Ceremonial Oxford: Music for the Georgian University by William Hayes

William Hayes was Professor of Music at the University of Oxford from 1741 to 1777. A keen admirer of Handel, he composed celebratory music for many Oxford occasions. The Choir of Keble College and Instruments of Time & Truth revive music written for the chapels of Oxford, University ceremonies at the Sheldonian Theatre, and for grand concerts given in the Holywell Music Room, the earliest purpose-built public concert room in Europe. Instruments of Time and Truth was founded in 2014 to provide a platform for international performers resident in and around Oxford, many of whom hold Principal positions with groups such as the Academy of Ancient Music, the English Baroque Soloists and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. Since its inception, IT&T has assumed a significant role in underpinning the tradition of choral excellence in Oxford in collaborations with the choirs of New, Keble, Magdalen, The Queen’s, St Peter’s and Merton Colleges, as well as with choirs from within the community. Keble College Choir is one of Oxford’s leading mixedvoice ensembles. Since 2015, the group has performed in France, Hong Kong, Singapore and the Czech Republic, as well as widely in the UK, and regularly broadcasts on BBC Radio. It plays a prominent role in the annual Keble Early Music Festival and much of the choir’s repertoire is based around the music of the 16th to 18th Centuries. There is a close association with the Oxford-based period instrument orchestra Instruments of Time & Truth and this is their first recording together for CRD records. Matthew Martin studied music at Magdalen College, Oxford and organ at the Royal Academy of Music. He later studied with Marie-Claire Alain in Paris. He won the liturgical category in the 2013 British Composer Awards and has written for many of the UK’s leading choral ensembles including The Tallis Scholars, Gabrieli, The Sixteen and ORA Choir.

The Passions
1. (overture) – An Ode to Music
2. (chorus) – Thy wide extended pow’r

3. O Worship the Lord
4. Psalm 23: Lo! My Shepherd’s hand divine
5. Lord, how long wilt thou be angry

Organ Concerto in G
6. Allegro
7. Andante
8. Minuetto allegro

9. Save, Lord, and hear us

Voluntary in G
10. Adagio
11. Allegro

12. Lord, thou hast been our refuge
13. Psalm 120: To God I cry’d with anguish stung
14. O be joyful in God, all ye lands

The Fall of Jericho
15. Andante
16. Allegro
17. Whom then does Jericho deride – Will she in gates of brass rejoice
18.The Hundredth Psalm

ArtistThe Choir of Keble College Oxford – directed by Matthew Martin Rory Moules – organ Instruments of Time and Truth Edward Higginbottom – organ continuo
Reviews"This collection of his music for Georgian Oxford is sung exquisitely by the mixed Choir of Keble College, Oxford, accompanied in several pieces by the Instruments of Time & Truth. Matthew Martin's keen attention to detail, natural pacing and shapely phrasing guarantee that the varied music on offer amply supports Burney's view that Hayes was 'a great collector of curious and old compositions, and possessed of considerable genius and abilities for producing new'. Handel's influence is manifest in an overture from The Passions: An Ode to Music and a convivial Organ Concerto in G played by Edward Higginbottom with breezy assurance in the Italianate outer movements and gentleness in the melancholic Andante. This superb advocacy for Hayes concludes with larger-scale music from the oratorio The Fall of Jericho (an oboe-laden Sinfonia and a magnificent chorus in which trumpets and drums make a dramatic entrance halfway through) and a lovely account of a richly concerted setting of the Hundredth Psalm." – David Vickers, Gramophone "Outside Oxford, the music of William Hayes deserves to be better known and this disc should help redress the neglect. As organist of Magdalen College, the University Church and then professor of music, Hayes was one of the most active conductors of Handel’s oratorios outside London, but he was also a composer of real craftsmanship, as this disc demonstrates. The Keble choir and the period-instrument ensemble Instruments of Time and Truth give lively, convincing performances of varied genres including anthems, an Overture, Sinfonia, Organ Concerto and psalm setting in the generous acoustics of Keble Chapel. A Wonderful project, excellently performed. ***** Five Stars" – David Ponsford, Choir and Organ "Every now and then a CD comes along that makes one wonder why the music on it is not better known. That is precisely what happened here; I have known of William Hayes’s music for decades, and more recently through an offer to publish editions of some of his instrumental music, but I had never heard any of it except courtesy of the Sibelius playback feature. With the best will in the world, computers cannot (yet?) compete with human performance, most assuredly not when they are of this calibre – the lively playing of the orchestra and the soloists is well suited to accompanying the archetypically (in a good way!) stylish English collegiate choir. Hayes, 23 years Handel’s junior, builds solidly on the older man’s extension and expansion of choral repertoire, though there is no denying the essential Englishness of it all; there may be counterpoint, in many cases better worked that many of his generation, but his primary concern is to convey the mood of the words. The inclusion of an organ voluntary by an even more obscure composer, William Walond, who apparently played in performances of Hayes’s works, suggests a commitment to this repertoire that may bear further fruit." – Brian Clark, earlymusicreview.com "A splendid tribute to a major figure of Oxford’s, and Britain’s, musical past, and a refreshing example of what can be achieved both within the University and well beyond through the marriage of sound scholarship and lively music-making.” – Andrew Parrott “Excellent performances of excellent music, another proof that Handel’s English contemporaries deserve to be explored and performed.” – Peter Holman "Hayes would receive scores directly from Handel and conduct his oratorios in Oxford. But listening to the music on this disc, you can also hear Hayes interest in the music of his great predecessors, Tallis, Byrd and Purcell. Whilst the instrumental writing in works like the organ concerto has something of a Handelian cast, the choruses take on a very English feel, and in fact, we have one of his transcriptions of Byrd adapting Emendemus in melius for new English words. His own anthems were written with an eye to improving the general state of English sacred music in the 18th century, using his predecessors as exemplars, and the anthems presented here are certainly worth exploring more, combining as they do interest with a certain 18th-century polite grace. Matthew Martin, the choir of Keble College and the Instruments of Time and Truth give attractively engaged accounts of the music. Martin draws crisp and stylish playing from his orchestra and finely focused and beautifully blended singing from the choir. Martin is the lively soloist in the organ concerto with Edward Higginbottom and Rory Moules sharing the honours in the anthems. The disc concludes with a charming piece which encapsulates Hayes' art, an arrangement of the Hundredth Psalm given a lively an charming accompaniment full of rhythmic felicity. Martin and his team are to be congratulated on their imagination in giving us this disc of Hayes' music and I hope that we might hear more." – Planet Hugill "This recording was a bit of a revelation. Who knew that William Hayes was such an interesting composer? At least, he comes across as such with these really sparkling performances. The choir of Keble College (stiffened by a sprinkling of professionals) is on excellent form, and at times they display a quite brilliant virtuosity. With such persuasive performances as these one can imagine Hayes’s star will rise. The Instruments of Time & Truth is made up of many well-known names in the period instrument scene, and they contribute greatly to the success of this disc. The principal keyboard player is one Edward Higginbottom, putting retirement to good use! Keble’s director of music, Matthew Martin, as well as directing these forces with such distinction, is also the nimble-fingered soloist in Hayes’s organ concerto. A terrific CD, and most warmly recommended." – Roger Judd Cathedral Music Magazine "The Keble choir and the period-instrument ensemble Instruments of Time & Truth give lively, convincing performances of varied genres including anthems, an Overture, Sinfonia, Organ Concerto and psalm settings in the generous acoustics of Keble Chapel. A wonderful project, excellently performed." – Choir & Organ
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