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 – February 18, 2018 http://spoti.fi/2sFLO6U
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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Martin Herbst (attributed): Forty days and forty nights
Choir of Wells Cathedral, Malcolm Archer
Rupert Gough, organ
Gustav Holst: Turn back, O man
Choir of St. Paul’s Cathedral, London, John Scott
Andrew Lucas, organ
Thomas Tallis: Miserere nostri
Tallis Scholars, Peter Phillips
The Lenten hymn “Forty days and forty nights” is sung to an adaptation
of German composer Martin Herbst’s tune “Aus tiefer Not”. English writer Clifford Bax (1886–1962) wrote the text to “Turn back, o man” at the request of Gustav Holst. Thomas Tallis’ motet Miserere nostri is scored for seven parts. Listen for the canonic writing which displays Tallis’ immense skill in writing counterpoint.
Sir William Walton: A Litany
Choir of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford, Stephen Darlington
Carson Cooman: A Cosmic Prayer
Royal Holloway Choir, University of London, Rupert Gough
Samuel Rathbone, organ
Sir John Goss: O Saviour of the World
St. Paul’s Cathedral Choir, London, John Scott
Andrew Lucas, organ
Scott Dorsey writes in ChoralNet: “A Litany, for SATB a cappella chorus, is Walton’s earliest extant choral piece.” The text of “A Cosmic Prayer” was written by Howard Georgi, Professor of Physics, Harvard University. Sir John Goss was Organist of St. Paul’s Cathedral, London, from 1838-1880. His anthem “O Saviour of the World” dates from 1869.
Joao Lourenco Rebelo: In te, Domine, speravi
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers
Joao Lourenco Rebelo (1610-1661). Text from Psalm 31:1-6
Malcolm Archer: When I survey the wondrous cross
Washington Memorial Chapel Choir, Peter Richard Conte
Matthew Glandorf, organ
Richard Farrant: Hide not thou thy face
Cambridge Singers, John Rutter
Portuguese composer João Lourenço Rebelo (1610-1665) was influenced by the Venetian polychoral style by compositions housed in the King of Portugal’s library. English composer and organist Malcom Archer (1952-) set “When I survey the wondrous Cross” for treble voices and organ. From the liner notes to “Faire is the Heaven”: “Farrant was a Gentleman of the Chapel Royal, later becoming Master of the Choristers at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, where he organized the choristers into an acting company that presented musical plays for the entertainment of the court.”
Antonio Vivaldi: Stabat Mater, RV 621
The King’s Consort, Robert King
Robin Blaze, countertenor
Vivaldi’s “Stabat Mater” was used in the soundtrack of “The Talented Mr. Ripley” (1999) English countertenor Robin Blaze (1972-) is renowned for his interpretations of Baroque music.
J.S. Bach: Cantata 157, “Ich lasse dich nicht, du segnest mich denn”
Holland Boys’ Choir; Netherlands Bach Collegium, Pieter Jan Leusink
Marjon Strijk, soprano; Sytse Buwalde, alto;
Nico van der Meel, tenor; Bas Ramselaar, bass
Craig Smith writes about this cantata in Emmanuel Music: “Bach Cantata BWV 157, Ich lasse dich nicht, du segnest mich denn, composed in 1727, began life as a funeral work, but was also associated with the Festival of the Purification. Although very small in scale, the work is of extraordinary density and seriousness. It opens with a complex duet for tenor and bass with obbligato flute, oboe, and viola. While the elegant texture reminds one of gallant works of Telemann, the notes are pure Bach. The tenor aria with oboe d’amore is perhaps the single most difficult tenor aria in the whole repertoire, coupled with a most demanding oboe d’amore part. The wild and extremely ornate melismas are an evocative illustration of the journey that we must make with Jesus. The tenor recitative separates the two most substantial movements and holds the central position in the work. Accompanied by only the winds and continuo, the minor modes of the first two movements now give way to major which predominates for the remainder of the cantata. The text is pivotal in that it moves from mention of worldly suffering and the falsity of this world to the happy union with Jesus. Immediately following this second image the winds offer one of the motives from the ritornello of the duet, a musical moment of reassurance echoed. One wonders if Bach would have expected his congregation to notice.”
John Tavener: Funeral Canticle
Academy of Ancient Music Choir and Orchestra, Paul Goodwin
George Mosley, baritone
Sir John Tavener had this to say about his Funeral Canticle: “Funeral Canticle was written in loving memory of my father. Such was his love of life and people that he constantly surprised us by rallying round when he was thought to be at the point of death. So I wrote this work during the last year of my father’s life, in preparation for the interdenominational funeral service that was his wish.”
Ted Oliver: Frost and Wind
Judith Saxton, flugel horn & trumpet; Timothy Olsen, organ
Ted Oliver (1989-) is a native of Raleigh, North Carolina.
Timothy Olsen is the Kenan Professor of Organ at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and Associate Professor of Organ at Salem College in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Ildebrando Pizzetti: Messa di Requiem
Conspirare, Craig Hella Johnson
Italian composer Ildebrando Pizzetti (1880-1968) was known for his operas of which he wrote nineteen. His Messa di Requiem dates from 1922-23.
Robert Ward: Earth Shall Be Fair
The Belmont Chorale, Sherry Hill Kelly
Linda Ford, organ
Robert Ward won the Pulitzer Prize for his opera “The Crucible”. He was Chancellor of the NC School of the Arts and later taught at Duke University.
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