Sir Joseph Barnby: When morning gilds the skies
Choir of Wells Cathedral, Malcolm Archer
Rupert Gough, organ
Zavel Zilberts: Psalm 137
Neimah Singers; Schola Hebraeica, Neil Levin
Alberto Mizrahi, tenor; Christopher Bowers-Broadbent, organ
“When morning gilds the skies” was recorded by Wells Cathedral Choir as part of their five CD set entitled “The English Hymn” released in 1999. This setting of the text “By the waters of Babylon we sat down and wept” dates from 1905.
Giovanni Antonio Rigatti: Nisi Dominus
Gabrieli Players, Paul McCreesh
David Hurley and Timothy Wilson, falsettists; Peter Harvey, baritone
Giuseppe Verdi: Ave Maria ~ Four Sacred Pieces
Hungarian State Opera Chorus, Pier Giorgio Morandi
Giovanni Antonio Rigatti (1615-1649) was a choirboy at St. Mark’s
Cathedral, Venice. The Latin title of his motet translates as “Unless the Lord” and is taken from Psalm 127. Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi wrote four sacred motets in the last decades of his life. “Ave Maria” dates from 1886-1889.
Commentary: Dr. John Ditto
Ralph Vaughan Williams: Prelude on Rhosymedre
Christopher Jacobson, organ
1932 Aeolian organ in Duke University Chapel
George Frideric Handel: Overture and Chorus ~ Deborah
The King’s Consort, Robert King
The Welsh “rhosymedre” means “lovely.” Handel wrote 24 oratorios of which most of us are familiar with but two or three. “Deborah” is one of Handel’s oratorios which deserves to be heard much more often than it is.
J.S. Bach: Cantata 108, “Es ist euch gut, dass ich hingehe … ”
Bach Collegium Japan, Masaaki Suzuki
Yukari Nonoshita, soprano; Robin Blaze, countertenor
James Gilchrist, tenor; Dominik Worner, bass
The German translates as “It is expedient for you that I go away. This cantata was first performed on April 29, 1725 in Leipzig.
Anonymous: Kyrie and Gloria ~ A Scottish Ladymass
Canty. Rebecca Tavener
Micaela Haslam and Rebecca Tavener, soprano
Libby Crabtree and Anne Lewis, mezzo-soprano
William Taylor, harp
Canty, Scotland’s only professional Medieval music group, was formed by Rebecca Tavener in 1998, the 900th anniversary of the birth of Hildegard of Bingen.
Alexandre Guilmant: Sonata No. 2 in D, Op. 50
Ben van Oosten, organ
Cavaille-Coll-Organ at St. Ouen, Rouen
French composer and organist Alexandre Guilmant was organist of Paris’ Eglise de la Trinite from 1871-1901.
Francois-Joseph Gossec: Te Deum for Grand Orchestra
National Choir; Choir and Orchestra of the Sorbonne, Paris
Jacques Grimbert
Jill Feldman, soprano; Brigitte LaFon, mezzo-soprano; Gerard Lesne, alto
Howard Milner, tenor; Glenn Chambers, baritone
A seldom-performed work by a little-known composer? Francois-Joseph Gossec’s setting of the ancient hymn of praise Te Deum Laudamus fits the bill on both counts. It is a substantial work scored as it is for a chorus of 1,200 singers and an orchestra of 300 wind instruments.
John Stanley: Trumpet Tune
J. David Williams, organ
1953 Aeolian-Skinner organ, Opus 1118, in The Riverside Church, New York
J. David Williams was born in Paris, Tennessee. He is the Director of Music and Organist at The Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church, Brooklyn and Organist/Pianist/Music Director at Congregation Rodeph Sholom, Manhattan
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