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 – November 12, 2017 https://goo.gl/WBaWaW
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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Herbert Howells: All my hope on God is founded
Choir of Wells Cathedral, Malcolm Archer
Rupert Gough, organ
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina: O bone Jesu
Chanticleer, Joseph Jennings
Maurice Durufle: Ubi caritas et amor, Op. 10
Choir of St. John’s, Elora, Noel Edison
English composer Herbert Howells wrote his hymn tune “Michael” in 1936 for the text “All my hope on God is founded”. This hymn was originally written by the German hymn writer Joachim Neander in 1680. English poet Robert Bridges translated the text in 1899. It was not until 1969 when the tune and text appeared together in 100 Hymns for Today, the supplement to Hymns Ancient and Modern, that it gained the enormous popularity which it enjoys today. We continue our survey of the music of Palestrina with a performance of his O Bone Jesu which is scored for SSAATTBB choir. The work was published in approximately 1588. Maurice Durufle’s Quatre Motets sur des thèmes grégoriens op. 10, date from 1960.
Felix Mendelssohn: He, Watching Over Israel ~ Elijah
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, Robert Shaw
Lennox Berkeley: Crux Fidelis
Choir of St. John’s College, Cambridge, Christopher Robinson
Allan Clayton, tenor
Robert Lowry, arr. by Dale Wood: Shall we gather at the River
John Balka, organ
1971 Ruffati organ in St. Mary’s Cathedral, San Francisco, California
Mendelssohn’s oratorio Elijah had its premiere at the Birmingham Festival in 1846. English composer Sir Lennox Berkeley (1903-1989) left us eight sacred choral compositions. Crux fidelis, Op. 43, No. 1, dates from 1944. American organist John Balka (1948-1999) was a founding member of the Conference of Roman Catholic Cathedral Musicians.
Michael Accurso: Entrance Hymn for a New Cathedral
Choir and Orchestra of the Cathedral of the Holy Name of Jesus
Michael Accurso
A live recording from the Service of Dedication of the Cathedral of the Holy Name of Jesus which took place on July 26, 2017
It is not often that a cathedral is built in the 21st century. So, it was quite the occasion when the new cathedral for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh was dedicated on July 26, 2017. The Cathedral’s Director of Music, Dr. Michael Accurso, was commissioned to compose an Entrance Hymn for the occasion. He very kindly gave us a live recording of the hymn to air this morning.
Sir Edward Elgar: Great is the Lord, Op. 67
Worcester Cathedral Choir, Donald Hunt
Adrian Partington, organ
Sir Frank Bridge conducted the first performance of Elgar’s anthem “Great is the Lord” on July 12, 1916.
J.S. Bach: Cantata 89, “Was soll ich aus dir machen, Ephraim?”
Holland Boys’ Choir; Netherlands Bach Collegium, Pieter Jan Leusink
Ruth Holton, soprano; Sytse Buwalde, alto; Bas Ramselaar, bass
The German translates as “How shall I renounce you, Ephraim?”. The libretto is based on the Old Testament Book of Hosea 11: 8
“How can I give you up, Ephraim?
How can I hand you over, Israel?
How can I treat you like Admah?
How can I make you like Zeboyim?
My heart is changed within me;
all my compassion is aroused.
The cantata was composed for the 22nd Sunday after Trinity and was first performed on October 24, 1723. It is scored for soprano, alto and bass soloists with the chorus singing the concluding chorale.
George Frideric Handel: Chandos Anthem No. 02, “In the Lord I put my trust”
The Sixteen Choir and Orchestra, Harry Christophers
Ian Partridge, tenor
Chandos Anthem No. 2 is based on Psalm 100, the Jubilate Deo. It is one of eleven anthems, really short cantatas, which Handel wrote for use in the chapel at Cannons, the country home of James Brydges, Duke of Chandos.
J.S. Bach: Prelude and Fugue in E minor, BWV 548 “The Wedge”
Michael Murray, organ
1721 Schnitger organ in St. Michael’s, Zwolle, Netherlands
Scholars seem to think that Bach wrote BWV 548 during his tenure at Leipzig. The nickname “Wedge” refers to the structure of the fugue subject. On the score it looks like a wedge.
Max Bruch: Moses, Op. 67
St. Petersburg Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, Maulbronn Kantorei, Jürgen Budday
Stefan Vinke, Tenor:, Peter Lika, Bass; Birgitte Christensen, Soprano
While German composer Max Bruch is best known to modern listeners for his Violin Concerto No. 1 and Scottish Fantasy, he wrote many songs, and this epic oratorio Moses. This is another of those forgotten oratorios. It has been neglected, not because it is poorly written, but rather because it faced some very heavy competition from works such as Handel’s Messiah, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Verdi’s Requiem and Brahms’ A German Requiem, to name but a few competitors. We shall listen to Part 1 which describes Moses ascent to the mountain top to receive the Ten Commandments.
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