Symphonic Hymns of the Forefathers (2002)

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General		Extras
Category	Documentary	Introduction Main Menu Audio & Animation Featurette-Further five hymns with introduction and more video footage Trailer-1:34 video trailer featuring highlights from production
Rating
Year Of Production	2002
Running Time	80:14 (Case: 126)
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Ads Then Menu
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	Peter Beveridge
Studio Distributor	Bredon Hill Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	Christopher Lawrence
Case	Amaray-Transparent
RPI	$29.95	Music	Paul Terracini

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	Unknown	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English Song Lyrics	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    The main feature of Symphonic Hymns of the Forefathers is an 80 minute documentary introduced and narrated by ABC radio's Christopher Lawrence starting on the Sydney foreshore and then transported to the Church of St Mary the Virgin, Oxford from whence sprang Oxford University. The architectural journey includes the London great churches of St Paul's Cathedral and Westminster Abbey, ducks down to Canterbury Cathedral and then treks across country to Bath Abbey, the tiny St Clement Church in the Cotswolds and crosses the river Severn to dwell upon the ruins of the once-great Tintern Abbey. Interspersed with the church visits are plenty of glimpses of Oxford, London and the English and Welsh countryside.

    Then there's the hymns - no dry-as-dog-biscuit renditions here, from congregations restlessly awaiting opening time or a departure from this mortal coil, but a collection magnificently orchestrated by Australian Paul Terracini, played by the Prague Symphony Orchestra and melodiously accompanied by the Ars Nova Vocal Group. I have to say that Terracini's arrangements provided me with some of the most enjoyable classical musical listening that I have experienced! The hymns' history is well presented by Lawrence with a commentary on the origins of their melody and subsequent words which usually have a quite different history. Most of the tunes, if not their names, will be familiar and include Nicaea (Holy, Holy, Holy), Diademata (Crown Him With Many Crowns), Richmond (When I Survey the Wondrous Cross) and St Denio (Immortal, Invisible). The latter hymn is one of Queen Elizabeth's favourites and was played at her 60th Jubilee celebrations.

    The DVD is cleverly authored so as to present the documentary featuring 6 hymns and Terracini and Lawrence's insightful and interesting commentaries or as a standalone soundscape featuring the original six hymns with 6 extras together with their own video footage (check out Royal Yorkshire Crescent, Bath Abbey, Roman Baths and Pulteney bridge and weir in Chapter 4 - Aurelia).

Video

    The feature, extras and menu are all presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and are 16x9 enhanced.

    Most of the transfer is reasonably sharp and there are good quality close-ups of stained glass windows and architectural features. Some of the external scenery was a little blurred on focus. There were a few marked lapses with marked grain visible in the Oxford walkabout at 14:17, at 22:45 and wood scenery filmed at 47:15. Shadow detail was generally below par with black holes in the landscape shots in the shade of buildings and trees and the interior of churches. The blacks were nevertheless solid with little apparent low level noise.

    The colours of the church interiors were rich and well realised. Some of the external scenery was a bit drab but this probably reflects the fact that much of the footage was shot in winter. There was chroma noise in Lawrence's jacket and the shop window frames at 14:17.

    Mild aliasing was apparent throughout the feature but only really irritating at 4:53 in the bell-tower louvre, on the conductor's baton at 8:38 and on the organ pipes at 20:43. There were moire patterns on the engraving at 11:43. As the feature was shot for TV, in video, there no film-to-video or film artefacts.

    Subtitles are provided for the hymns in both features but not for the commentaries which is a shame as I'm sure there will be many hard-of-hearing who will appreciate this disc.

    This is a dual layered DVD9 disc. There was no apparent layer transition point in the 80 minutes of the main feature. There were pauses after the introduction to the hymn extras suggesting the extras and main features were on different layers. This occurred for each hymn extra and was a little offputting.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    There was just the one audio track - English Dolby Digital 2.0 surround encoded.

    The dialogue of commentators and the vocal group was crystal clear and there were no problems with audio sync.

    What can one say about the music? These are some of the best-loved melodies in Western history, skilfully orchestrated into full symphonic and choral works and performed by fine musicians and singers. I hadn't heard of Terracini before but his is definitely a name to watch out for in future! For those who become mentally numb at the sight of congregations grinding their way through soulless dirges - let me assure you that the vocals in these symphonies are minimal and tastefully rendered.

    The surround channels were discretely and effectively utilised to evoke fullness and atmosphere without distraction.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Menu

    The menu is plain but functional with windowed video excerpts and sound bites from each chapter. It is presented at 1.78:1 16x9 enhanced with Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack as per the main features.

Trailer

Soundscape

    Six extra hymns, available with or without introductions by Lawrence and featuring excellent video footage of the countryside or cityscape relevant to the origins of the hymn - available with or without subtitles words to the hymns.

    The video, as is frequently the case with ABC releases, varies in quality from mediocre to superb but is mostly of good quality though marred by a fairly frequent smattering of minor MPEG and film-to-video artefacts.

    Although 'only' Dolby Digital 2.0 surround, the audio quality is superb does justice to the content.

    Symphonic Hymns Of The Forefathers will be enjoyed by those with an interest in architecture, church history, fine classical music or those who just enjoy letting the vista of British countryside roll by and stir some of those misty memories ....

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall