The Dream of Herod [2002]

The Dream of Herod is the fruit of an encounter between Nigel Short and Richard McDonald in June 2001. Both were living in Villars in French-speaking Switzerland, and it was at the suggestion of a mutual friend, Barbara Pollock, that the two met to explore the idea of a collaborative project. Short was fine-tuning the creation of Tenebrae, and was eager to balance the traditional core of their repertoire with fresh and innovative material.

“Passion & Precision is their motto and it’s nowhere more potent than in the stark ‘The Dream of Herod’ in which the ancient villain, haunted by the genocide he has inflicted on his people, eventually finds redemption…”
- International Record Review December 2002

Purchasing

The Dream of Herod is available from Signum Records
Tel: 0870 710 6101

Information

The figure of King Herod of Judaea, sung by baritone Colin Campbell, quickly emerged as the unusual focus for the piece. This is the dark monarch portrayed in the Gospel of St. Matthew as the butcher of all infants in his land. After the visit of the three wise men, he is possessed by the fear that his power will be usurped by the prophesied newborn child. The result is a terrifying edict of execution.

The Dream of Herod traces an evolution from dark, brooding introspection to dawning effulgence. Torment and inner violence make way for the mystery of forgiveness and hope in a succession of six brief scenes. Herod, a ruthless, blood-stained king is condemned to restless reflection on the genocide he has inflicted on his own people. Uncertain whether he is lost in sleep or wakefulness, he witnesses a procession of figures that distil the essence of his branded conscience. Imprisoned by the horror of his deeds, he sees his pathway to release, illuminated by the very voices of those he most feared.

The piece is built around contrapuntal images of dark and light, power and fallibility, violence and gentleness, rise and fall. Time, reality and consciousness remain ambiguous, so that is ultimately unclear whether Herod’s dream is cyclical or consummate: so the theme of Christian redemption lifts us at the climax of the piece, we must make our own appraisal of whether the tormented Herod can shed his images of the night and embrace the divine paradox of forgiveness.

Reviews

’...one of the most thoughtfully sequenced, beautifully sung and best packaged Christmas CDs to have come my way this season. Lovingly moulded and beautifully sung: Silent Night, the Barry Rose arrangement…if you hear a Silent Night as well performed as this, you can count yourself very lucky indeed!’
Andrew McGregor – BBC Radio 3 ‘CD Review’

’..The Dream is by no means a pure choral work; baritone Colin Campbell brilliantly leads this dark account of the normally chintzy Christmas story, organ and timpani add real drama’
Steward Collins – Classical Music Magazine

‘As for Christmas presents … one of most impressive offerings is The Dream of Herod – the recorded debut of the chamber choir Tenebrae…‘Silent Night’ is exquisitely understated…‘Passion and Precision’ is their motto and it’s nowhere more potent than in the stark Dream of Herod….’ – International Record Review, December 2002

‘I don’t know what quality or style of singing is expected of ‘ye choirs of new Jerusalem’ but they could certainly do much worse than take for their model this new choir as it introduces itself here in Peter Wishart’s Alleluia, a new work is come on hand. Fresh and precise, full of the joys of rhythm, melody and counterpoint, they make a distinct impression….The Dream of Herod….is an imaginative piece, comparable in form to Britten’s church parables, with effective solo parts taken by members of the choir (a resonant Herod in the bass- baritone Colin Campbell) and expertly written choruses for the ill-fated innocents and their parents. Organ and timpani are skillfully introduced, and light blazes forth in the final bars. Elsewhere in the recital the Sussex Carol in Sir David Willcock’s arrangement twinkles merrily and there are some rousing last verses with descant….Into this sequence Robert Chilcott’s setting of James Joyce’s A flower given to my daughter slips with grace and an almost ecstatic tenderness.’ – John Steane, Gramophone, December 2002

‘The choir of 20 mixed voices is rather more than well drilled; more polished choral singing would be hard to find anywhere.’ – BBC Music Magazine, January 2003

‘Nigel Short’s own ‘The Dream of Herod’ gives the disc it’s title, and is highly effective as a compact church drama with a cracking climax…. the choral singing throughout the disc is first-rate, mellifluous, sensitive and firmly projected and the mix of music in the programme makes for a poignant meditation on the Nativity.’ – The Daily Telegraph, December 2002