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 – July 23, 2017 https://goo.gl/Rs3txZ
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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Thomas Haweis: Praise to the Holiest
Choir of King’s College, Cambridge; Philip Jones Brass Ensemble
Sir David Willcocks
Ian Hare, organ
Tune: Richmond (Haweis)
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina: Quam pulchra es
Chanticleer, Joseph Jennings
J.S. Bach: Von den Stricken meiner Sunden ~ St. John Passion
English Baroque Soloists, Sir John Eliot Gardiner
Michael Chance, alto
“Praise to the Holiest” was written by John Henry Newman and appears in his “Dream of Gerontius.” We continue our survey of the works of Palestrina with a motet based on a text from the Songs of Solomon. The German of this alto aria translates as “To free me from the bond of my sin.” English countertenor Michael Chance (1955-) was a Choral Scholar at King’s College, Cambridge
John Tavener: Hymn for the Dormition of the Mother of God
Cambridge Singers, John Rutter
Johannes Brahms: Ave Maria, Op. 12
Musica Sacra, Richard Westenburg
Sir John Tavener (1944-2013) wrote two Hymns for the Mother of God in 1985. This second of the pair takes its text from the Orthodox story of Mary falling asleep (dormition) and going to heaven to be with her son. American choral conductor Richard Westenburg (1932-2008) founded Music Sacra in New York in 1964 and was its director until 2007.
W.A. Mozart: Church Sonata in C, K. 263
Amsterdam Mozart Players
Peter Hurford, organ
1972 Verdag organ in Bethlehemkerk, Papendrecht, The Netherlands
Nicolas Gombert: Élégie sur la mort de Josquin
The Studio of Ancient Music of Montreal, Christopher Jackson
Nicolas Gombert (c. 1495-c.1560)
Mozart wrote seventeen Church Sonatas, also known as Epistle Sonatas, between 1772-1780. Franco-Flemish composer Nicolas Gombert (1495-1560) fits in historically between Josquin des Prez and Palestrina.
Andre Caplet: Panis Angelicus
Orchestra and Chorus of the Toulouse Capitole, Michel Plasson
Roberto Alagna, tenor
Gregorian chant: Antiphon “In Paradisum” and Psalm 121
Cistercian Monks of Stift Heiligenkreuz
Alexander Grechaninov: In Thy Kingdom, Op. 58 No. 3
Holst Singers, Stephen Layton
James Bowman, counter-tenor
French composer Andre Caplet (1878-1925) was a close friend of Claude Debussy. The Cistercian Monks of Stift Heiligenkreuz issued a hugely popular CD in 2008 which topped the charts in Europe and exposed plainchant to a wide audience. Taught by Anton Arensky and Rimsky-Korsakov, Alexander Gretchaninov eventually emigrated to the United States. “In Thy Kingdom” is one of the movements in Passion Week.
J.S. Bach: Cantata 9, “Es ist das Heil uns kommen her”
Holland Boys’ Choir; Netherlands Bach Collegium
Pieter Jan Leusink
Marjon Strijk, soprano; Sytse Buwalde, alto;
Nico van der Meel, tenor; Bas Ramselaar, bass
This cantata dates from 1732-35. It uses a text written by Paul Speratus, a Catholic priest who left that church and collaborated with Martin Luther in the writing of the Lutheran Hymnal (1724).
Arvo Pärt: Berliner Messe
Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir; Tallin Chamber Orchestra
Tonu Kaljuste
Estonian conductor Tõnu Kaljuste (1953-) has a strong background in choral
conducting. It was he who took the Ellerhein Chamber Choir and made it into
a full-time professional ensemble known as the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir.
J.S. Bach: Prelude and Fugue in G, BWV 541
Kevin Bowyer, organ
1962 Marcussen organ of Sct. Hans Kirke, Odense, Denmark
English organist Kevin Bowyer (1961-) recorded the complete organ works of J.S. Bach on the three manual Marcussen organ in Sct. Hans Kirke, Odense, Denmark.
Ludwig van Beethoven: Christ on the Mount of Olives
National Choir & Orchestra of Lyon, Serge Baudo
Monica Pick-Hieronimi, soprano; James Anderson, tenor;
Victor von Halem, bass
Apparently Beethoven wrote this oratorio in a few weeks in 1802, a fact which scholars point to as the reason why some of the music is a bit pedestrian. This composition is a fine, if uneven, work which is not performed much these days. It takes as its theme Jesus’ evening spent in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36-56).
Dietrich Buxtehude: Fugue in C, BuxWV 174 “Gigue”
Robert Noehren, organ
American organist Dr. Robert Noehren (1910-2002) was both performer and organ builder.
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