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 – January 13, 2019 https://spoti.fi/2Df5AJX
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
—————————–
Jacob Obrecht: O beate Basili
Brabant Ensemble, Stephen Rice
Thomas Morley: Nolo mortem peccatoris
Cambridge Singers, John Rutter
Sir Edward Elgar: Great is the Lord, Op.67
Choir of Westminster Abbey, James O’Donnell
Robert Quinney, organ
Jacob Obrecht (1457/8-1505) uses as his text Antiphons for the Feast of St Basil which occurs on January 14. English Tudor composer Thomas Morley set the refrain of a longer poem attributed to 15th-century author James Ryman. The full text as found in the Cambridge University Library is:
Have mind for thee how I was born,
How with scourges my flesh was torn,
And how I was crownèd with thorn;
Nolo mortem peccatoris.
Have mind also how low I light
Into a maid so pure and bright,
Taking mercy, leaving my might;
Nolo mortem peccatoris.
Think how meekly I took the field,
Upon my back bearing my shield;
For pain ne death I would not yield:
Nolo mortem peccatoris.
Lift up thy heart now, man, and see
What I have done and do for thee;
If thou be lost, blame thou not me:
Nolo mortem peccatoris.
Sir Frank Bridge conducted the first performance of Elgar’s anthem “Great is the Lord” on July 12, 1916.
Traditional, arr. John Bertalot: Amazing Grace
Choirs of St. John’s Cathedral, Denver, Donald Pearson
Eric Plutz, organ
English organist John Bertalot (1931-) was Organist of Blackburn Cathedral (1964-1983) and Trinity Church, Princeton (1983-1998).
GSM Commentary: Ed Futcher
Peal of Bells, Old North Church, Boston
Amy Beach: Lord of All Being, Op. 146
Harvard University Choir, Murray Forbes Somerville
Erica Johnson, organ
Dr. Murray Forbes Somerville (1947- ) was organ scholar at New College, Oxford, under Dr. David Lumsden.
Francis Grier: Missa Trinitatis sanctae
Choir of Westminster Abbey, Martin Neary
Sometime Organist of Christ Church, Oxford, English organist Francis Grier (1955-) now makes his living as a psychoanalyst and composer.
J.S. Bach: Cantata 154, “Mein liebster Jesus ist verloren”
Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and Choir, Ton Koopman
Bernhard Landauer, alto; Christoph Pregardien, tenor;
Klaus Mertens, bass
This cantata was first performed on Sunday, January 9, 1724 in Leipzig. According to Simon Crouch, “This short but impressive cantata starts with an impassioned tenor aria in which the soul bemoans the loss of Jesus. According to Robertson, you may wish to listen carefully for a pre-echo of the sword motif from Wagner’s Ring hidden between the final sentences of this aria!”
Mathurin Forestier: Missa L’homme armé
Chicago a cappella, Jonathan Miller
According to the C.M.M.E project, “One of the most idiosyncratic of the many masses written on the “L’homme armé” cantus firmus, this setting was written clearly as a response to Josquin’s L’homme armé mass Super voces musicales.1 Its particular cantus firmus scheme offers an ostentatious canonic extension to Josquin’s comparatively simple plan, in which the L’homme armé melody is presented on ever higher steps of the natural hexachord as the mass progresses (C, D, E, F, G, A). In Forestier’s composition, the structural cantus firmus likewise appears on rising pitches of the hexachord which change between movements or sections, but a huge leap in complexity comes with the simultaneous (canonic) presentation of the same tune at its traditional ‘default’ pitch level of G within each section (see Table 1). The basic five-part texture (two cantus firmus-bearing Tenors and three free voices) is expanded starting in the Osanna to six voices with a third canonic voice; and the four-voice stacked canon of the Benedictus is transformed into a culminating seven-voice version in the final Agnus dei.”
William Mathias: Berceuse, Op. 96
James Lancelot, organ
Harrison& Harrison organ of Durham Cathedral, England
William Mathias (1934-1992) was a Welsh composer noted for his well-crafted music which he wrote in many genres. We are fortunate that he left us several fine choral gems including “Sir Christemas” and “Lux Aeterna”.
George Frideric Handel: The Dettingen Te Deum
English Concert; Choir of Westminster Abbey, Simon Preston
Stephen Varcoe, bass; Christopher Tipping, alto;
Harry Christophers, tenor; Michael Pearce, bass
The Dettingen Te Deum was written by Handel to celebrate the victory of King George II and his army over the French in 1743.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.