JAMES MACMILLAN: MASS AND OTHER SACRED MUSIC Choir of Westminster Cathedral Andrew Reid – organ Martin Baker – conductor Hyperion CDA67219 £££ A New Song; Mass; Christus vincit; Gaudeamus in loco pace; Seinte Mari moder milde; A Child's Prayer; Changed; TPT: 65' 37

Haunting, evocative and intelligent – it's certainly worth every penny, but what's happened to the choir?

As a composer, James MacMillan has been growing steadily in prominence in recent years, and although his eclectic instrumental style is often difficult to access, his sacred choral writing displays a facet of this musical personality that is definitely worth getting to know. One perhaps could never accuse him of writing beautiful music, yet his style is atmospheric and haunting, making his sacred music some of the most intelligent and certainly the most interesting to have come from the pen of a British composer in recent years. The Mass, a through-composed setting, is a remarkable work, if for nothing else because of his effective use of chord clusters, fragmentary melodic strands, chromatic twists and augmented intervals; in this respect it is similar to a setting by Stephen Oliver, commissioned some twenty years ago by Norwich Cathedral, in calling to mind the dark, incense-filled cathedrals of medieval times. And although one might perceive the fingerprints of such sacred composers as Duruflé, Howells or Langlais, his style remains firmly rooted in a personal religious vision. The mass's Gloria in particular is rich in atmospheric and affective intent, its underlying ecstasy rarely breaching its restrained boundaries. He leaves that moment for the Sanctus and Benedictus, both of which have stimulated some of the most exciting and effective sacred writing of the last century. Notwithstanding Langlais' fevered outbursts, MacMillan's setting must be considered amongst the finest, if only for the audacity of a Pines of Rome-like crescendo that spans the whole movement, transforming a relatively simple texture into a sheer, impenetrable wall of sound from a full choir, and, remarkably, even fuller organ.

If anything, the other works on the disc affirm MacMillan's mastery of the sacred genre. Christus vincit contains some stunning and evocative choral effects and, despite its somewhat disconcerting harmonies and melismatic ululations, we become embroiled in a cat-and-mouse, edge-of-the-seat game as we wait for tense, almost frustrated harmonies to burst into flower; the medievalism of Seinte Mari moder milde, with fortissimo tuttis that juxtapose with organum-like interpolations from the basses, is as striking in its ingenuity as it is in its ambience; the Brittenesque opening of A Child's Prayer is exotic in its sophisticated development. Only Changed fails to impress: a mundane setting of a Wallace Stevens verse, its ground bass accompaniment and homophonic choral style, which ends with a banal cliché in which the choir hums the notes of the open strings of a guitar, seems out of place with the other more ethereal items on the disc.

Performances are more than adequate, but give rise to some concern as to what has become of Westminster Cathedral Choir; the same quality of sound, detail and unique timbre that we heard with Hyperion's stunning Langlais disc (CDA66270, 1987 – a must, if you don't already have it) under David Hill seems to have been replaced with the more bland qualities one associates with the Anglican cathedral tradition – the boys have become more hooty and the gentlemen less restrained – and although one is convinced by Andrew Reid's stunning accompaniments and fine playing in his organ solo, overall they seem to have become a lacklustre bunch. Engineering is the high quality one expects from Hyperion, but the close proximity of recording does little to engender a sense of excitement: the unique, cavernous atmosphere of Westminster Cathedral would have been better served by a slightly less 'in-your-face' sound – I want to be bowled over by the sense of being small and insignificant, for the choir to be distant, for the contemplative feel of the cathedral to be present in everything I hear.

That aside, this is a fabulous, exciting and evocative disc that should not be ignored by either lovers of sacred music or enthusiasts of contemporary British composers.

Ian le Prévost