So Hallow’d the Time Review by Ken Meltzer

by Ken Meltzer

BRIAN GALANTE So Hallow’d the Time. PAULUS How Far is it to Bethlehem. Christmas Dances. Pilgrim’s Hymn • Robert Taylor, cond; Mary-Scott Taylor (vn); Jessica Hull-Dambaugh (fl); Kari Kistler (ob); Abigail Kent (hp); Taylor Festival Ch • DELOS 3580 (49:35 ) 

So Hallow’d the Time is the title both of a composition by Brian Galante, and a Delos disc comprising Christmas works for chorus by him and Stephen Paulus. That title work, and also Paulus’s Christmas Dances, here receive their world premiere recordings. In his program notes, Galante acknowledges that So Hallow’d the Time “is a purposeful homage to Paulus, in recognition of his considerable influence on my work—and, indeed, on American choral music.” The five movements of So Hallow’d the Time—“Wisdom,” “Peace,” “Love,” “Light,” and “Hope”—depict “movement from darkness to light, from cold to warmth, from the unsure to the certain.” Galante sets texts from the “O Antiphons” (seventh century), Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Milton’s “Ode on the Morning of Christ’s Nativity,” Robert Southwell, and Tennyson’s “In Memoriam CVI.” Galante’s writing for chorus, soloists, and a small ensemble of instrumentalists is unabashedly tonal, melodious, radiantly transparent in texture, and ever-attentive to the texts at hand. The journey from a mysterious and beautiful winter landscape to the final joyous celebration is inexorable, convincing, and powerfully achieved. The three Stephen Paulus works—How Far is it to Bethlehem, Christmas Dances, and Pilgrim’s Hymn—are representative of one of America’s finest composer of choral music (among other genres) of the past half century. How Far is it to Bethlehem is a lovely setting of the traditional English carol (text by Frances Chesterton), featuring soprano and tenor solos, along with an oboe tinged with Middle Eastern atmosphere. Christmas Dances, in four movements (“Break Forth,” “Methinks I Hear,” “The Nativity of Our Lord,” and “On the Nativity of Our Saviour”), offers settings of texts by Jonathan Rist, Timothy Swan, Christopher Smart, and Ben Johnson. Here, Paulus’s characteristic rich and often euphoric choral writing, brimming with energy and tantalizing syncopations, is a delight from start to finish. The disc concludes with Pilgrim’s Hymn, a heartfelt and uplifting setting of a text by Michael Dennis Browne, sung at the funerals of Presidents Reagan and Ford. The performances on this Delos recording are first rate. The Taylor Festival Choir sings throughout with arresting tonal beauty and purity, and a masterful balancing of the voice ranges. There are also fine contributions by the vocal soloists, sopranos Grace Kahl and Kori Miller, tenors Joshua Overby and William Royall, and baritone Brandon Hendrickson, along with instrumentalists Jessica Hull-Dambaugh (flute), Abigail Kent (harp), Dr. Kari Kistler (oboe), and Mary Scott Taylor (violin). 

The recording, made in May of 2018 at the Circular Congregational Church in Charleston, SC, is appropriately resonant and full-bodied, without any hint of artificial enhancement. Informative and engaging liner notes by conductor Robert Taylor and Galante enhance the experience. This is a lovely disc that is billed as a collection of Christmas music, but one that I think will provide pleasure and inspiration year round. Recommended.

Ken Meltzer

This article originally appeared in Issue 44:4 (Mar/Apr 2021) of Fanfare Magazine.