I post these playlists weekly with the hope that you might find them useful as you plan your programs. All of my playlists are on Spotify for you to enjoy at your convenience.
GSM – December 16, 2018 https://spoti.fi/2ExEZJ9
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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Traditional: On Jordan’s Bank the Baptist’s Cry
Choir of Wells Cathedral, Malcolm Archer
Rupert Gough, organ
Benjamin Britten: Antiphon
St. John’s College Choir, Cambridge, Christopher Robinson
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina: Magnificat
Tallis Scholars, Peter Phillips
The text for “On Jordan’s Bank the Baptist’s Cry” was written by Charles Coffin (1676-1749). Benjamin Britten’s “Antiphon” sets a text by George Herbert and dates from 1956. The work is scored for chorus and organ.
Praised be the God of Love,
Here below and here above,
Who hath dealt his mercies so
To his friend and to his foe:
That both grace and glory tend
Us of old and us in th’end.
The great shepherd of the fold
Us did make for us was sold.
He our foes in pieces brake,
Him we touch and Him we take.
Wherefore since that he is such,
We adore and we do crouch.
Lord, thy praises should be more,
We have none and we no store.
Praised be the God alone,
Who hath made of two folds one.
This recording of Palestrina’s “Magnificat” was made in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome in February 1994.
Traditional Plainsong: Veni, veni Emmanuel
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers
Anton Bruckner: Virga Jesse floruit
Bavarian Radio Choir, Eugen Jochum
Giaches de Wert: Vox clamantis in deserto
Pomerium, Alexander Blachly
The Latin text for “Veni, veni, Emmanuel” dates to 1710 and is of German origin. The tune commonly used is 15th-century French. “Virga Jesse floruit” is one of a dozen or so Latin motets which the great Austrian symphonist Anton Bruckner wrote when he was a young church organist. Franco-Flemish composer Giaches de Wert (1535-1596) spent much of his life in Italy where he was an influence on Claudio Monteverdi. The text of his motet is:
Vox clamantis in deserto:
Parate viam Domini, rectas facite semitas ejus.
Omnis vallis implebitur, et omnis mons et collis humiliabitur,
et erunt prava indirecta, et aspera in vias planas,
et videbit omnis caro salutare Dei.
GSM Commentary: Kevin Kerstetter
Henry Purcell: Rejoice in the Lord Alway
Tolzer Knabenchor with period instrument, ensemble
Gustav Leonhardt
David Cordier, alto; John Elwes, tenor; Peter Kooy, bass
Samuel Sebastian Wesley: Wash me throughly
Clare College Chapel Choir, Timothy Brown
Dominic Wheeler, organ
Richard Dirksen: A Child my Choice
Washington National Cathedral Choir, Richard W. Dirksen
English composer Henry Purcell set “Rejoice in the Lord alway” to the text from Philippians 4:4-7. Samuel Sebastian Wesley (1810–1876) was the grandson of Methodist preacher Charles Wesley. Canon Richard Dirksen was the Organist and Choirmaster of the Washington National Cathedral in Washington from 1977 to 1988.
Carson Cooman: A Cosmic Prayer
Royal Holloway Choir, University of London, Rupert Gough
Samuel Rathbone, organ
Sir William Harris: Prelude in E flat
John Porter, organ
1965/2002 Harrison & Harrison organ in St. George’s Chapel, Windsor
The text for “A Cosmic Prayer” was written by Howard Georgi, Professor of Physics, Harvard University. It is dedicated to Murray Forbes Somerville and the Choral Fellows of the Harvard University Choir and in memory of William Mathias on the 10th anniversary of his death. Sir William Harris was organist of St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle from 1933 to 1961.
J.S. Bach: Cantata 186, “Argre dich, o Seele, nicht”
Bach Collegium Japan, Masaaki Suzuki
Miah Persson, soprano; Robin Blaze, countertenor
Makoto Sakurada, tenor; Peter Kooy, bass-baritone
Cantata 186 dates from Bach’s Weimar years and was performed there on December 13, 1717. Bach was allowed to perform cantatas at Weimar, but that practice was not permitted at Leipzig. The penutlimate duet for soprano and alto is an example of some of Bach’s finest writing. The late Craig Smith describes it as “a sophisticated and energetic jig which builds up a enormous head of steam.”
George Frideric Handel: Psalm 112, “Laudate pueri Dominum”
The Philadelphia Singers; Concerto Soloists Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Michael Korn
Judith Blegen, soprano
At the age of 22 George Frederic Handel was in Italy when he adapted some music he had written earlier for this setting of Psalm 112.
J.S. Bach: Chorale Prelude: Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 645
Nicholas Danby, organ
1968 Kemper organ in St. Mary’s Church in Lübeck
Bach’s publisher, Johann Georg Schübler, issued the Six Schübler Chorale Preludes in 1748, just two years before Bach’s death. Much of the material comes from previously composed works. This chorale-prelude, for instance, comes from the 4th movement of BWV 140.
Music for Advent
Men and Boys of Grace Cathedral Choir, San Francisco, John Fenstermaker
Christopher Putnam, organ
This CD was recorded in 2000 when John Fenstermaker was the Director of Music and Christopher Putnam was his associate organist. Christopher died on September 15, 2018. Our program this morning is dedicated to his memory.
James Whitbourn: Luminosity
Commotio, Matthew Berry
“This album is extraordinary. It expands the experience of classical music beyond the edges of the traditional map of classical styles. The word ‘luminosity’ describes the nature of celestial light, and the music of composer James Whitbourn is a celebration of that light – peaceful, radiant and clear.’ …Tom Manoff on Luminosity for NPR’s All things considered
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