Edward Picton-Turbervill
Spell of Creation
Spell of Sleep
Out of Eden
Song of Eden
Katie Bray (mezzo-soprano)
Ed Lyon (tenor)
Hugo Herman-Wilson (baritone)
Michael Foyle (violin)
Hannah Watson Emmrich (piano)
Hugh Rowlands (organ)
George English (percussion)
London Choral Sinfonia
Michael Waldron
Recorded at St John the Evangelist, Islington, London on 19-20 May 2025
Reviewed by: Rob Pennock
Reviewed: July 2026
CD No: Orchid Classics: CD, download and stream: ORC100453
Duration: 63 minutes
Edward Picton-Turbervill (b.1993) is very much a torch bearer of the English choral tradition stretching back to the 17th century. His language is tonal with luscious harmonies and ethereal textures using solo voices, chorus, violin, piano, organ and percussion.
The album begins with a choral part-song setting of words by Kathleen Raine, which wouldn’t seem out of place at choral evensong or a UK coronation ceremony. Spell of Sleep is similarly traditional with a mezzo-soprano intoning over what initially sounds like a group of extended, soft choral chords.
Song of Eden, which is purely instrumental, creates a series of beautiful soundscapes where the generous church acoustic enabled the composer to create echo-like effects on the mallet percussion, piano and organ, which also has a more traditional solo in Reliquary.
Scored for organ, violin, percussion, soloists and chorus, Out of Eden might be called an environmental protest piece, where the composer, using religious texts, describes his own interpretation of humanities past and future relationship with the planet. It’s seven movements revolve around a Miserere, which invites audience participation and choral improvisation. As elsewhere the music is, in the best possible way, very British, vividly descriptive, dramatic and moving and the performances are equally good
The booklet contains texts and extensive essays by the composer and conductor. The sound on the 24/192 download and stream is pretty good, with plenty of depth and the performers locked in place in the very reverberant acoustic. However, compared to a Base 2 organ recording I was listening to recently, recorded in DXD, the bass lacks definition.