In Exile (Sumsion)

Sumsion knew Gloucester Cathedral's acoustics very well, as he was a chorister there from age nine, and then a pupil of Herbert Brewer, and cathedral organist from 1928 to 1967. He wrote the motet for a double choir, both SATB.^[2] It is written in B♭ minor, beginning in ³
₄ time, marked Andante.^[2] Coro II (or Cantoris) begins with wave-like flowing motifs on a vowel "ah". Marked legato and pianissimo (pp); it is requested to be sung with almost closed lips and staggered breathing. After almost three measures, Coro I (or Decani) enters in homophony, marked doloroso (sorrowful). They carry the line "By the waters of Babylon we sat down and wept. The line is repeated with the choirs switching.^[4] For the continuation "when we remember'd thee O Zion", Coro I leads the text again.^[5] The scene between the captives and the guards is set with dramatic intensity,^[6] but the sorrowful beginning is repeated in text and music as a conclusion.^[7] A reviewer summarized that the "voices reproduce the effects of restless waters" in a piece which is "melodically rich, consistently interesting and deeply moving".^[8]

The psalm setting is suitable for Anglican Evensong, and for programs around the topic of exile.^[8] It was recorded in 1999 as part of English Choral and Organ Music, sung by Donald Hunt Singers conducted by Donald Hunt, along with works by Sumsion, Herbert Howells, Gerald Finzi and Edward Elgar.^[3] Hunt also conducted the Worcester Cathedral Choir in 2004 as part of the album An English Choral Tradition, along with Magnificat and Nunc dimittis for St Paul's Cathedral by Herbert Howells, anthems, and the Mass in G minor by Ralph Vaughan Williams.^[9]

Works cited

• Boden, Anthony; Hedley, Paul (2017). The Three Choirs Festival: A History. Boydell & Brewer. p. 290. ISBN 978-1-78-327209-9.
• Miller, Sarah Bryan (2010). "St. Louis Chamber Chorus excels in songs of exile". St. Louis Post. Retrieved 22 January 2018.^{[permanent dead link]}
• Sumsion, Herbert (1981). In Exile. Basil Ramsey.
• "Donald Hunt / Worcester Cathedral Choir / An English Choral Tradition". AllMusic. 2004.
• "In Exile". Hyperion. 2012.