Notes and Editorial Reviews
Beginning with an expectedly rousing and expertly rendered God is gone up by Gerald Finzi, the Choir of the Queen’s College, Oxford and organist George Parsons offer a stylistically varied yet thematically cohesive program that ranges from Tallis and Byrd to Bach and Finzi, ending with Kenneth Leighton's exuberant anthem Let all the world. In between we hear three chorale-based organ works by Bach--brilliantly played, the contrapuntal lines clearly articulated, the voicings fully exploiting both the instrument's bright and dark colors and its nimbleness and power--and some well-chosen pieces from renaissance Spain (Guerrero, Victoria), Portugal (Lobo), and Italy (Palestrina). Perhaps the disc's highlight is Jonathan Harvey's (b. 1939)
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setting of Come, Holy Ghost, a masterful evocation of the mystical, surprising, and incomprehensible visitation of the Holy Spirit. Harvey employs the familiar hymn melody (Veni creator spiritus) and embellishes it with tone clusters, exotic harmonies, a couple of ear-catching solos (tenor James Gilchrist is especially notable), random, arrhythmic utterances, and in general draws us into a strange sound-world that's fully worthy of its subject.
The choir of mixed voices (female sopranos; the alto section includes at least one male voice) is excellent, showing an overall mastery of the various styles and voice configurations. However, in the more thick-textured pieces--such as Tallis' Loquebantur variis linguis and Guerrero's Duo seraphim--interior voice-parts are somewhat mushy in the relatively close-up recording. Mostly, the singing is clear and detailed and well-balanced but for the occasional soprano emphasis. And although we've heard Tallis' "If ye love me" more times than we can count, this choir's lovely rendition allows us the chance to appreciate its simple beauty yet once more--and no one will complain. Highly recommended to all choral music fans.
--David Vernier, ClassicsToday.com Read less
Works on This Recording
1.
Anthems (3), Op. 27: no 2, God is gone up by Gerald Finzi
Performer:
George Parsons (Organ),
Abraham van Linge (Glass)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1951; England
Venue: The Queen's College, Oxford, England
Length: 4 Minutes 35 Secs.
2.
Ascendens Christus in altum by Tomás Luis de Victoria
Performer:
George Parsons (Organ),
Abraham van Linge (Glass)
Period: Renaissance
Written: by 1572; Spain
Venue: The Queen's College, Oxford, England
Length: 4 Minutes 50 Secs.
3.
Ascendit Deus by William Byrd
Performer:
George Parsons (Organ),
Abraham van Linge (Glass)
Period: Renaissance
Venue: The Queen's College, Oxford, England
Length: 1 Minutes 12 Secs.
4.
Regina cæli lætare by Duarte Lôbo
Performer:
Abraham van Linge (Glass),
George Parsons (Organ)
Period: Baroque
Venue: The Queen's College, Oxford, England
Length: 1 Minutes 18 Secs.
5.
Fantasia super Komm, heiliger Geist, BWV 651 by Johann Sebastian Bach
Performer:
Abraham van Linge (Glass),
George Parsons (Organ)
Period: Baroque
Written: by 1723; ?Weimar, Germany
Venue: The Queen's College, Oxford, England
Length: 5 Minutes 25 Secs.
6.
Veni Sancte Spiritus, motet for 8 voices (unspecified of 2) by Giovanni Palestrina
Performer:
George Parsons (Organ),
Abraham van Linge (Glass)
Period: Renaissance
Venue: The Queen's College, Oxford, England
Length: 2 Minutes 55 Secs.
7.
If ye love me by Thomas Tallis
Performer:
George Parsons (Organ),
Abraham van Linge (Glass)
Period: Renaissance
Written: 16th Century; England
Venue: The Queen's College, Oxford, England
Length: 2 Minutes 1 Secs.
8.
Come Holy Ghost by Jonathan Harvey
Performer:
James Gilchrist (Voice),
Constance Wordsworth (),
George Parsons (Organ),
Alexandra Mayson (),
Abraham van Linge (Glass),
Tim Gabbitas ()
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1984; England
Venue: The Queen's College, Oxford, England
Length: 6 Minutes 19 Secs.
9.
Komm, Gott, Schöpfer, Heiliger Geist, BWV 667 by Johann Sebastian Bach
Performer:
George Parsons (Organ),
Abraham van Linge (Glass)
Period: Baroque
Written: by 1723; ?Weimar, Germany
Venue: The Queen's College, Oxford, England
Length: 2 Minutes 18 Secs.
10.
Spiritus Sanctus replevit, motet for 8 voices by Giovanni Palestrina
Performer:
George Parsons (Organ),
Abraham van Linge (Glass)
Period: Renaissance
Venue: The Queen's College, Oxford, England
Length: 3 Minutes 13 Secs.
11.
O Lord, give thy holy spirit by Thomas Tallis
Performer:
George Parsons (Organ),
Abraham van Linge (Glass)
Period: Renaissance
Written: 16th Century; England
Venue: The Queen's College, Oxford, England
Length: 2 Minutes 4 Secs.
12.
Loquebantur variis linguis by Thomas Tallis
Performer:
George Parsons (Organ),
Abraham van Linge (Glass)
Period: Renaissance
Written: 16th Century; England
Venue: The Queen's College, Oxford, England
Length: 3 Minutes 41 Secs.
13.
Kyrie, Gott heiliger Geist, BWV 671 by Johann Sebastian Bach
Performer:
George Parsons (Organ),
Abraham van Linge (Glass)
Period: Baroque
Written: 1739; Leipzig, Germany
Venue: The Queen's College, Oxford, England
Length: 4 Minutes 25 Secs.
14.
Tibi laus tibi Gloria, motet for 4 voices, M. xiv (S. i/67) by Orlando de Lassus
Performer:
George Parsons (Organ),
Abraham van Linge (Glass)
Period: Renaissance
Venue: The Queen's College, Oxford, England
Length: 3 Minutes 17 Secs.
15.
Prayer to the Holy Trinity, for chorus by John Tavener
Performer:
George Parsons (Organ),
Abraham van Linge (Glass)
Period: Contemporary
Written: 1995
Venue: The Queen's College, Oxford, England
Length: 3 Minutes 59 Secs.
16.
Duo Seraphim by Francisco Guerrero
Performer:
Kiri Parker (),
Abraham van Linge (Glass),
George Parsons (Organ),
Joe Harper (),
Kirsty Anderson ()
Period: Renaissance
Written: 16th Century; Spain
Venue: The Queen's College, Oxford, England
Length: 3 Minutes 9 Secs.
17.
Let all the world in every corner sing by Kenneth Leighton
Performer:
George Parsons (Organ),
Abraham van Linge (Glass)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1955
Venue: The Queen's College, Oxford, England
Length: 3 Minutes 18 Secs.
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