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NetLab -> Forums -> Music -> Classical music -> Topic: The Choir of Westminster Abbey - The Feast of St Michael and All Angels (2007) [FLAC] The Choir of Westminster Abbey - The Feast of St Michael and All Angels (2007) [FLAC], The Choir of Westminster Abbey, Robert Quinney - organ |
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Posted: 09-02-2009, 23:40
(post 1, #879502)
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The Choir of Westminster Abbey The Feast of St Michael and All Angels Label: Hyperion, CDA 67643 Year: 2007 Composers: Richard Dering (c1580-1630) Kenneth Leighton (1929-1988) Sir Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924) Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) Jean Langlais (1907-1991) Sir Michael Tippett (1905-1998) Sir Walter Galpin Alcock (1861-1947) Herbert Howells (1892-1983) Jonathan Harvey (b1939) Performers: Robert Quinney - organ Nicholas Trapp - treble Ben Turner - alto Julian Stocker - tenor Robert Macdonald - bass The Choir of Westminster Abbey James O'Donnell - conductor Hyperion is delighted to present this latest CD from The Choir of Westminster Abbey under their inspirational director, James O’Donnell. They continue their exploration of the rich repertoire of the liturgy in its historical context in the Abbey with music for the Feast of St Michael and All Angels. The texts for Michaelmas are uniquely dramatic and visionary, describing the angelic host and the war in heaven, and have inspired composers throughout the centuries to create settings of thrilling immediacy. This fascinating disc presents the best of these works from a range of composers. Included is most of the liturgical output of Sir Michael Tippett, whose joyful, extroverted compositional style and powerful sense of drama is perfect for the atmosphere of this festival. Langlais’ tremendous Messe solennelle is unquestionably his finest piece of church music; radiant and impassioned, using the organ particularly brilliantly to create colour and emotional depth. Herbert Howells’s A Sequence for St Michael is an excellent example of the mature style of the composer, an extended and substantial setting in which the Archangel’s intercession is movingly invoked. These and more established favourites and rarities of the repertoire are performed here with characteristic verve and impeccable musicality in the luminous acoustic of the Abbey. 'The choir, atmospherically recorded in the Abbey itself, sings this demanding repertoire with its customary zeal and a well-blended sound, and the performances are directed with the panache and style one has come to expect from James O'Donnell. Robert Quinney's contribution as organist culminates in a Laus Deo from Jonathan Harvey aptly described by O'Donnell in his booklet note as "the opulent psychedelia of [Messiaen's] Turangalila compressed into four minutes"' (The Daily Telegraph) 'The disc is a splendid and colourful addition to the Abbey Choir's recordings of special services. They themselves are in fine form, sovereign (as befits the status of their church) in musical confidence, as well placed as the bright-toned voices of the boys who rise with an aplomb many opera house choruses might envy to the high Cs of the Langlais Mass, and show their mastery in still more wonderful ways by finding the notes scattered with hide-and-seek devilry in Tippet's Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis. And in that connection the soloist Nicholas Trapp deserves particular mention. Their style, under James O'Donnell's sure direction, is forthright and spirited, well attuned to the Jacobean mysticism of Dering's Factus est silentium as to Howell's ecstatic Sequence for St Michael ... Kenneth Leighton's Responses are subtly varied and inventive' (Gramophone) After eight years James O’Donnell has brought a new sound to the choir of Westminster Abbey. The boys show the greater improvement, a firmer, more solid tone, but the men also now sound like the best adult choirs, no longer afflicted with the peculiar tone that used to make the adult altos stand out uncomfortably. Soloists, both boys and men, are capable of the assignments given to them, though at the top of their range the boys retain the extreme white tone that has characterized most English boys’ choirs. The acoustics of the Gothic building are superb, and the organ makes magnificent sounds where the opportunity is presented. Both programs are excellent, and they are complementary; collectors will enjoy acquiring both of them. Tracklist: 01. Factum est silentium [3'11] Richard Dering (c1580-1630) 02. The Preces and Responses Kenneth Leighton (1929-1988) 03. Psalm 148 'Laudate Dominum' 'O praise the Lord of heav'n' [3'14] Sir Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924) 04. Te Deum in G 'We praise thee, O God' [7'05] Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) 05. Jubilate in C 'O be joyful in the Lord, all ye lands' [2'32] Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) 06. The Preces and Responses Kenneth Leighton (1929-1988) Messe solennelle Jean Langlais (1907-1991) 07. Movement 1: Kyrie [4'26] 08. Movement 2: Gloria [4'54] 09. Movement 3: Sanctus [1'42] 10. Movement 4: Benedictus [2'56] 11. Movement 5: Agnus Dei [5'20] 12. Plebs angelica [3'42] Sir Michael Tippett (1905-1998) 13. Psalm 91 'Qui habitat' 'Whoso dwelleth under the defence of the most High' [4'21] Sir Walter Galpin Alcock (1861-1947) Magnificat and Nunc dimittis 'Collegium Sancti Johannis Cantabrigiense' Sir Michael Tippett (1905-1998) 14. Canticle 1: Magnificat 'My soul doth magnify the Lord' [4'10] 15. Canticle 2: Nunc dimittis 'Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace' [3'08] 16. A Sequence for St Michael 'Michael, Archangel, of the King of Kings' [10'23] Herbert Howells (1892-1983) 17. Laus Deo [4'05] Jonathan Harvey (b1939)   LOG
This post has been edited by kgkk on 09-02-2009, 23:43 |
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