Written just before The Planets, Holst’s choral epic, The Cloud Messenger, Op 30, has been neglected since its dud premiere in 1913 (the same year as Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring. It couldn’t be more different). A ravishing outpouring of late romanticism, it sets words by the Sanskrit poet Kālidāsa: an exiled yaksa, or nature spirit, persuades a passing cloud to send a love message to his wife in the distant Himalayas. Conductor Joseph Fort has made a lean but faithful chamber version – in part to make the work better known – expertly played by the Strand Ensemble and warmly sung by the well-blended choir of King’s College, London. They also excel in Holst’s a cappella Five Partsongs, Op 12.
Has British choral singing ever been as rich as now? Among other must-have new releases: the ace De Profundis (conductor Eamonn Dougan) singing Spanish Renaissance music by Juan Esquivel; the Gesualdo Six (director Owain Park) exploring early and contemporary music in their stunning album Fading; the Sixteen in two new releases spanning the centuries from Allegri’s Miserere to James MacMillan’s Symphony No 5. Support these wonderful vocal ensembles if you can.
