SKU: CA.739600
ISBN M-007-25264-9. Language: English.
The motet Bless the Lord, O My Soul (2013) on verses from Psalm 103 exploits the possibilities of vocal combinations and the resulting sound effects to a high degree: In the opening invocation O my soul, the soprano 1 ascends to float above the fanned out low chord of the other voices; and beginning from For as the heavens are high above the earth, an eight-part fugato masses together into an extensive architecture of sound. The harmony of the work is tonal, but many enriched chords create a tension rich in nuances in the setting. The work has been released on the CD Rejoice. Vocal Music by Kay Johannsen (Carus 83.496/00).
SKU: OU.9780193954120
ISBN 9780193954120. 12 x 8 inches.
for SSAATTBB and organ (ad lib.) Born 200 years ago this year and orphaned at the age of 3, Sterndale Bennett was brought up by his grandfather in Cambridge, where he sang in the choir of King's College before entering the Royal Academy of Music to study the piano at the age of 10. He was later to become Professor of Music at Cambridge and Principal of the RAM. This fine eight-part setting of verses from Psalm 71, written towards the end of his life, explores imitative and antiphonal textures.
SKU: CA.922140
ISBN 9790007160586. Key: F sharp minor. Language: Estonian/English.
SKU: OU.9780193953901
ISBN 9780193953901. 12 x 8 inches.
For SSAATTBB, SSATTB verse and organ First edited in the 1950s by Watkins Shaw and published privately, this magnificent anthem has been revised in honour of the centenary of Shaw's birth by his successor as Honorary General Editor of the Church Music Society.
SKU: GI.G-9476
UPC: 785147947608. Latin. Text Source: Sixth of the O Antiphons, Latin, ca. 5th c.
SKU: GI.G-9620
UPC: 785147962007. Latin. Text Source: Fourth Responsory at Matins, Christmas Day.
SKU: CA.922110
ISBN 9790007160562. Key: F sharp minor. Language: Estonian/German.
SKU: GI.G-10140
UPC: 785147014010. Latin. Text Source: Hymn at Lauds for the Feast of the Transfiguration.
SKU: PE.EP68578
ISBN 9790300759630. English.
Of Time and Passing (2016) is a cycle of three choral songs written specifically for the London-based ensemble, VOCES8, taking into consideration their versatilityand ability to beautifully intone a range of vocal colors with precision and grace.
The first song, I. Life, sets my translation of the poem A Vida by Brazilian poet Olavo Bilac (1865-1918), a poet I discovered while studying Brazilian Portuguese at the University of Michigan. I was drawn both to the simplicity of the text and to the possibilities of teasing out dual contrasting moods. In the beginning and end, this song explores a texture that is very much alive: wave-like contours, throbbing sounds, and plenty of flowing movement. Rising eighth-note motives in particular emphasize the fleetingness of life. But in the middle of the song, the listener is given a slowed-down atmosphere to savor life's beauty.
II. To Everything a Season capitalizes on VOCES8's ability to effectively interpret popular genres a cappella. This ancient text is taken from Ecclesiastes (dated around 300 B.C.) but I set it to a modern, rhythmically-regular and percussive pop-style idiom. Since popular music in whatever era is designedto appeal to a specific ?present time?, it is by its very nature ephemeral, and therefore seemed an apt metaphor to evoke the transitory nature of seasons.
III. Into Your Hands, confines the writing into no more than four parts, often with octave unisons.This creates a more direct and word-focused setting in which the Psalmist?s urgent words are placed at the forefront. Largely homophonic, this song is at times chorale-like, at times madrigal-like,finally relinquishing it?s tension into peaceful rest, proclaiming ?You have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God??
- Daniel Knaggs
© 2000 - 2024 Home - New realises - Composers Legal notice - Full version