Ely Cathedral Summer Recital Series 2013 Alan Horsey, Organ
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in association with Ely Cathedral Summer Recital Series 2013 Alan Horsey, organ - David Hill, conductor Sunday 21 July at 5.15pm Insanae et vanae curae Franz Josef Haydn from HOBXXI:1 (c.1775) 1732-1809 Insanae et vanae curae Distracted with care and anguish, Invadunt mentes nostras. When hearts despairing languish, Saepe furore replent corda, Madly they seek comfort Privata spe. Where it doth ne’er abide. Quid prodest, O mortalis, For us no rest remaineth, Conari pro mundanis, If earth our love retaineth, Si coelos negligas? And heaven we cast aside; Sunt fausta tibi cuncta, Relief he only gaineth, Si Deus est pro te. And peace at last attaineth, Whom God vouchsafes to guide. This vivid chorus was devised originally for a long-neglected oratorio, Il Ritorno di Tobia of 1774/5 composed for a concert to raise money for poor musicians and their families. Copyright difficulties with the composer’s employer followed and the piece remained forgotten for two decades. Revived in 1795, Haydn added the Insanae music as a ‘storm’ chorus. Ten years after this, towards the end of his long life, he added the sacred words and the work has survived in the standard repertoire ever since. There are two sections, each contrasted with the other. Rather strangely, the piece did not achieve immediate popularity though its quality clearly stimulated Haydn’s colleagues – Pizzaro’s aria in Beethoven’s Fidelio, also in D minor, is clearly influenced by Haydn’s prototype. Organ solo: Prelude on ‘Rhosymedre’ Ralph Vaughan Williams no.2 of Three Preludes on Welsh Hymn Tunes (1920) 1872-1958 The evergreen prelude on Rhosymedre was written in 1920, by which time Vaughan Williams was established as a cutting-edge symphonist, but at the same time, remained a very willing writer of pleasant, consciously down-to-earth pieces for church services and other occasions. Rhosymedre is a much-loved treasure of the British organ repertory which other hands have orchestrated to good effect. With a structure that pays homage to Bach and a degree of harmonic invention to match, but in a language that is totally English-pastoral, the tune is presented simply, first in the tenor register then as the top line with a lush accompaniment, framed fore and aft by the gentle melody that forms the thematic basis of the whole piece. This real gem is a cause of regret that Vaughan Williams, onetime church organist and FRCO diploma-holder, wrote nothing else of the same quality for the organ. Organ solo: Toccata Eugène Gigout from Dix pièces (1890) 1872-1958 Eugène Gigout achieved early fame as a teenager; while a boy chorister at Nancy Cathedral, he was to be heard playing regularly for services there. At the tender age of just nineteen, Gigout gained the prestigious appointment at the Parisian church of St Augustin, remaining there until his death in office sixty-three years later. It was Gigout who was chosen to give the first performance of César Franck’s immortal third Choral. Gigout’s own compositions comprise a substantial tally of idiomatic pieces – include today’s famous Toccata and a fabulous Scherzo (both among his Dix Pièces of 1892). The pedal theme of the Toccata is a striding, grand affair which lingers long in the memory. Locus iste Joseph Anton Bruckner WAB23 (1869) 1824-96 Locus iste a Deo factus est, This place was made by God, inaestimabile Sacramentum. a priceless sacrament. Irreprehensibilis est. It is beyond reproach. Along with his famous Masses, Bruckner’s motets – a corpus comprising over forty such works – represent a high point in Catholic church music of the Romantic period. He wrote church music all his life and each work celebrates his commitment of faith as well as of creativity. This output ranges from the simplest unaccompanied concepts to the most elaborate orchestral essays. Locus iste is one of his very finest choral pieces. The text is proper to the feast of the Dedication of a Church and Bruckner’s setting was written in 1869 for the dedication of a Chapel in the Cathedral at Linz where he had been organist between 1856 and 1868. Jubilate in C Edward Benjamin Britten (1961) 1913-76 O be joyful in the Lord, all ye lands: serve the Lord with gladness, and come before his presence with a song. Be ye sure that the Lord he is God; it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves: we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. O go your way into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and speak good of his Name. For the Lord is gracious, his mercy is everlasting: and his truth endureth from generation to generation. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost; As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen. Psalm 100 in the Book of Common Prayer This lively Jubilate was composed for the Choir of St George’s Chapel Windsor at the request of His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh, as a companion piece to the composer’s Te Deum of 1934. The lively toccata like ostinato underpins antiphonal choral utterance and a compelling alternatim treatment between this motto and more hushed repeated chords. The memorable yet simple thematic material is of immediate appeal and lingers long in the memory. The setting was first performed in the presence of the composers with its companion Te Deum in Leeds Parish Church at the Opening Service of the 1961 Leeds Musical Festival – an occasion televised on network TV. Organ solo: Toccata, Fugue and Hymn on Ave Maris Stella Flor Peeters op.28 (1933) 1903-86 Created a Baron by the King of the Belgians, Flor Peeters led a hugely active creative life with concerts, composition and teaching at its heart. His musical style is catholic in encompassing a wide range of influences, and yet his artistic expression remains instantly recognisable. Plainchant, music of the French schools, Bach, even jazz – all were important to him. Peeters’ creative output includes a substantial amount for the organ. His career was hugely influential both in his native Belgium and further afield. Famed equally as executant, church musician and pedagogue, Peeters was organist of Malines (Mechelen) Cathedral for over sixty years and Director of the Antwerp Royal Conservatoire. As a student, he was a pupil of both Dupré and Tournemire, and dedicated works to each. His Opus 28 is founded on the glorious plainchant hymn Ave, maris Stella, which speaks of Our Lady as the Star of the Sea and the refuge of the faithful: Hail, O star that pointest t’ward the port of heaven; Thou, to whom as Maiden, God as Son was given. An ebullient toccata presents the tune in long notes in the pedal. The central section shifts relentlessly and urgently forward after the initial tension has subsided; ultimately, however, the toccata motto is triumphant and this portion of the work ends in a blaze of sound. The fugue which follows is a lively, ingenious gigue with catchy, off-beat rhythms to enhance it. This leads, ultimately and after much episodic development, to a final triumphant hymn with the tune massively harmonised. Listen here for the telescoped lines in the pedal cadenza which concludes each line as the manual chord is sustained above it. This bell-like fanfare figuration is extremely impressive. O Crux ave Rihards Dubra (1995) b. 1964 O Crux ave, spes unica O Cross, our one reliance, hail! In hac triumphi Gloria So may thy power with us prevail Auge piis justitiam To give new virtue to the saint, Reisque dona veniam. And pardon to the penitent. Venantius Fortunatus (6th century) Rihards Dubra (born 28 February 1964 in Riga) is a leading Latvian composer. Several of his works are to sacred texts including a Te Deum and an Alma Redemptoris Mater for soprano saxophone, choir, and organ. A CD of his choral output recorded by Rupert Gough and the choir of London’s Royal Holloway College has achieved widespread acclaim and done much to bring Dubra’s art to wider public notice. The short and deeply expressive O Crux ave consists of a setting of the penultimate verse of the mighty Passiontide Office Hymn Vexilla regis prodeunt by Saint Venantius Fortunatus (530-609), many of whose many stanzas survive in frequent use by English speaking translations by figures of the calibre of the Anglican priest John Mason Neale (1818-1866) – examples that spring readily to mind, beside The royal banners, include Sing, my tongue, the glorious battle, Hail thee! Festival Day and O glorious Maid, exalted far. The hushed beauty of O Crux ave has made the piece many friends. Sleep Eric Whitacre (2000) b. 1970 The evening hangs beneath the moon If there are noises in the night, A silver thread on darkened dune A frightening shadow, flickering light… With closing eyes and resting head Then I surrender unto sleep, I know that sleep is coming soon Where clouds of dream give second sight. Upon my pillow, safe in bed, What dreams may come, both dark and deep A thousand pictures fill my head, Of flying wings and soaring leap I cannot sleep, my minds aflight, As I surrender unto sleep And yet my limbs seem made of lead As I surrender unto sleep. Charles Anthony Silvestri, b.1965 The composer writes: In the winter of 1999 I was contacted by Ms Julia Armstrong, a lawyer and professional mezzo-soprano living in Austin, Texas.