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The lovely and intensely spiritual creations of David Ashley White have given rise to an enviable reputation in the Episcopalian community as well as other denominations. His music reveals a distinctly Anglican ring and spirit: it would hardly sound out of place in an English cathedral. Yet its Yankee heritage shines through as well, thanks to his penchant for early American hymnody and folk music.

Above all, White never forgets that church music serves the primary purpose of supporting and enhancing congregational worship. Thus he never indulges in the sort of harmonic or rhythmic complexity, excessive dissonance, or dense counterpoint that might cloud the texts or distract from a worship experience. His spiritually seductive musical world is one of limpid, often chant-like melody and ear-pleasing harmony. Occasional elaborated canonic passages or allusions to old fuging tunes are about as far as his polyphonic writing takes him. He has a wonderful way with classic hymn-tunes, serving them up in fresh, uncluttered settings that never lose their nostalgia—an important aspect of sacred appeal. Some might say these pieces are simplistic and lack originality, but I found many of them to be quite sophisticated, and you simply can’t argue with the sweet and genuine sacred sentiments they all exude.

We get a sample to quite a generous and varied array of attractive and supremely practical material, both original and arranged hymns, motets, anthems, and psalms—many reflecting the seasons of the church year (Advent, Christmas, Lent) and special services like Evensong. Some could serve as introits or scriptural responses. We hear pieces for solo voices, men’s and women’s ensembles, and mixed choir—some a cappella, others with organ or instruments. There’s also an impressive organ solo that shows off Palmer Memorial’s magnificent instrument.

I won’t inflict a laundry list of all 27 numbers on you here. But I truly enjoyed every last one of them, and none lacked apparent liturgical function. I’ll let you in on a few favorites like ‘Our Holy Tribute, This’—a serene and gently sophisticated a cappella illumination of an ancient text. There’s also some exceptional Advent and Christmas music, including a bright and striking treatment of ‘Adam Lay Ybounden’ plus a soft, soaring setting of ‘Love Came Down at Christmas’—both original compositions. The floating ecstasy of ‘O Taste and See’ is another special treat.

As an Episcopalian musician, I was especially taken with ‘Memento Domine’, a refreshingly free approach to modified Anglican chant. Setting Psalm 132 (in English), the bulk of the text flows mostly in traditional fashion. But thanks to White’s cunning harmonic variety and deft juggling of the choir’s different sections, the going never gets dull or repetitive. Best of all, selected high points in the text are given their own searing mini-climaxes.

This is one of the finest, most professional-sounding church ensembles around. They were the only church choir to perform at last year’s national convention of the American Choir Directors’ Association—where just getting invited is a major coup in the choral world. Their singing is sweetly sonorous and technically secure, and it simply drips spiritual sincerity. Instrumental support is first-rate.

John Proffit’s Engineering is some of the best I’ve heard lately in music of this kind. I had to turn down my subwoofer when the organ got cranked up and the windows began to rattle—yet choral-organ balances (often a problem) are still of demonstration quality. Palmer Memorial is a near-ideal church choral venue, offering a spacious, airy acoustic. The booklet, with notes from the composer, is more than adequate. Church musicians of every ilk, take notice: there’s a lot of useful music here that your congregations will really like—and that most decent choirs can handle.

— Lindsay Koob, American Record Guide (May/June 2008)

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This most welcome recording is something of an AAM "family event" since David, Brady, Courtney, and organist Ann Frohbieter are all Association members. David is one of our most gifted and accomplished composers, and the program represents his work in its quality and variety, presented by a choir that has been associated with it for 30 years.

The opening work, Spirit, moving over chaos, snaps ears to attention. It incorporates the hymn tune Praise the Spirit, from which the album takes its title. Patricia Clark's 1997 text has a classic flavor, but is in a fresh idiom. Five other anthems bring in hymn tunes, of which Are you weary of your burden (tune: Wales) is especially touching in its folksong-like style. A more lively folksong style characterizes Alleluia, song of gladness with sparkling percussion.

With 27 tracks, each a gem, it's hard to single out other favorites. A few selections use older melodies such as Comfort, comfort ye my people with the Genevan Psalter tune and No More a Stranger or a Guest with the tune made famous by Virgil Thomson, but most of the music is original D.A. White. No matter how deeply one loves the "established" music for texts like Love came down at Christmas, God so loved the world, and O taste and see, David’s realizations are compelling additions to the choral repertory.

The choir is in splendid voice with superb intonation and phrasing. Brady and Courtney capture the wide variety of moods with understanding, and Ann's playing is decisive. Diction is not always quite as crisp as one might with for, but since full texts are provided, they can be followed in the liner--and there are many exceptionally fine texts here. David provides a brief essay regarding his work and his association with Palmer Church.

As a contribution to the recorded literature of the finest American church music, this disc is not to be missed. One can only hope that American choirs touring Great Britain and the Continent will add some of these eponymous works to their programs.

—Victor Hill, Ph.D., Journal of the Association of Anglican Musicians

 

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Director of the Moores School of Music at the University of Houston, David Ashley White is also a widely published and performed composer of sacred music. This CD, available from the Gothic Records Web site (www.gothic-catalog.com) samples a considerable variety of Dr. White's output, with Brady Knapp and Courtney Daniell-Knapp leading the superb choir of Houston's Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church. Several texts pertain to Advent and Christmas, but sources range from the Psalms to hymn writers of recent decades. 

If there's a recurrent style, it's an echo – sometimes forthright, sometimes more subtle – of American folk songs. Dr. White has a natural feel for vocal line, but also a keen ear for glowing harmonies. Accompaniments are mostly spare, with counterpoints from instruments including violin, flute, harp, bells and percussion. Much here could be sung by an average church choir, but pieces like "Spirit, Moving Over Chaos" and "Our Holy Tribute, This" would need careful tuning. The Houston choir sings beautifully, in a honeyed, vibrato-less tone, a soft-focus recording wrapping everything in warm reverberation (with some digital help?).

—Scott Cantrell, Dallas Morning News 

 

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