Seasonal favourites: Judith Weir - Illuminare, Jerusalem

Despite being a time of year deeply entrenched in tradition (& not necessarily the worse for it), composers do from time to time bring a flash of innovation to Christmas • So, in the week leading up to the day itself, i'm going to explore a few of my seasonal favourites •

The first is Judith Weir's short carol Illuminare, Jerusalem, which dates from 1985 • It was commissioned by King's College, Cambridge, for their annual service of Nine Lessons & Carols, & has remained a regular item in their repertoire • The work combines two of Weir's strongest qualities, simplicity & succinctness, taking as its subject a joyous mediæval Scottish text exhorting Jerusalem to be—in every sense—illuminated by what is taking place above & around it • Anyone familiar with the language of mystery plays will recognise something similar here, & Weir emphasises the quirky contours of the text in her music • The three verses are distributed to different sections of the choir; the opening verse, announcing both star & angels, is given to the trebles; the closing verse, detailing the supplanting of Herod by the more "richtous king" falls to the men alone • They're combined in the central verse that delightfully describes the Magi as "Thre kingis of strenge regionis to thee ar cumin with lusty rout"—i doubt Caspar, Melchior & Balthasar have ever been depicted quite like that before • Each of these verses follows a similar pattern, a triplet-laden melody that begins low & gradually rises to a climax; but what follows is a stroke of genius • The refrain "Illuminare Jerusalem" is sung softly but pointedly, the second word drawn out, but the first delivered staccato & momentarily underpinned by deep organ pedal notes • It's a totally unexpected way to set such a word, but it's a compositional triumph, lending a weird & unsettling numinosity to the refrain, perfectly capturing the sentiments its ancient words are seeking to convey •

The piece is currently available on CD in two performances, one of which is on the recently-released Choral Music by the choir of Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge, an album devoted entirely to Weir's music for choir • It's also included on the excellent On Christmas Day, a double album by the choir of neighbouring King's College, lavishly surveying the contemporary carols they've commissioned over the last twenty-or-so years • The King's College disc arguably displays greater authority & experience, while the Gonville & Caius performance (aided by some seriously enthusiastic female sopranos) is somewhat clearer, so take your pick where those are concerned •

Better than both, though, in my view, is the performance given by the King's College choir at their service of Nine Lessons & Carols in 2009 • The choir brings out some rather amusing emphases on the text's more overtly Scottish phrases, & the organ pedal notes have a juddering bass that makes those moments even more powerful •

Judith Weir - Illuminare, Jerusalem
FLAC [9Mb]
MP3 [v0 vbr | 3Mb]
text [PDF]