I post these playlists weekly with the hope that you might find them useful as you plan your music lists. All of my playlists are on Spotify for you to enjoy at your convenience.
GSM – July 24, 2016 https://goo.gl/j604qK
Don’t forget that we have more choral and organ music programmed
on Sunday evenings beginning at 10 p.m. eastern.
Rob Kennedy
WCPE The Classical Station
Web: TheClassicalStation.org
Facebook: www.facebook/theclassicalstation
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Philip the Chancellor: Gedeonis area
Sequentia
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina: Veni, dilecte mi
Cambridge Singers, John Rutter
Johannes Brahms: Three Songs, Opus 69
St. Clement’s Choir, Philadelphia, Peter Richard Conte
Philip the Chancellor (ca. 1165-1236) was chancellor of Notre Dame de Paris. This morning’s Palestrina motet comes from the Song of Songs. Brahms Three Songs come from an opus which contains nine songs and dates from 1877.
George Rochberg: Behold, My Servant
William Ferris Chorale, Paul French
Camille Saint-Saëns: O salutaris hostia
Stefan Johannes Bleicher, organ
1888 Walcker organ at the Winterthur Stadtkirche
American composer George Rochberg (1918-2005) wrote his anthem “Behold Thy Servant” in 1973 for SATB choir a capella. French composer Camille Saint-Saens was also a virtuoso organist who held the position of Organiste Titulaire at Elgie Saint Merri and Eglise de la Madeleine in Paris.
John Ireland: My song is love unknown
Choir of Wells Cathedral, Malcolm Archer
Rupert Gough, organ
Luca Marenzio: Super flumina Babylonis
The Studio of Ancient Music of Montreal, Christopher Jackson
Josef Haydn: “Insanae et vanae curae”
Monteverdi Choir; English Baroque Soloists, John Eliot Gardiner
Joann Lunn, soprano; Sara Mingardo, alto;
Topi Lehtipuu, tenor; Brindley Sherratt, bass
English composer John Ireland (1879-1962) wrote his hymn tune “Love Unknown” for a text by Samuel Crossman dating from 1644. Italian composer Luca Marenzio (1553 or 1554 -1599) was famous for his madrigals of which he wrote over 500. Haydn’s motet is extracted from his first oratorio “Il ritorno di Tobia” which dates from 1775. The oratorio fell out of favor as fashions changed. The motet found a more enduring place in the choral repertoire.
John Rutter: Cantate Domino
Choir of King’s College, Cambridge, Stephen Cleobury
Louis Vierne: Carillon de Westminster, Op. 54 No. 6
Andrew Lucas, organ
Mander organ in St. Paul’s Cathedral, London
About John Rutter’s anthem setting of Psalm 96, Timothy Dickey says: “Rutter mingles Latin and English text; Old Testament Psalm and Christian hymn; Gregorian chant, Romantic harmony, and painfully dissonant language. The end result is an anthem of profound breadth and surprisingly cogent direction despite the disparities in his musical sources.” The story goes that French organist Louis Vierne who was blind was asked to improvise on a theme given to him at the end of a recital by his friend Henry Willis. Either Willis hummed the tune incorrectly, or Vierne could not decipher Willis’ humming, in any case, the Westminster ring upon which this piece is based is upside down. A small but interesting point to ponder as we listen to this sprightly composition which dates from 1927.
J.S. Bach: Cantata 94, “Was frag ich nach der Welt”
Bach Collegium Japan, Masaaki Suzuki
Yukari Nonoshita, soprano; Robin Blaze, countertenor;
Jan Kobow, tenor; Peter Kooy, bass-baritone
The German translates as “Why enquire after the world”. I personally love the first movement with its virtuoso flute passages which Bach weaves around the chorale sung by the chorus. There are four arias, one each for soprano, alto, tenor and bass. This cantata was first performed on August 6, 1724.
George Frideric Handel: Chandos Anthem No. 01, “O be joyful in the
Lord”
The Sixteen Choir and Orchestra, Harry Christophers
Lynne Dawson, soprano; Ian Partridge, tenor;
Michael George, bass
Handel wrote eleven anthems for performance in the chapel at Cannons, the country home of James Brydges, Duke of Chandos. The good duke employed Handel in 1717 when Handel’s opera fortunes turned sour and the composer was in financial distress.
Jean Guillou: Toccata
Herndon Spillman, organ
Visser-Rowland Organ, University of Texas, Austin
French organist, composer, and teacher Jean Guillou (1930-) studied with Marcel Dupré, Maurice Duruflé, and Olivier Messiaen.
Andrew Lloyd Webber: Requiem
English Chamber Orchestra; Winchester Cathedral Choir, Lorin Maazel
Placido Domingo, tenor; Sarah Brightman, soprano;
Paul Miles-Kingston, treble; James Lancelot, organ
Martin Neary, Choir Director
English composer Andrew Lloyd Webber who is world-renowned for his musicals such as “Phantom of the Opera” and “Cats”, wrote his Requiem in memory of his musician father, William Lloyd Webber, who died in 1982. The most famous movement of Webber’s Requiem is the “Pie Jesu”. The 1985 premiere performance featured an all-star cast of performers including Placido Domingo and Lorin Maazel.
Felix Mendelssohn: Sonata in A, Op. 65 No. 3
John Scott, organ
Mander organ in St. Paul’s Cathedral, London
German composer Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy wrote six sonatas for organ. These works together with the three preludes and fugues for organ are staples of the organist’s repertoire.
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