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Mielczewski: Deus in nomine tuo - Benedictio et claritas - M

Coro

$20.99 Oct 06, 2017

The fifth volume in this highly acclaimed series, conducted by The Sixteen’s Associate Conductor, Eamonn Dougan, celebrates the music of Polish composer Marcin Mielczewski. Together with Bartlomiej Pekiel, Mielczewski was amongst the most notable of 17th-century Polish composers and was recognised as a leader among his contemporaries. Influenced by the many Italian composers who graced the Polish courts in the 1600s, Mielczewski was a prolific composer. The cross-section of works recorded here shows an exceptionally accomplished musician at work, one whose music deserves a wider audience and who can confidently stand alongside the maestri who came before him and from whom he learnt his craft.

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Mielczewski: Deus in nomine tuo - Benedictio et claritas - M
Coro Oct 2017
CD
$20.99

Medieval Chant, Tallis Lamentations / Nigel Short, Tenebrae Consort

Signum Classics

$19.99 Mar 25, 2014

TALLIS Missa Puer natus est. Salvator mundi. Quod chorus vatum. Benedictus. Magnificat a 4. Audivi vocem de caelo. Videte miraculum • Andrew Carwood, dir; The Cardinall’s Musick • HYPERION 68026 (67:39 Text and Translation)

MEDIEVAL CHANT AND TALLIS LAMENTATIONS • Nigel Short, dir; Tenebrae Consort • BENE ARTE 901 (65:23 Text and Translation)

This is the third disc in Andrew Carwood’s Tallis series. The first one marked his debut on Hyperion ( Fanfare 29:3), but now the next two have come in such quick succession (37:4 for the second one) that it seems as if he may be planning an alternative to Alistair Dixon’s set of the complete works on 10 Signum CDs (the ninth issue had an extra disc to get the overflow in). His favorite venue is Arundel Castle, probably for the historical significance of the recusant Catholic Duke of Norfolk’s estate as much as for the superb acoustics of Fitzalan Chapel, for he made his complete set of Byrd’s sacred music on 13 CDs there. The two recent discs each include a Mass, but this time he adds the chant introit for the third Mass of Christmas, though no Kyrie is supplied (Dixon included a Kyrie and a whole set of Mass Propers). Unlike Dixon’s homogeneous discs, Carwood offers more varied programming. The first disc had Latin-texted music, the longest being Gaude gloriosa (almost as long as a Mass). The second had more English-texted pieces than Latin to fill out the Mass. This one has mostly Latin works, including the two great gospel canticles, with only the Benedictus set in English.

Much as I have admired Alistair Dixon’s work, influenced certainly by the ambition of his project, Carwood has achieved a standing second to none among English vocal ensemble directors. That is saying a great deal, but in this field, it is crowded at the top, and each group will have its partisans. The Mass for Christmas of 1554 on this disc has attracted several recordings recently because of its connection with Queen Mary, whose presumptive “puer” (not the Christmas “Puer”) would have been the heir to the throne if he had been born. As it turned out, he was not even conceived. The closest competition in the Mass comes from the exquisite Stile antico (34:4), Peter Phillips, Harry Christophers, and Dixon’s volume 3 (21:6). Grant Llewellen (27: 5) is also good, though his choir is larger than these vocal ensembles. Reconstruction of the Mass parts started with David Wulstan (4:1; CD in 12: 1), but now this new entry must be considered in any comparison of the recordings.

The shorter works range from the familiar Videte miraculum to the seldom recorded Quod chorus vatum , though both belong to the feast of Candlemas. The latter was first recorded by Christopher Robinson (20:2) and is found now only in Dixon’s volume 4. Since Tallis wrote for both Catholic and Anglican liturgies, the juxtaposition of the English Benedictus followed by the Latin Magnificat must be a conscious effort to make the point. If this is indeed a new complete works in the making, it will be worthy of careful comparisons with Dixon’s set. Highly recommended.

The second disc consists of chant for Passiontide along with three polyphonic works: the two Lamentations of Thomas Tallis and the respond In manus tuas (I) by John Sheppard, all familiar on records, the last in Harry Christophers’s latest disc herewith. I have 21 recordings of the Lamentations dating back to the early 1950s, but the two Lamentations have never been coupled with chant responsories on record as here, though this practice has been adopted in settings of Lamentations by other Renaissance composers. Tallis made two Lamentations out of the text used in modern editions for the first Lamentation for Holy Thursday, the beginning of the Old Testament book.

This disc offers 40 minutes of chant to 25 minutes of polyphony, so the main interest is in Medieval Holy Week observances. The hymn Pange lingua for Good Friday (not the familiar text for Corpus Christi) begins the program—just four strophes and a doxology—followed by a complete Office of Compline because Sheppard’s responsory belongs to this Office, though it is placed further on. The responsories that follow the two Lamentations are In monte Oliveti and Tristis est anima mea ; the latter is from the familiar Tenebrae service but the former, oddly enough, is the variant version for Palm Sunday. The final track is a Holy Week chant that I have indexed on many recordings as Kyrie ... Qui passurus , found in several uses. Here it is titled a litany after Lauds of Holy Thursday, and may be a version from the Sarum use. Like many Holy Week chants, it is uniquely touching. The Tallis Lamentations, of course, are the featured tracks, as the disc title indicates, and they are sung elegantly. Nigel Short has given us some adroitly programmed discs, and this one is an original approach. You will know by now if this is for you, but I urge you to give it a chance.

FANFARE: J. F. Weber

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Medieval Chant, Tallis Lamentations / Nigel Short, Tenebrae Consort
Signum Classics Mar 2014
CD
$19.99

Frank La Rocca: Requiem for the Forgotten / Sparkes, Benedict XVI Choir & Orchestra

Cappella Records

SACD

$19.99 Mar 15, 2024

Cappella Records proudly announces the release of Frank La Rocca’s “Requiem for the Forgotten - Messe des Malades”, performed by Benedict XVI Choir and Orchestra, directed by renowned international conductor Richard Sparks.

“Requiem for the Forgotten” commemorates the displaced and the homeless, constructing a musical sanctuary for the soul while championing the inherent dignity of every person, particularly those who have been forsaken. Drawing upon his Ukrainian heritage, La Rocca’s setting of a poem on Ukrainian priest Andrei Ischak (martyred by the Bolsheviks) deeply resonates with those enduring oppression today. The composer’s late sister Carin, who valiantly confronted the challenges of multiple sclerosis, gave inspiration to the “Messe des Malades” (Mass for the Sick). It underscores the universal need for healing, capturing the composer’s personal journey as well in every note. Infused with an ethical power towards empathy, this music moves us to use our own gifts in a more excellent way for a broken world.

Benedict XVI Choir’s début recording of these works is sung by some of America’s finest singers, many GRAMMY®-nominated. Sung in Latin and English. Booklet includes all translations.

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Frank La Rocca: Requiem for the Forgotten / Sparkes, Benedict XVI Choir & Orchestra
Cappella Records Mar 2024
SACD
$19.99

Liszt: Benediction De Dieu / Feltsman

Nimbus

$20.99 Jan 01, 2013

Vladimir Feltsman, one of the most versatile and interesting musicians of our time, presents an insightful recital of famous and rarely heard works by Franz Liszt:

1 Liebesträume, No. 3 in A flat major (1850) 4.53
2 Ballade No. 2 in B minor (1853) 14.47
Six Consolations (1850) 16.20
3 I Andante con moto 1.11
4 II Un poco piu mosso 3.08
5 III Lento placido 4.01
6 IV Quasi adagio 2.31
7 V Andantino 2.37
8 VI Allegretto sempre cantabile 2.52
9 Bénédiction de Dieu dans la solitude (1853) 17.26
10 Berceuse in F sharp major (1876) 3.34
11 Elegia (1874) 5.19
12 La lugubre gondola (2nd version) (1885) 8.34
13 En rêve, nocturne (1886) 2.25

Total playing time 73.16

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Liszt: Benediction De Dieu / Feltsman
Nimbus Jan 2013
CD
$20.99