenadethequeue(somemembersofwhichhavebeenbravingtheelementsforacoupleofdaystoensuregoodseats!)withourclose-harmonyChristmasfare,beforeaheartybrunch.
TherealclimaxoftheKing’sMen’syearcomeswhenwegoonourannualnationaltour(usuallyintheEasterholidays)andperformnineortenconcertsoverthecourseofaboutasmanydays.Thesequenceofmusicinourconcertsisin
atriedandtestedformatoffourquarters(interspersedwithanintervalandsomelightcontributionsfromourorganscholars),coveringthewholerangeofourrepertoire.Westartoffwithearlysacredmusicandmadrigalsofthe16thand17thcenturies,movingtoarrangementsoffolk-songsinthesecondquarter.Aftertheintervalwehavetraditionalspiritualsandjazzbeforemovingontothemorepopularrepertoiretoclose.It’saneclecticmix,butitdoeswork.Eachpieceisprecededbyashortspokenintroductionbyoneofournumberandweendeavourtomakethesehumorous,althoughourcomicexpertise,itmustbeadmitted,issomewhatlimited.ThisCD,mercifully,ispresentedwithouttheseinterjections,andincludesmusicthatyoumighthearussinginginthethirdandfourthquartersofaconcert.
AfterexamscomestheonslaughtofMayBalls–aweekorsowhereallsemblanceofadecentsleepingpatterngoesoutthewindow.Weperformassevenmangroups,andsometimeswemighthavetosingatthreedifferentballsinonenight,endingatabout5:00am.Wealwayshaveanoutrageouslygoodtime,andthereisoftentheoptiontogetacovetedtickettotheballyouareperformingat–it’safinedeal.OntheSundayattheendofMayWeekweperformaconcertcalledSinging on the River,wheretheaudiencesitsononesideoftheriverCamandweperform(withmicrophones)acrosstheriverfromtheother,onpunts.Theweathernearlyalways,miraculously,holdsoutandweusuallypresentthesameprogrammethatwetoured,
meaningthatweknowthemusicwellenoughnottobeputoffbyducks,highwinds,andtheever-presentpossibilityoffallingin.Itneverfailstodrawinagreataudience–sometimeswellover1,000.
TofindoutmoreaboutbecomingamemberofThe King’s Men,visittheKing’sCollegeChoirwebsite:www.kings.cam.ac.uk/choir
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Recording After Hours
Itwouldbefairtosaythatthisdischasbeenatimelonginproduction.The King’s MenhaverecordedCDsofFolkSongsandSpirituals,Christmasclose-harmonymusicandtwoverysuccessfulalbumsofearlyrenaissancemusicontheSignumlabel(directedbyStephenCleobury),butforsomereasonorotherthemore‘popular’sideofwhatwedowasnotdocumented.Talkingtooldermembersofthegroup,itseemsthatplanswerealwaysinthepipeline,buttheprojectneverquitematerialised.
Onethingsoenjoyableaboutthisprojectwasjusthowmuchthiswasa‘hometeam’endeavour,allofthearrangersweremembersofThe King’s Menatsomepoint,andourproducer,Ben,washimselfaCountertenorLay-ClerkatKing’satthetimethisrecordwasmade.Itwasgreatthathecouldactuallyattendourrehearsalstoofferhisthoughtswellinadvanceofthesessions.DrawingonhisexperienceofhavingproducedadiscofsimilarrepertoirewhilstatNewCollege,Oxford,hiscontributionwasinvaluable,aswasthedeterminationofourtwomusicaldirectors,RobandRuairi.
WealsogreatlybenefitedfromworkingwithBenParry,sometimememberofKing’sCollegeChoir,amusicaldirectoroftheSwingleSingers,founderoftheDunedinConsortandnowdirectoroftheNationalYouthChoir.OurworkwithBenfocusedoncreatinganauthenticclose-harmonysound,distinctfromthemorefull-bloodedsingingwhichwedoassoloistsormembersoftheChapel
Choir.RogersCovey-Crump(tuningexpertandtenoroftheHilliardEnsemble)alsogaveussomeimportantadviceabouttacklingthemorecomplexharmoniesinsomeofthearrangements.
Fairlyearlyonintheplanningoftheproject,ourmusicaldirectorsandproducerdecided,withcommonconsentfromthegroup,thatwewantedtherecordedsoundtobeafaithfulrepresentationofthesoundofthegroupinconcert,soapartfromthreetracks(Call Me Maybe,Forget YouandI Want You Back),therecordingsonthisCDweremadelive,standingaswewouldforaconcert,inasemicircle,andwithoutanydigitalmanipulation.Thethreetrackswhichweren’trecordedlive,wefeltwouldworkbestrecordedinastudio,astheywererecentpophits,andtomakethearrangementscomeacrossattheirbest,thecloseandimmediatesoundthatcomesfrommulti-trackrecordinginastudiowaspreferable.Asmostofourperformingisdoneinsevenmangroups,wethoughitappropriatetoincludethisstyleofperformanceontherecording,andthefinishedproductincludestrackswithallfourteenofussingingtogether(suchasGet AroundandMinnie the Moocher),areducedcomplementofabouttenofus(September),allthewaydowntoone-to-a-partsevenmansinging(Old Man RiverandA Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square).
Notes © Henry Hawkesworth, 2014
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The Arrangers
Ed RexhashadtieswithKing’ssincejoiningasachoristerwhenhewaseightyearsold.ItwasontourwiththeChoirthathefirstheardtheKing’schoralscholarssingingcloseharmony;oneparticularlyfinerenditionofStormy Weatherwasenoughtosethimoncourseforalongloveaffairwiththegenre.GoingontoTheKing’sSchool,Canterbury,hewroteseveralofthearrangementsonthisdiscforthea cappellagroupthere,whichcheekilyalsoperformedunderthemonikerThe King’s Men.In2007hedecidedhecouldstayawayfromKing’snolongerandreturnedtotheChoirasachoralscholar.OverhisthreeyearsatCambridgeheplayedfluteintheUniversityJazzOrchestra,wrotemusicfortheADCTheatre,anddidaspellasmusicaldirectorofThe King’s Men,writinganumberofarrangementsforthegrouptosingatvariouseventsinCambridge(atthesametimeasgettingthetopstarredfirstinmusicintheUniversity).
SinceleavingCambridge,EdhashadanumberofchoralpiecespublishedbyNovello,andBoosey&Hawkes,andwascommissionedtowritetheIntroitfortheBBCRadio3broadcastfromtheEdingtonFestivalin2012.HehasarrangedfortheKing’s Singers,hascomposedmusicforvariousplays,andwritesabouttechnologyandtheartsforThe Spectator.Hehasnowfoundhiswayintothetechworld,andiscurrentlytobefoundrunningamusicstart-upoutofGoogleCampusinLondon.
www.edrex.co.uk
Tom Recknell,likeEd,cuthisteethinchoralmusicbybeingachoristeratKing’sasayoungboyandclearlyloveditsomuchthathereturnedin2007tohaveanothergoasachoralscholar,afteraspellatEton.
Duringhisuniversityyears,Tomspentsignificantlymoretimewritingsongs,musicfortheatre,andarrangementsforThe King’s Menthanconcentratingonhisacademicwork,andhascontinuedtofollowthatpatternofworkintohisprofessionallife.NowworkinginLondonasacomposerandsongwriter,TomhaswrittenmusicwhichhasbeenheardonChannel4television,atLatitudeMusicFestival,onBBCRadioandattheCannesFilmFestival.
In2010,TomsharedtheresponsibilityofbeingmusicaldirectorofThe King’s MenwithfellowarrangerEdRex,andisdelightedtoseethisdisc,whichhasbeendiscussedforsomanyyears,finallyreleased.
www.tomrecknell.co.uk
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NINELESSONS &CAROLS
STEPHEN CLEOBURYC O N D U C T O R
MOZARTREQUIEMR E A L I S A T I O N S
STEPHEN CLEOBURYCONDUCTOR
ELIN MANAHAN THOMASCHRISTINE RICE
JAMES GILCHRISTCHRISTOPHER PURVES
ACADEMY OF ANCIENT MUSIC
NINE LESSONS & CAROLSSTEPHEN CLEOBURY CONDUCTORKGS0001 (2CD)
PERFORMANCE / RECORDING ****‘the level of achievement reached in these live performances is enviable’BBC Music Magazine (UK)
MOZART REQUIEM REALISATIONSSTEPHEN CLEOBURY CONDUCTORElin Manahan Thomas, Christine Rice, James Gilchrist, Christopher Purves, Academy of Ancient MusicKGS0002 (1SACD & 1CD)
*****‘a performance that holds one’s attention throughout ... The excellent line-up of soloists (Gilchrist and Purves are former King’s choristers) could hardly be bettered, and Cleobury steers his forces through a most moving account. Highly recommended.’Choir & Organ (UK)
****‘a suitably scholarly project from the Choir of King’s College ... the soloists are excellent’The Times (UK)
BRITTENSAINTNICOLASHYMN TO ST CECILIAREJOICE IN THE LAMB
STEPHEN CLEOBURYCONDUCTOR
ANDREW KENNEDYBRITTEN SINFONIA
BRITTEN SAINT NICOLASSTEPHEN CLEOBURY CONDUCTORAndrew Kennedy, Britten SinfoniaKGS0003 (1CD & 1SACD)
***** RECORDING / **** PERFORMANCE‘Andrew Kennedy is a gripping Nicolas ... All three works have been superbly recorded ... I’m not sure I’ve ever heard the resonant King’s College acoustic captured better’BBC Music Magazine (UK)
***** The Financial Times (UK)
‘The contribution of all the choirs involved ... is pretty much beyond praise. The playing of the Britten Sinfonia is alert, rhythmical and purposeful. The tenor soloist Andrew Kennedy is magnificent here. The whole performance is utterly convincing and very moving, all captured in magnificent sound.’International Record Review (UK)
ALSO AVAILABLE FROM KING’S