As we are about to enter Holy Week, here are two genuinely outstanding recordings of the hymns for Passiontide Vexilla Regis and Pange lingua. These come from an album released by the choir of Westminster Cathedral in October of 2023, titled Vexilla Regis: A sequence of music from Palm Sunday to Holy Saturday; the 21 tracks are also available on a YouTube playlist. Both of these hymns were were written by St Venantius Fortunatus, bishop of Poitiers in France, in the later sixth century, to celebrate the arrival there of a relic of the True Cross which was given by the Byzantine Emperor Justin II to Venantius’ dear friend St Radegund, Queen of the Franks. In the Divine Office, Pange lingua is divided into two parts, the first of which (five stanzas plus a doxology) is sung at Matins, and the second (five more stanzas plus the same doxology) at Lauds, while Vexilla Regis is sung at Vespers. They are also both used at the Mass of the Presanctified on Good Friday, the former during the adoration of the Cross, and the later while the Blessed Sacrament is brought back from the altar of repose to the main altar.
What I particularly like about both of these recordings is how they alternate the stanzas between the boys’ and men’s choirs, which then merge at the last stanza to powerful effect, while the organ accompaniment remains very light.Saturday, April 12, 2025
Wednesday, March 20, 2024
Superb Recordings of the Hymns of Passiontide
In October of last year, the choir of Westminster Cathedral released an album titled Vexilla Regis: A sequence of music from Palm Sunday to Holy Saturday. Among the 21 tracks are these two genuinely outstanding recordings of the hymns for Passiontide Vexilla Regis and Pange lingua; the whole album has also recently been made available on a YouTube playlist. Both of these were were written by St Venantius Fortunatus, bishop of Poitiers in France, in the later sixth century, to celebrate the arrival there of a relic of the True Cross which was given by the Byzantine Emperor Justin II to Venantius’ dear friend St Radegund, Queen of the Franks. In the Divine Office, Pange lingua is divided into two parts, the first of which (five stanzas plus a doxology) is sung at Matins, and the second (five more stanzas plus the same doxology) at Lauds, while Vexilla Regis is sung at Vespers. They are also both used at the Mass of the Presanctified on Good Friday, the former during the adoration of the Cross, and the later while the Blessed Sacrament is brought back from the altar of repose to the main altar.
What I particularly like about both of these recordings is how they alternate the stanzas between the boys’ and men’s choirs, which then merge at the last stanza to powerful effect, while the organ accompaniment remains very light. A very fine achievement indeed - congratulations to all who were involved!Pange lingua
Vexilla Regis
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
How The West Wing Can Help Catholic Choirs
As mentioned in David Clayton’s post on Monday, a Catholic Vespers was sung in the Chapel of Hampton Court Palace yesterday evening. This historic event was conceived and promoted by Genesis Sixteen, the outreach offshoot of The Sixteen, the well-known concert and touring choir. The Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Nichols, presided, and the music, sung by The Sixteen and Genesis Sixteen, included a Tallis Magnificat, Salve Regina by William Cornysh and John Taverner’s ‘Leroy’ Kyrie. For a non-Catholic choir to sing a Vespers from scratch is not easy (they were fortunate to have some help from Westminster Cathedral music department beforehand) even for a top-flight choir like The Sixteen. There is a rhythm and flow to the psalms which can only be accrued over time and is difficult to achieve ‘straight out of the box’. Genesis Sixteen, founded by a generous Catholic philanthropist, aims to give people of university age a launch into the professional world of singing. A few similar schemes have appeared over the past few years, including the Monteverdi Choir’s Apprentice Scheme, providing mutually beneficial arrangements for the host choir in terms of finance and publicity, as well as the obvious benefits for the young singers who audition to the requisite high standard.
However, sometimes philanthropy is needed in less obvious or visible situations, and sometimes philanthropists want to know where they can help. Towards the very end of the political TV drama series The West Wing, the Bartlett Administration is preparing to leave the White House and the senior staff weigh up their options and mull over various offers of employment from the private sector and other walks of life. Chief of Staff C.J. Cregg is approached by a billionaire philanthropist who tries to persuade her to head up his charitable foundation. He is determined to make a big difference and solve the problems of famine in Africa by bombarding it with aid. She explains to him that Africa’s problems are caused not so much by a lack of aid, but by a lack of roads. The solution therefore does not lie in flooding it with aid, but in building roads. With those roads, the aid can reach the places it needs to.
We learn to read and write at an early age. Music too, is a language, and ideally also needs to be learned at an early age. An ability to read music gives a young person the ability to freely access and experience all the music the world contains. I can say with absolute certainty that I learned more about music in my six years as a chorister at Westminster Cathedral (aged 8-13) than I have in the rest of my life put together. The choristers who sing there today have the same experience: a daily encounter with the highest standards, against which they will measure every other musical note they utter for the rest of their lives, and a total musical literacy, not just the grammar, but a sensitivity and understanding of every nuance and structure. (This is to say nothing of the Catholic experience and the nurturing of the Faith, but I am focusing on the raw music here.)
This is the same experience I work to bring to the boys in the Schola at the London Oratory. These boys, who at Mass this morning in the London Oratory sang Allegri’s Miserere with its famous top Cs, sing a wealth of Catholic liturgical music. Soon they will have sung, in the space of two years, both of J.S. Bach’s settings of the Matthew and John Passions, his B minor Mass, his motet Singet dem Herrn and Monteverdi’s Vespers, to name some of their recent concert repertory. The girls and boys of the Oratory Junior Choir have a similar experience which requires of them the highest standards of singing at the Oratory’s liturgies.
These liturgical choirs and others like them, which aspire to raise the musical standards and aspirations of Catholic children and young adults, need to be supported. They are as essential to Catholic Music as the roads in Africa, and there need to be more of them. (I was delighted to receive a letter from an NLM reader recently seeking advice about a children’s choir they are founding within a major Catholic institution in the USA.) Such choirs are not choral finishing schools. They do not get much publicity. They are fundamental, providing the bedrock support, the nuts and bolts of music if you will. They are founded upon hours of daily toil, and the considerable achievements of the children are earned through hard graft. There are no short-cuts, no quick fixes. And although it is at this age that attention and support most need to be given, most of these liturgical choirs are woefully underfunded. It may not be particularly glamorous to write cheques for replacement cassocks, or new copies of sheet music, or bursary funds, but those few good souls who do this, quietly and unnoticed, are building roads for the future.
Vespers in the Chapel of Hampton Court Palace yesterday.
(From The Sixteen’s Facebook Page)
However, sometimes philanthropy is needed in less obvious or visible situations, and sometimes philanthropists want to know where they can help. Towards the very end of the political TV drama series The West Wing, the Bartlett Administration is preparing to leave the White House and the senior staff weigh up their options and mull over various offers of employment from the private sector and other walks of life. Chief of Staff C.J. Cregg is approached by a billionaire philanthropist who tries to persuade her to head up his charitable foundation. He is determined to make a big difference and solve the problems of famine in Africa by bombarding it with aid. She explains to him that Africa’s problems are caused not so much by a lack of aid, but by a lack of roads. The solution therefore does not lie in flooding it with aid, but in building roads. With those roads, the aid can reach the places it needs to.
We learn to read and write at an early age. Music too, is a language, and ideally also needs to be learned at an early age. An ability to read music gives a young person the ability to freely access and experience all the music the world contains. I can say with absolute certainty that I learned more about music in my six years as a chorister at Westminster Cathedral (aged 8-13) than I have in the rest of my life put together. The choristers who sing there today have the same experience: a daily encounter with the highest standards, against which they will measure every other musical note they utter for the rest of their lives, and a total musical literacy, not just the grammar, but a sensitivity and understanding of every nuance and structure. (This is to say nothing of the Catholic experience and the nurturing of the Faith, but I am focusing on the raw music here.)
This is the same experience I work to bring to the boys in the Schola at the London Oratory. These boys, who at Mass this morning in the London Oratory sang Allegri’s Miserere with its famous top Cs, sing a wealth of Catholic liturgical music. Soon they will have sung, in the space of two years, both of J.S. Bach’s settings of the Matthew and John Passions, his B minor Mass, his motet Singet dem Herrn and Monteverdi’s Vespers, to name some of their recent concert repertory. The girls and boys of the Oratory Junior Choir have a similar experience which requires of them the highest standards of singing at the Oratory’s liturgies.
These liturgical choirs and others like them, which aspire to raise the musical standards and aspirations of Catholic children and young adults, need to be supported. They are as essential to Catholic Music as the roads in Africa, and there need to be more of them. (I was delighted to receive a letter from an NLM reader recently seeking advice about a children’s choir they are founding within a major Catholic institution in the USA.) Such choirs are not choral finishing schools. They do not get much publicity. They are fundamental, providing the bedrock support, the nuts and bolts of music if you will. They are founded upon hours of daily toil, and the considerable achievements of the children are earned through hard graft. There are no short-cuts, no quick fixes. And although it is at this age that attention and support most need to be given, most of these liturgical choirs are woefully underfunded. It may not be particularly glamorous to write cheques for replacement cassocks, or new copies of sheet music, or bursary funds, but those few good souls who do this, quietly and unnoticed, are building roads for the future.
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Music from the Golden Age of Spain
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| San Lorenzo de El Escorial |
As a chorister at Westminster Cathedral during the 1980s, I was fortunate enough to be involved in a number of recordings of some of the most wonderful liturgical music in the repertoire. A particular highlight was Treasures of the Spanish Renaissance, released by Hyperion in 1985, which included a number of stunning masterpieces from the golden age of Spanish polyphony by three of its greatest masters: Francisco Guerrero, Alonso Lobo and Sebastián de Vivanco. Amongst the choristers, a particular favourite on that recording was Versa est in luctum by Lobo. It is an absolutely remarkable piece of polyphony, a setting of a responsory from the Office of the Dead: ‘My harp is turned to mourning and my music to the voice of those who weep. Spare me, Lord, for my days are as nothing.’ It was a text which seems to have had particular significance to Iberian composers at the time, and indeed the greatest of them all, Tomás Luis de Victoria, included a beautiful setting in his Requiem music for the Dowager Empress Maria who he served as Chaplain at the Monastery of Las Descalzas Reales in Madrid. Lobo’s setting was written for the funeral of her brother, Philip II, and there is a definite sense that the composer saved something extra for this commission, attaining new heights of the greatest beauty, achieving something truly worthy of one of the greatest Catholic monarchs.
This Friday I will be travelling to Spain with my choir, the Schola Cantorum of the London Oratory School, and amongst the Masses and recitals planned, it will be especially wonderful to direct the boys in performances of the Lobo at two places of great significance: the first will be the magnificent Basilica at the Monastery of San Lorenzo at El Escorial. Philip II, for whose funeral it was written, lies in the Royal Mausoleum under the High Altar at El Escorial. He built the magnificent foundation, incorporating a monastery, basilica and palace, in thanksgiving for the Spanish victory at St Quentin in 1557. The battle took place on the Feast Day of St Laurence, 10 August, which is why El Escorial was built in a gridiron layout, in honour of St Laurence’s mode of martyrdom. The king had his own chambers carefully positioned so that he could see the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass from his bed to which he was confined towards the end of his life, through an internal window to the right of the altar. The second performance will be at the magnificent Cathedral in Toledo where Lobo served as Maestro de Capilla. The cathedral's stupendous reredos must be one of the finest in Christendom and simply has to be experienced.
The boys will also be singing music by the Spanish composers Esquivel, Vivanco, Guerrero and Victoria, as well as music by English and Italian composers. You can read more details here, and you can follow their progress through Escorial, Madrid, Segovia, Toledo and Salamanca on Facebook and Twitter. Wish us luck and keep us in your prayers.
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| The Reredos at Toledo Cathedral |
The boys will also be singing music by the Spanish composers Esquivel, Vivanco, Guerrero and Victoria, as well as music by English and Italian composers. You can read more details here, and you can follow their progress through Escorial, Madrid, Segovia, Toledo and Salamanca on Facebook and Twitter. Wish us luck and keep us in your prayers.
Friday, August 22, 2014
The Three Masses of William Byrd
A new recording is released next month by Westminster Cathedral Choir of all three of William Byrd’s settings of the Mass. The recording of the Masses for three, four and five voices also includes the famous Ave verum corpus from Byrd’s Gradualia.
In the sleeve notes, the eminent scholar John Milsom reminds us that the revival of the Byrd Masses came about at Downside Abbey, the London Oratory and at Westminster Cathedral, so it is appropriate that the famed Cathedral Choir should make this recording. He also reminds us that these exquisite Mass settings would have originally been conceived as chamber works, to be sung on a small scale in secret, behind closed doors, for fear of retribution during the Reformation.
It was perhaps partly in deference to these original performances in Tudor times that Martin Baker, the Master of Music, decided to make quite a radical change to the way the choir was recorded. Most of the Cathedral Choir’s recordings are made in the Apse, the usual liturgical singing position of the choir, however for this recording, the choir stood on the Sanctuary in a large square facing inwards towards Martin Baker, who stood at the centre. The effect is very different, both intimate and powerful, with a noticeable change in the acoustics. There is a heightened sense of dynamic range, with diminuendi of extraordinary control which taper into nothingness. And although this music will be very familiar to anyone in regular proximity to a traditional Catholic choir, there is a real sense of a new experience when listening to this recording.
The recording of the 'Mass for three voices' puts the choir’s boy altos to good use on the top line. Something of rarity, the alto line is almost always sung by countertenors alone in the English Cathedral tradition, rather than combining them with boys as is the case at Westminster. The Cathedral Choir sang the 'Mass for five voices' on the occasion Pope Benedict XVI celebrated Mass at Westminster Cathedral. But even on that occasion, we didn’t get to hear the magnificent setting of the Credo. One of the most thrilling moments on this recording comes in the 4-part setting of the Creed at the words ‘et resurrexit’. Listening to it left me with a real desire to hear some of the great Credo settings in a liturgical context.
‘The Three Masses’ by William Byrd, sung by Westminster Cathedral Choir directed by Martin Baker, is available from September 1 from Amazon, iTunes and directly from Hyperion.
In the sleeve notes, the eminent scholar John Milsom reminds us that the revival of the Byrd Masses came about at Downside Abbey, the London Oratory and at Westminster Cathedral, so it is appropriate that the famed Cathedral Choir should make this recording. He also reminds us that these exquisite Mass settings would have originally been conceived as chamber works, to be sung on a small scale in secret, behind closed doors, for fear of retribution during the Reformation.
It was perhaps partly in deference to these original performances in Tudor times that Martin Baker, the Master of Music, decided to make quite a radical change to the way the choir was recorded. Most of the Cathedral Choir’s recordings are made in the Apse, the usual liturgical singing position of the choir, however for this recording, the choir stood on the Sanctuary in a large square facing inwards towards Martin Baker, who stood at the centre. The effect is very different, both intimate and powerful, with a noticeable change in the acoustics. There is a heightened sense of dynamic range, with diminuendi of extraordinary control which taper into nothingness. And although this music will be very familiar to anyone in regular proximity to a traditional Catholic choir, there is a real sense of a new experience when listening to this recording.
The recording of the 'Mass for three voices' puts the choir’s boy altos to good use on the top line. Something of rarity, the alto line is almost always sung by countertenors alone in the English Cathedral tradition, rather than combining them with boys as is the case at Westminster. The Cathedral Choir sang the 'Mass for five voices' on the occasion Pope Benedict XVI celebrated Mass at Westminster Cathedral. But even on that occasion, we didn’t get to hear the magnificent setting of the Credo. One of the most thrilling moments on this recording comes in the 4-part setting of the Creed at the words ‘et resurrexit’. Listening to it left me with a real desire to hear some of the great Credo settings in a liturgical context.
‘The Three Masses’ by William Byrd, sung by Westminster Cathedral Choir directed by Martin Baker, is available from September 1 from Amazon, iTunes and directly from Hyperion.
Friday, November 15, 2013
A twentieth century masterpiece: Britten's Missa brevis
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| Benjamin Britten |
2013 marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Benjamin Britten (1913-1976), one of the greatest English composers of the twentieth century. Across the world a vast number of concerts and events are taking place to mark the centenary. These events reach their peak next Friday, 22 November, the Feast of St Cecilia, Patron Saint of Music and Musicians, and appropriately the birthday of Benjamin Britten. One of my choirs, the Schola Cantorum of the London Oratory School, will be singing a number of works by Britten at a centenary concert at St Peter’s, Eaton Square in London that day (see below) including his famous Missa brevis written for the choristers of Westminster Cathedral. The second part of the concert will be a performance of Duruflé’s Requiem.
Earlier today the Schola sang the Duruflé at the school’s annual Memorial Mass at the Oratory Church and we recently sang Britten’s Missa brevis in a liturgical context for the Annual First Form Mass at the Oratory. I chose the Britten for a number of reasons, not least because it is aimed at children, who love both to sing and hear it, but equally because being technically challenging, it is a piece from which a young singer can learn a great deal. To further the experience, I invited the present Master of Music at Westminster Cathedral, Martin Baker, to come to the school and work with the Oratory boys on the Mass.
Later, in 1959, Britten heard that Malcolm had tendered his resignation to Cardinal Godfrey, and so, realising that time was short, he invited Malcolm down to his home in Aldeburgh to discuss the proposed Mass. Malcolm stayed for a few days and explained to Britten the theology of the Mass. Britten then wrote the Mass very swiftly, over the course of a day or so, which in part explains why it is so concise. The result, in the words of composer Colin Mawby, was 'one of the greatest pieces of liturgical music written in the 20th century'.
The Gloria takes its thematic material from the Plainchant Mass XV (Dominatur Deus). This Mode IV Gloria centres around three pitches, Mi, So and La which ascend and fall in mirror image to form a series of short palindromic phrases, in effect a series of musical arches. Britten's setting turns this figure into a rhythmic driving force, an ever-present ostinato which urges the piece onwards, only pausing briefly in the centre of the work for the more tender solo moments at 'Qui tollis peccata mundi'. The Kyrie uses the same Gregorian pitches, which first appear in reverse order, making an impassioned plea for mercy. This same cry for mercy reappears in the 'miserere nobis' and 'dona nobis pacem' of the Agnus Dei, a series of implorations which build over a repeating rising figure in the pedals before dying away to a quiet reverence which is left suspended in an unresolved second inversion chord.
The Sanctus is a very concise work in which the theme, a note row (the use of every pitch underlining the universality of the Church) sounds as a vivid carillon of chimes, suggesting the Sanctus bell itself. During the triplet rhythms at ‘Pleni sunt caeli’ the theme is heard in the pedals and then the manuals during the triumphal ‘Hosanna’. The charming Benedictus, a dialogue between two treble soloists, leads into the ‘Hosanna’ which is a brief ‘telescoped’ reiteration of the music of the Sanctus.
The inventive nature of a genius like Britten makes us look again at the nature of what is taking place during the course of the Mass. Through his eyes and creativity he comes up with a unique and extraordinary take on the mystery of the Eucharist. Composer James MacMillan: ‘Whether or not they are Catholic, liturgical composers need to do their research and gain an understanding of the Mass. This is particularly important because through their music they are able to tease out meaning which the words alone cannot.' MacMillan’s own Mass written for Westminster Cathedral sets the entire Eucharistic prayer and contains a powerful innovation whereby the celebrant sings the actual words of consecration down a sixth, recalling the Passion settings in which the part of Christ is sung by a bass. And so musically, as well as theologically, the celebrant actually becomes Christ.
The first performance of Britten's Missa brevis took place during Mass at Westminster Cathedral on 22 July 1959, during the last few weeks of George Malcolm's tenure as Master of Music. The lay clerks sang the plainchant propers from the Apse as usual that day, accompanied by Colin Mawby; however, the trebles sang from the Grand Organ tribune at the West end, unconducted, with George Malcolm sitting between them at the organ console. Decca made a live recording of the Mass which they released as a 45, although the Sanctus was replaced by a recording made at Mass the following day which was deemed to be better. The combination of the boys’ tangible sense of connection with the music, the focus of their musical intent and the ‘Malcolm sound' add up to a very compelling experience. You can listen to it below.
Britten’s Missa brevis is a piece which boys take to with great enthusiasm both from a singing and listening perspective. Children’s minds are wide open to new experiences but they are nevertheless discerning, being drawn to quality and things which engage and stimulate them. As adults, we tend to develop individual tastes and rely on particular comforts, so it can be tempting to reject music of a more challenging nature. But even if you are someone for whom Britten’s Missa brevis represents a less than optimal aesthetic experience, try to listen to it through the ears of your own childhood, and see what you rediscover.
Earlier today the Schola sang the Duruflé at the school’s annual Memorial Mass at the Oratory Church and we recently sang Britten’s Missa brevis in a liturgical context for the Annual First Form Mass at the Oratory. I chose the Britten for a number of reasons, not least because it is aimed at children, who love both to sing and hear it, but equally because being technically challenging, it is a piece from which a young singer can learn a great deal. To further the experience, I invited the present Master of Music at Westminster Cathedral, Martin Baker, to come to the school and work with the Oratory boys on the Mass.
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| Martin Baker rehearsing the London Oratory choristers |
In the 1950s, the Master of Music at the Cathedral was George Malcolm. Britten attended a Carol Service there in 1958 at which the choristers sang his Ceremony of Carols. Greatly impressed by the boys and their sound, Britten offered to write something for the choir. Malcolm asked him to write a practical weekday Mass for boys' voices, a piece which could be used in the everyday routine at the Cathedral.
Later, in 1959, Britten heard that Malcolm had tendered his resignation to Cardinal Godfrey, and so, realising that time was short, he invited Malcolm down to his home in Aldeburgh to discuss the proposed Mass. Malcolm stayed for a few days and explained to Britten the theology of the Mass. Britten then wrote the Mass very swiftly, over the course of a day or so, which in part explains why it is so concise. The result, in the words of composer Colin Mawby, was 'one of the greatest pieces of liturgical music written in the 20th century'.
The Gloria takes its thematic material from the Plainchant Mass XV (Dominatur Deus). This Mode IV Gloria centres around three pitches, Mi, So and La which ascend and fall in mirror image to form a series of short palindromic phrases, in effect a series of musical arches. Britten's setting turns this figure into a rhythmic driving force, an ever-present ostinato which urges the piece onwards, only pausing briefly in the centre of the work for the more tender solo moments at 'Qui tollis peccata mundi'. The Kyrie uses the same Gregorian pitches, which first appear in reverse order, making an impassioned plea for mercy. This same cry for mercy reappears in the 'miserere nobis' and 'dona nobis pacem' of the Agnus Dei, a series of implorations which build over a repeating rising figure in the pedals before dying away to a quiet reverence which is left suspended in an unresolved second inversion chord.
The Sanctus is a very concise work in which the theme, a note row (the use of every pitch underlining the universality of the Church) sounds as a vivid carillon of chimes, suggesting the Sanctus bell itself. During the triplet rhythms at ‘Pleni sunt caeli’ the theme is heard in the pedals and then the manuals during the triumphal ‘Hosanna’. The charming Benedictus, a dialogue between two treble soloists, leads into the ‘Hosanna’ which is a brief ‘telescoped’ reiteration of the music of the Sanctus.
The inventive nature of a genius like Britten makes us look again at the nature of what is taking place during the course of the Mass. Through his eyes and creativity he comes up with a unique and extraordinary take on the mystery of the Eucharist. Composer James MacMillan: ‘Whether or not they are Catholic, liturgical composers need to do their research and gain an understanding of the Mass. This is particularly important because through their music they are able to tease out meaning which the words alone cannot.' MacMillan’s own Mass written for Westminster Cathedral sets the entire Eucharistic prayer and contains a powerful innovation whereby the celebrant sings the actual words of consecration down a sixth, recalling the Passion settings in which the part of Christ is sung by a bass. And so musically, as well as theologically, the celebrant actually becomes Christ.
The first performance of Britten's Missa brevis took place during Mass at Westminster Cathedral on 22 July 1959, during the last few weeks of George Malcolm's tenure as Master of Music. The lay clerks sang the plainchant propers from the Apse as usual that day, accompanied by Colin Mawby; however, the trebles sang from the Grand Organ tribune at the West end, unconducted, with George Malcolm sitting between them at the organ console. Decca made a live recording of the Mass which they released as a 45, although the Sanctus was replaced by a recording made at Mass the following day which was deemed to be better. The combination of the boys’ tangible sense of connection with the music, the focus of their musical intent and the ‘Malcolm sound' add up to a very compelling experience. You can listen to it below.
Britten’s Missa brevis is a piece which boys take to with great enthusiasm both from a singing and listening perspective. Children’s minds are wide open to new experiences but they are nevertheless discerning, being drawn to quality and things which engage and stimulate them. As adults, we tend to develop individual tastes and rely on particular comforts, so it can be tempting to reject music of a more challenging nature. But even if you are someone for whom Britten’s Missa brevis represents a less than optimal aesthetic experience, try to listen to it through the ears of your own childhood, and see what you rediscover.
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Mozart's Requiem sung by Westminster Cathedral Choir
A concert performance of the Mozart Requiem will be sung by Westminster Cathedral Choir on Wednesday 13th November 2013 at 7.30pm. The full programme and details are below:
Mozart, Adagio and Fugue for Strings K546
J S Bach, Komm Jesu komm, BWV 229
Mozart, Ave verum corpus K618
Mozart, Requiem (Mozart/Sussmeyer version)
Westminster Cathedral Choir and Orchestra
Conducted by Martin Baker, Master of Music
Sophie Bevan soprano
Frances Bourne alto
Robert Murray tenor
David Soar bass
Tickets available from www.ticketmaster.co.uk or from the Cathedral Gift Shop (priced £10 - £40)
Sophie Bevan soprano
Frances Bourne alto
Robert Murray tenor
David Soar bass
Tickets available from www.ticketmaster.co.uk or from the Cathedral Gift Shop (priced £10 - £40)
Monday, October 07, 2013
Choral Vespers for the Feast of Blessed John Henry Newman
Choral Vespers for the Feast of Blessed John Henry Newman will be broadcast live from Westminster Cathedral on BBC Radio 3 this Wednesday at 3.30pm. Appropriately much of the music is English, including Stanford's virtuosic double-choir setting of the Magnificat and also his beautiful Iustorum animae. The plainsong melody for the hymn Iste confessor is also English and is taken from the Bosworth Psalter. This year we mark the 50th anniversary of Poulenc's death, and the two choral pieces which frame the Vespers, the Introit and the Salve Regina, are both by the French composer.
Introit: Tout puissant (Poulenc)
Hymn: Iste confessor (Plainsong)
Psalms 14, 111 (Plainsong)
Canticle: Magna et mirabilia (Plainsong)
Responsory: Iustus Dominus (Plainsong)
Magnificat for Double Chorus, Op.164 (Stanford)
Motet: Iustorum animæ (Stanford)
Antiphon: Salve Regina (Poulenc)
Organ Voluntary: Præludium in E minor (Bruhns)
The Cathedral Choir is directed by the Master of Music, Martin Baker and the organ is played by the Assistant Master of Music, Peter Stevens.
Introit: Tout puissant (Poulenc)
Hymn: Iste confessor (Plainsong)
Psalms 14, 111 (Plainsong)
Canticle: Magna et mirabilia (Plainsong)
Responsory: Iustus Dominus (Plainsong)
Magnificat for Double Chorus, Op.164 (Stanford)
Motet: Iustorum animæ (Stanford)
Antiphon: Salve Regina (Poulenc)
Organ Voluntary: Præludium in E minor (Bruhns)
The Cathedral Choir is directed by the Master of Music, Martin Baker and the organ is played by the Assistant Master of Music, Peter Stevens.
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Splendours of Venice sung by Westminster Cathedral Choir
A concert not to be missed: 'Splendours of Venice' is an opportunity to hear the Choir of Westminster Cathedral join forces with His Majestys Sagbutts and Cornetts in a celebration of choral and instrumental music by composers with strong Venetian associations. Monteverdi, Giovanni Gabrieli, Croce, Merulo, Hassler, Grillo, Frescobaldi and Guami are all represented, and Motets in 4, 8, 12 and 16 parts are interspersed with movements from Monteverdi's Mass (published in 1651), his five-part Beatus vir and eight-part Magnificat. Westminster Cathedral is the perfect setting, its Byzantine styling very much a visual echo of San Marco, and the siting of singers in the galleries and the use of the Cathedral's organs will provide dramatic effect.
The programme includes Croce's stunning eight-part motet In spiritu humilitatis. This setting of the Offertory Prayer opens very modestly with two four-part choirs singing a dialogue of answering phrases rendered in charming simplicity. Later the two choirs join to form an eight-part texture from which emerges a sequence of suspensions of absolutely breathtaking beauty. The concert, directed by the Master of Music, Martin Baker, takes place next Wednesday (3 July) at 7.30pm at Westminster Cathedral. You can buy tickets here.
Full programme:
Iubilate Deo, Giovanni Gabrieli
Gloria (1651 Mass), Monteverdi
Toccata quarta del secondo tuono (Primo libro), Merulo
Beatus vir, Monteverdi
Canzon Terza à 8, Grillo
In spiritu humilitatis, Croce
Hassler Canzon Duodecimitoni à 8, Hassler
Sanctus (1651 Mass), Monteverdi
Toccata Cromaticha per l'Elevatione (Messa della Domenica - Fiori Musicali), Frescobaldi
Agnus Dei (1651 Mass), Monteverdi
O sacrum convivium, Hassler
Canzon La Lucchesina à 8, Guami
Magnificat a 8, Monteverdi
Canzon Terza à 6, Giovanni Gabrieli
Plaudite omnis terra, Giovanni Gabrieli
Omnes gentes plaudite, Giovanni Gabrieli
The programme includes Croce's stunning eight-part motet In spiritu humilitatis. This setting of the Offertory Prayer opens very modestly with two four-part choirs singing a dialogue of answering phrases rendered in charming simplicity. Later the two choirs join to form an eight-part texture from which emerges a sequence of suspensions of absolutely breathtaking beauty. The concert, directed by the Master of Music, Martin Baker, takes place next Wednesday (3 July) at 7.30pm at Westminster Cathedral. You can buy tickets here.
Full programme:
Iubilate Deo, Giovanni Gabrieli
Gloria (1651 Mass), Monteverdi
Toccata quarta del secondo tuono (Primo libro), Merulo
Beatus vir, Monteverdi
Canzon Terza à 8, Grillo
In spiritu humilitatis, Croce
Hassler Canzon Duodecimitoni à 8, Hassler
Sanctus (1651 Mass), Monteverdi
Toccata Cromaticha per l'Elevatione (Messa della Domenica - Fiori Musicali), Frescobaldi
Agnus Dei (1651 Mass), Monteverdi
O sacrum convivium, Hassler
Canzon La Lucchesina à 8, Guami
Magnificat a 8, Monteverdi
Canzon Terza à 6, Giovanni Gabrieli
Plaudite omnis terra, Giovanni Gabrieli
Omnes gentes plaudite, Giovanni Gabrieli
