ANTONIO LOTTI CRUCIFIXUS

THE SYRED CONSORT | ORCHESTRA OF ST PAUL’S | BEN PALMER 1 in G minor [8:30] Credo in G minor solos: Kate Ashby, Felicity Hayward sopranos Ciara Hendrick alto Choir I: Felicity Hayward soprano Ciara Hendrick alto Hugo Hymas tenor Ben McKee bass Hugo Hymas tenor Oliver Hunt bass Choir II: Rachel Ambrose Evans soprano Lucy Goddard alto Ruairi Bowen tenor Oliver Hunt bass 13 Credo in unum Deum [3:33] Miserere in C minor solos: Lucy Goddard, Ciara Hendrick alto [4:50] solos: Rachel Ambrose Evans soprano Ciara Hendrick alto 14 Et incarnatus est – Crucifixus a 6 [2:36] Ruairi Bowen tenor Ben McKee bass 15 Ritornello – Et in Spiritum 2 Miserere mei Deus [4:16] solos: Rachel Ambrose Evans, Felicity Hayward sopranos Oliver Hunt bass [2:15] 3 Quoniam iniquitatem [4:14] 16 Et unam sanctam 4 Auditui meo [4:34] 5 Cor mundum crea [7:13] Total playing time [79:28] 6 Quoniam si voluisses [6:01] All tracks except 9 and the ‘Crucifixus’ in 14 are premiere recordings Missa Sancti Christophori 7 [4:36] solos: Rachel Ambrose Evans soprano Lucy Goddard alto Robbie Jacobs tenor Michael Craddock bass 8 [8:33] solos: Rachel Ambrose Evans soprano Ciara Hendrick alto Hugo Hymas tenor Oliver Hunt bass 9 Credo – Crucifixus a 8 [10:20] 10 Sanctus [2:16] solos: Felicity Hayward soprano Lucy Goddard alto 11 Benedictus [1:56] 12 Agnus Dei [3:37] With sincere thanks to Richard Syred for his generous support of this recording solos: Rachel Ambrose Evans soprano Lucy Goddard alto Robbie Jacobs tenor Michael Craddock bass Recorded on 7-8 October 2015 in Photography © Maky Manole Join the Delphian mailing list: All Hallows’ Church, Gospel Oak Editions by Ben Byram-Wigfield www.delphianrecords.co.uk/join Producer/Engineer: Paul Baxter www.ancientgroove.co.uk 24-bit digital editing: Adam Binks Chamber organ supplied by Like us on Facebook: 24-bit digital mastering: Paul Baxter Malcolm Greenhalgh www.facebook.com/delphianrecords Design: Drew Padrutt Delphian Records Ltd – Edinburgh – UK Follow us on Twitter: Booklet editor: Henry Howard www.delphianrecords.co.uk @delphianrecords Notes on the music Despite composing more than 140 works of work, providing music and musicians for his masterful variety, incessant invention and shock and awe of the tutti sections and sacred music, twenty-three highly successful special occasions at many of the hundred defiant refusal to fit any one genre matches the the calm supplication of solo ensembles. and numerous other works in a career or so churches on the island city. This would eclectic expectations of a modern audience. The work is for a five-part chorus with five of more than fifty years, Antonio Pasqualin Lotti have included patronal festivals (for each soloists, one taken from each of the vocal is now known almost exclusively for only three church’s patron saint) or the investiture of Some of the difficulty in ‘resurrecting’ Lotti’s parts. Lotti weaves extraordinarily daring works: his ‘Crucifixus’ settings for six, eight and Venetian noblewomen into a convent. Most music may lie in his use of large vocal forces: harmonies under the lyrical vocal lines, and ten voices. It is not widely known that these of his ‘concert’ sacred music – for choir, a Gloria in G requires 14 separate vocal interjects instrumental cadences that contain ‘motets’ are in fact parts of three settings of soli and instruments – is likely to have been lines for just one movement; his concertato some startling chromatic contradictions. the complete Credo: the six-part setting comes written for such festivities, when expense and Requiem needs 10 voices in the chorus Pensive tenor and alto solos seamlessly from a Credo that is otherwise for double choir extravagance were not spared, and the chance and a sextet of soloists. Seven of his Kyrie bridge the last verse of the psalm to the start in G minor; the ten-part is from a Credo in D to write modern, daring music for Mass and settings are scored for two choirs plus nine of the Gloria. It ends with a fugue and Amen minor for four voices; the eight-part is from Vespers was welcomed, rather than the more soloists. His string sections are frequently that is every bit as impressive as the opening a Credo in F major for four voices. All three austere and devotional four-part choral works, written as a quintet with two viola parts, of the work. works have an accompaniment for strings and backed by organ, that were the more usual fare rather than the more conventional quartet of organ. Two of these settings – the eight-part at San Marco. two violins, viola and basses. A trumpet and The Miserere in C minor is one of five settings and the six-part – were plucked from their place a woodwind section of two , bassoon by Lotti, all in minor keys. Lotti shows the for inclusion in an 1838 collection of sacred Inevitably, Lotti’s works fell out of use as and occasionally two flutes are additional fecundity of his inventiveness to great effect music by Johann Friedrich Rochlitz (1769–1842), fashions changed, and later maestri supplied requirements for some of his works. in this work. The nineteen sentences are Sammlung vorzüglicher Gesangstücke vom their own new music to supplant what had each set as a separate musical form: some as Ursprung gesetzmässiger Harmonie bis auf die been used before. This was the case for many However, Lotti did write a number of works full sections for four-part chorus and strings, neue Zeit (‘Important Pieces from the Origin of previous eras whose music we that call for a more conventional, smaller others as smaller, more intimate ensembles. of Regular Harmony to Modern Times’), and as now enjoy today: , Lotti’s group of singers and players – most likely Lotti writes an incredible variety: strong, a result became popular throughout Germany predecessor as maestro di cappella at San composed for one of the Venetian ‘scuole singable, melodic lines for voices, often with and the rest of Europe. Marco, has only enjoyed a resurgence since the piccole’ or the Ospedale degli Incurabili – and string interludes in which the first violin plays ‘rediscovery’ of his 1610 Vespers in the 1960s. it is from this group that the pieces in this against the other instruments. The lack of a After hearing these settings, two obvious ’s Gloria in D and the Quattro recording are taken. The Dixit Dominus in Gloria Patri at the end of the psalm suggests questions arise: how do the ‘Crucifixus’ sections Stagioni are now perennial concert favourites, G minor is one of six settings by Lotti of this usage in Holy Week. fit in the context of the larger work? And, more despite being almost unknown only a handful text, the first psalm sung at Vespers on feast fundamentally: what else did Lotti write? of decades ago. Even much of the music of a days. His other settings are considerably The Credo in G minor is a rare example of Lotti master like Bach was revived after a longer and on a larger scale, yet this more using the typically Venetian form of two choirs From the age of seventeen until his death period of neglect, with Mendelssohn famously compact reading manages to convey every in antiphony, one repeating or echoing the aged 73 in 1740, Lotti held a variety of full-time performing the St Matthew Passion in 1829 bit of the pomp and majesty that the text other, then taking the phrase and developing it. positions at the Doge’s chapel of San Marco for the first time since Bach’s own lifetime. demands. Starting with a monumental To this, he adds the orchestra as a ‘third choir’, in . He also took a variety of freelance Today, Lotti’s music is over-ripe for revival: Adagio, it alternates between the rhythmic frequently rotating a phrase between them all. Notes on the music Lotti is a master of word-painting, and while Zelenka compiled a Kyrie, Gloria and Credo, ‘Domine Deus, Agnus Dei’, as Lotti plays with before a solemn, slow cadence on the word some techniques are obvious (descending all in F major. In Zelenka’s native Prague, the chromatic effects above a pedal note. At ‘Qui ‘mortuorum’. A dance-like fugue in triple scales for ‘descendit’, ascending scales for last three sections of the mass were expected tollis’, a chorus responds to the plea of a solo time concludes this affirmation of faith. The ‘ascendit’), he also repeats ‘non erit finis’ (it to be composed in the same style, and so for voice. The ‘Quoniam’ section plays with unison Sanctus has the same pattern of supplicant will not end), and pauses with anticipation performance there Zelenka created a pastiche: lines, before another strong fugue subject solo matched against tutti chorus, with a at ‘et expecto’. The Adagio of ‘Et incarnatus the Benedictus uses the Christe eleison and the that Lotti weaves to a masterful conclusion. joyous contrapuntal theme in the Hosanna. The est’ brings a more solemn and sacred aspect, final fugue of the Gloria; the Agnus Dei uses A driving arpeggiated figure in the continuo Benedictus and Agnus Dei rehearse material before the change of scoring for the apex of material from the opening and closing sections line starts the Credo, whose lengthy text from earlier in the work, but in a different light the work, ‘Crucifixus’. And so from two choirs of the Kyrie. The source of the Sanctus has not is delivered with a forthright efficiency. The that suits the text, with the final fugue bringing of four voices with strings, the mood alters to been identified, though there are indications chorus frequently has homophonic speech the whole mass to an appropriate conclusion. six voices with only continuo accompaniment. that it is also a contrafactum (where the text has rhythms while the upper strings provide the The two antiphonal choirs and strings return, been applied to pre-existing notes, rather than it lyrical texture. Lotti uses many of the same Lotti’s compositional style is capable of a great mining a similar vein to that of the start, before being a new confection). word-painting techniques as in the Credo in G variety. There is counterpoint to match the a curiously secular instrumental ritornello and minor, though he manages to convey them in old masters and chromaticism redolent of the trio ensemble over a ground bass. The work The Kyrie has many of Lotti’s trademark an inventively distinct fashion. Again, there is early Baroque. His fugues are accomplished, ends with an insistent eight-part fughetta for techniques: an urgent instrumental introduction, an Adagio for ‘Et incarnatus est’, whose series and less ‘mechanical’ than some by other ‘et vitam venturi’ with instrumental interludes followed by a lyrical, syncopated calling of of harmonic changes portrays the mystery of composers. His use of modulation and and a surprising final cadence. the first word, underpinned by a speech-like the incarnation. The ‘Crucifixus’ for eight voices structure is at the cutting edge of the galant rhythmic texture. In the Christe, the chorus starts with something of a bump, its C minor style that prefigures the Classical era. His Lotti wrote twelve concert settings of the Kyrie, responds to the plea of the soloist. The final chord jarring against the previous section’s harmonies can be surprising, daring, even fourteen of the Gloria, and five of the Credo. Kyrie starts with a solemn restatement of the resolution to B flat major. The remainder of this outrageous. As a , Lotti was widely The convention in Venice was that when the word ‘Kyrie’, before a finale that shows Lotti’s section needs no introduction, with its searing regarded in his own lifetime: his influence can first three sections of the mass were lengthy, idiomatic skill with fugues. The Gloria begins suspensions; the descending syncopated be seen in the music of Caldara, Vivaldi, Bach elaborate works, the last three (Sanctus, with a suitably glorious string introduction, scales to ‘passus’ not only symbolise weeping and particularly Handel, who borrowed several Benedictus and Agnus Dei) would be sung to and a division is made between the upper but portray it; the imitative point of alternating themes, phrases and even entire musical plainsong. These individual sections were rarely voices ‘in excelsis’ and the lower voices ‘in lower and higher notes is a visual signification forms for inclusion in his own works. His pupils composed together as a ‘missa’: it was quite terra pax’. An alto solo for ‘Gratias agimus’ is of the cross. included , Jan Dismas usual for one composer to supply a Kyrie, and accompanied by traditionally Venetian repeated Zelenka and Domenico Alberti. for another composer to provide a Gloria. It notes in the strings, and an ascending and After the solemn cadence that ends the was left to Lotti’s pupil, , to descending bass line. ‘Crucifixus’, a lone violin signals a fanfare for Of the Missa Sancti Christophori, only the F compile Lotti’s mass sections together and give the ‘Et resurrexit’, with the return of the same major Credo has been recorded before. The them fanciful names, like Missa Sapientiae, Unison strings in G minor signal a change of use of speech-rhythm as at the start for ‘Et Dixit Dominus and Miserere mei are unlikely Missa Vide Domine laborem meum, and Missa mood, before a majestic duet of tenor and unam sanctam catholicam’. Virtuosic scales to have been performed since at least the mid- Sancti Christophori, under which last title bass, leading into a polyphonic chorus at on the violin frame the word ‘resurrectionem’, nineteenth century. This collection restores Notes on the music Texts and translations some of Lotti’s best-loved pieces to their 1 Dixit Dominus rightful place, and provides audiences with an opportunity to hear them in their original Dixit Dominus Domino meo: Sede a dextris The Lord said unto my Lord: Sit thou on my context, along with more of his unique, meis, donec ponam inimicos tuos right hand, until I make thine enemies inventive and beautiful music. There remains scabellum pedum tuorum. thy footstool. a considerable wealth of material by Lotti still Virgam virtutis tuae emittet Dominus ex The Lord shall send the rod of thy power out of largely unexplored that deserves to be heard Sion: dominare in medio Sion: be thou ruler, even in the midst among and performed more often. inimicorum tuorum. thine enemies. Tecum principium in die virtutis tuae in In the day of thy power shall the people offer © 2016 Ben Byram-Wigfield splendoribus sanctorum: ex utero, ante thee free-will offerings with an holy worship: luciferum, genui te. the dew of thy birth is of the womb of the Ben Byram-Wigfield is a music researcher and Juravit Dominus et non poenitebit eum: morning. publisher, currently studying for a PhD at the Tu es sacerdos in aeternum secundum The Lord sware, and will not repent: Thou art a Open University and producing editions of all ordinem Melchisedech. priest for ever after the order of Melchisedech. Lotti’s sacred music. Dominus a dextris tuis: confregit in die irae The Lord upon thy right hand: shall wound even suae reges. kings in the day of his wrath. Judicabit in nationibus, implebit ruinas: He shall judge among the heathen; he shall fill conquassabit capita in terra multorum. the places with the dead bodies: and smite in De torrente in via bibet: propterea exaltabit sunder the heads over divers countries. caput. He shall drink of the brook in the way: therefore Gloria Patri et Filio: et Spiritui Sancto; shall he lift up his head. Sicut erat in principio et nunc et semper: et Glory be to the Father and to the Son: and to in saecula saeculorum. Amen. the Holy Spirit; As it was in the beginning, is now and ever Psalm 110 (109 Vulgate); tr. from the Book of Common Prayer shall be: world without end. Amen. Texts and translations Miserere in C minor

2 Miserere mei Deus secundum magnam Have mercy upon me, O God, after thy great 5 Cor mundum crea in me, Deus: et spiritum Make me a clean heart, O God: and renew misericordiam tuam: et secundum goodness: according to the multitude of rectum innova in visceribus meis. a right spirit within me. multitudinem miserationum tuarum thy mercies do away mine offences. Ne proicias me a facie tua: et Spiritum Cast me not away from thy presence: dele iniquitatem meam. Wash me throughly from my wickedness: Sanctum tuum ne auferas a me. and take not thy Holy Spirit from me. Amplius lava me ab iniquitate mea: and cleanse me from my sin. Redde mihi laetitiam salutaris tui: et spiritu O give me the comfort of thy help again: et a peccato meo munda me. principali confirma me. and stablish me with thy free spirit. Docebo iniquos vias tuas: et impii ad Then shall I teach thy ways unto the wicked: 3 Quoniam iniquitatem meam ego For I acknowledge my faults: and my sin is te convertentur. and sinners shall be converted unto thee. cognosco: et peccatum meum contra ever before me. Libera me de sanguinibus, Deus, Deus Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, O God, me est semper. Against thee only have I sinned, and done salutis meae: et exsultabit lingua mea thou that art the God of my health: and my Tibi soli peccavi, et malum coram te feci: this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be iustitiam tuam. tongue shall sing of thy righteousness. ut iustificeris in sermonibus tuis, et justified in thy saying, and clear when thou Domine, labia mea aperies: et os meum Thou shalt open my lips, O Lord: and my vincas cum iudicaris. art judged. annuntiabit laudem tuam. mouth shall shew thy praise. Ecce enim in iniquitatibus conceptus sum: Behold, I was shapen in wickedness: and in et in peccatis concepit me mater mea. sin hath my mother conceived me. 6 Quoniam si voluisses sacrificium, dedissem For thou desirest no sacrifice, else would Ecce enim veritatem dilexisti: But lo, thou requirest truth in the inward parts: and utique: holocaustis non delectaberis. I give it thee: but thou delightest not in incerta et occulta sapientiae tuae and shalt make me to understand wisdom secretly. Sacrificium Deo spiritus contribulatus: burnt-offerings. manifestasti mihi. Thou shalt purge me with hyssop, and I shall cor contritum, et humiliatum, Deus, The sacrifice of God is a troubled spirit: Asperges me hyssopo, et mundabor: be clean: thou shalt wash me, and I shall be non despicies. a broken and contrite heart, O God, shalt lavabis me, et super nivem dealbabor. whiter than snow. Benigne fac, Domine, in bona voluntate tua thou not despise. Sion: ut aedificentur muri Jerusalem. O be favourable and gracious unto Sion: 4 Auditui meo dabis gaudium et laetitiam: Thou shalt make me hear of joy and gladness: Tunc acceptabis sacrificium iustitiae, build thou the walls of Jerusalem. et exsultabunt ossa humiliata. that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. oblationes, et holocausta: tunc imponent Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifice Averte faciem tuam a peccatis meis: Turn thy face from my sins: and put out all super altare tuum vitulos. of righteousness, with the burnt-offerings et omnes iniquitates meas dele. my misdeeds. and oblations: then shall they offer young Psalm 51 (50 Vulgate); tr. from the Book of Common Prayer bullocks upon thine altar. Texts and translations 7 Missa Sancti Christophori – Kyrie Missa Sancti Christophori – Credo/Credo in G minor

Kyrie eleison. Lord have mercy. 9/13 Credo in unum Deum, Patrem omnipotentem, I believe in one God, the Father almighty, Christe eleison. Christ have mercy. factorem caeli et terrae, visibilium omnium maker of heaven and earth, of all things Kyrie eleison. Lord have mercy. et invisibilium. Et in unum Dominum Jesum visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christum, filium Dei unigenitum, et ex Patre Christ, only-begotten Son of God, begotten natum ante omnia saecula, Deum de Deo, of the Father before all ages. God of God, 8 Missa Sancti Christophori – Gloria lumen de lumine, Deum verum de Deo vero. light of light, true God of true God; begotten, Genitum non factum, consubstantialem not made; consubstantial with the Father, by Gloria in excelsis Deo Glory to God in the highest, Patri; per quem omnia facta sunt. Qui propter whom all things were made. Who for us men, et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis. and on earth peace to men of good will. nos homines et propter nostram salutem and for our salvation, came down from Laudamus te. Benedicimus te. We praise you. We bless you. descendit de caelis. heaven. Adoramus te. Glorificamus te. We worship you. We glorify you. Gratias agimus tibi propter magnam We give you thanks for 14 Et incarnatus est de Spiritu Sancto, ex Maria And was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin gloriam tuam. your great glory. Virgine; et homo factus est. Crucifixus etiam pro Mary, and was made man. He was crucified also Domine Deus, Rex caelestis, Lord God, heavenly King, nobis sub Pontio Pilato, passus et sepultus est. for us, suffered under Pontius Pilate, and was Deus Pater omnipotens. God the Father Almighty. Et resurrexit tertia die secundum scripturas, buried. On the third day he rose again according Domine Fili unigenite, Jesu Christe; Lord, the only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ; et ascendit in caelum, sedet ad dexteram to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven. Domine Deus, Agnus Dei, Filius Patris. Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father: Patris, et iterum venturus est cum gloria He sits at the right hand of the Father, and shall Qui tollis peccata mundi, Who takes away the sins of the world, iudicare vivos et mortuos, cuius regni non erit come again with glory to judge the living and miserere nobis. have mercy upon us. finis. the dead. And his Kingdom shall have no end. Qui tollis peccata mundi, Who takes away the sins of the world, suscipe deprecationem nostram. receive our prayer. 15 Et in Spiritum Sanctum, Dominum I believe in the Holy Ghost, Lord and giver of life, Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris, Who sits at the right hand of the Father, et vivificantem, qui ex Patre Filioque procedit, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who miserere nobis. have mercy upon us. qui cum Patre et Filio simul adoratur et together with the Father and the Son is worshipped Quoniam tu solus Sanctus, tu solus Dominus, For only you are Holy, only you are Lord, conglorificatur, qui locutus est per prophetas. and glorified, who spoke through the prophets. tu solus Altissimus, Jesu Christe. only you are Most High, Jesus Christ. Cum Sancto Spiritu in gloria With the Holy Spirit in the glory of 16 Et unam sanctam catholicam et apostolicam I believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Dei Patris. Amen. God the Father. Amen. ecclesiam. Confiteor unum baptisma in Church. I confess one baptism for the remission remissionem peccatorum, et expecto of sins. And I await the resurrection of the dead, resurrectionem mortuorum, et vitam venturi and the life of the world to come. Amen. saeculi. Amen. Texts and translations 10 Missa Sancti Christophori – Sanctus

Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus. Holy, Holy, Holy, Dominus Deus Sabaoth: Lord God of Sabaoth. Pleni sunt caeli et terra gloria tua. Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in excelsis. Hosanna in the highest.

11 Missa Sancti Christophori – Benedictus

Benedictus qui venit Blessed is he that comes in nomine Domini: in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in excelsis. Hosanna in the highest.

12 Missa Sancti Christophori – Agnus Dei

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, Lamb of God, who takes away the sins miserere nobis. of the world, have mercy upon us. Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, Lamb of God, who takes away the sins miserere nobis. of the world, have mercy upon us. Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, Lamb of God, who takes away the sins dona nobis pacem. of the world, grant us peace. Biographies Ben Palmer is Artistic Director Rambert Orchestra, Britten Sinfonia and The Syred Consort is a hand-picked chamber The Orchestra of St Paul’s is one of London’s most of the Orchestra of St Paul’s Birmingham Contemporary Music Group. He choir bringing together some of the finest dynamic and versatile chamber orchestras. Under and The Syred Consort, and has acted as rehearsal conductor for Bernard young professional singers in London under the the baton of Artistic Director Ben Palmer, OSP has is in demand as a guest Haitink, Jac van Steen and, most notably, direction of conductor Ben Palmer. Founded developed a reputation for imaginative programming conductor throughout the UK Roger Norrington, with whom he has worked in 2007, the Consort’s repertoire is diverse, and exciting, stylish concerts, equally at home and abroad. Acclaimed for his closely since 2011, as his assistant conductor ranging from the Renaissance to the present performing a Haydn symphony as accompanying innovative and imaginative for concerts, recordings, on tour and at the day, often featuring soloists drawn from within a silent film. Resident at the famous Actors’

©Andy Staples Photography programming,he is increasingly BBC Proms. the choir. Church in Covent Garden, OSP performs regularly gaining recognition as an inspiring and at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, Queen versatile conductor. In 2016 he will make his In addition to his work as a conductor, Ben The Consort has toured programmes of Elizabeth Hall and Purcell Room, at St Martin- debut with the Deutsches Kammerorchester Palmer is in demand as a composer, arranger Antonio Lotti and Bach Motets, and given in-the-Fields, Cadogan Hall and St John’s Smith Berlin; recent guest conducting engagements and orchestrator. Recent commissions acclaimed performances of Messiah in London Square, and has appeared at Milton Court, LSO St include Aurora Orchestra, the Royal include three works for the Deutsches and throughout the UK. Past seasons have Luke’s and the Victoria & Albert Museum. In 2015 Philharmonic Concert Orchestra (including Kammerorchester Berlin (all performed at included a cycle of J.S. Bach’s four great choral- the orchestra released a critically acclaimed CD at the Hampton Court Palace Festival), the the Berlin Philharmonie), a Sinfonietta for the orchestral works, music by Duruflé, Gesualdo, featuring premiere recordings of music for strings London Mozart Players, the Royal College English Music Festival, and Flying in the Fire MacMillan, Mendelssohn, Stravinsky and Tallis, by Elgar, Malcolm Arnold (both in arrangements by of Music Classical Orchestra (replacing Sir for Woking Choral Society, premiered alongside Berlioz’s Messe solennelle, Handel’s Israel in David Matthews) and Robert Simpson. Roger Norrington at short notice), the RCM Tippett’s A Child of Our Time at Cadogan Egypt, and world premieres by Graham Ross Philharmonic, the Kazakh State Chamber Hall. His music has been performed by such and Malcolm Hayes. Based around a core of principal players, the Orchestra, Southern Sinfonia, the Kharkov ensembles as Birmingham Contemporary Orchestra of St Paul’s adapts to each project, Philharmonic Orchestra and Oxford University Music Group, the City of London Sinfonia In addition to several performances at the varying its layout, playing style and line-up, ranging Orchestra. Other orchestras he has conducted and The Fibonacci Sequence. It is his lifetime English Music Festival, the Consort has in size from a small ensemble to an orchestra of include the Hallé, Bournemouth Symphony ambition to conduct all the Haydn symphonies. sung in such notable venues as Southbank 60 or more. The orchestra’s patron is Sir Roger Orchestra, the Royal Ballet Sinfonia, the Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall, St John’s Smith Norrington, one of the world’s leading exponents Square, St Martin-in-the-Fields and, under the of historical performance. The orchestra has worked direction of Tim Brown, King’s College Chapel, with such acclaimed soloists as Roderick Williams, Cambridge. The choir collaborates regularly with Steven Osborne, Alexandra Dariescu and David the Orchestra of St Paul’s, and occasionally Owen Norris, and with actors Samuel West and with its sister ensemble, the Syred Sinfonia. Clemency Burton-Hill.

The Syred Consort remains hugely indebted Recent highlights include a nine-concert tour to its sponsor, Richard Syred, from whom the of China, screenings of Casablanca, The choir takes its name. Snowman and Charlie Chaplin’s The Gold Rush at Southbank Centre, and a cycle of the nine Beethoven symphonies. The Syred Consort

Sopranos Rachel Ambrose Evans Helen Ashby Kate Ashby Felicity Hayward Altos Joseph Bolger Lucy Goddard Ciara Hendrick Tenors Ruairi Bowen Hugo Hymas Robbie Jacobs Basses Michael Craddock Oliver Hunt Ben McKee

Orchestra of St Paul’s

Violin I Viola II tracks 2-6, 13-16 Francesca Barritt Richard Waters Charis Jenson Stephanie Edmundson Violin II Cello Esther King Smith Alex Rolton Rachel Spencer Bass Viola I Alice Kent Matthew Kettle Chamber organ Barnaby Adams Daniel King Smith Also available on Delphian Handel: Alexander’s Feast Sophie Bevan, Ed Lyon, William Berger, Ludus Baroque / Richard Neville-Towle DCD34094 (2 CDs) Twice a year, some of the UK’s finest Baroque players and young vocal soloists come together in Canongate Kirk, Edinburgh to give sell-out concerts of great and lesser-known works by Bach and Handel. The hand-picked chorus comprises a sensational selection of singers from Britain’s finest early- music consorts. These appearances are unmissable events in Edinburgh’s musical calendar, and now, for the first time, listeners from further afield can experience the celebrated verve of these performances; Handel’s 1736 setting of a dramatic poem by John Dryden is the perfect showpiece. ‘This lovely oratorio reflects the power of music refracted through the lens of myth, with Handel brilliantly colouring his musical canvas … Ed Lyon reaffirms his claim to be one of the pre-eminent Baroque tenors of our time’ — The Independent, March 2011

Handel: The Triumph of Time & Truth Sophie Bevan, Mary Bevan, Tim Mead, Ed Lyon, William Berger, Ludus Baroque / Richard Neville-Towle DCD34135 (2 CDs) Ludus Baroque and five stellar soloists bring to life Handel’s rarely heard final oratorio, a remarkable Protestant re-casting of a work written fifty years earlier to a text by the young composer’s Roman patron Cardinal Pamphilj. Compelled by Time and Truth to accept the divine order of change and decay, Beauty ultimately gives way – as with the aging composer himself – to an assertion of redemption by good works, reflected in the incorporation of choruses Handel had written for the Foundling Hospital. The resulting work, neglected by centuries of scholarship on account of its hybrid origins, here proves an extraordinary feast of riches, and the ideal vehicle for Richard Neville-Towle’s exceptional cast. ‘finely shaped, unflamboyant conducting, gracious playing and some very fine singing. Sophie Bevan plays Beauty in what is arguably her finest recording to date; the final aria is breathtaking’ — The Guardian, June 2014 Also available on Delphian Music from the Age of Louis XV John Kitchen harpsichord DCD34112 In the latest instalment of his survey of the Raymond Russell Collection’s early keyboard instruments, John Kitchen turns his attention to its 1769 Pascal Taskin harpsichord – the world’s most famous harpsichord, rarely recorded hitherto. It was during the reign of Louis XV that the harpsichord gained its greatest popularity in France, and this glorious instrument would have been a preferred choice for any composer of the epoch. Here its opulent lushness is captured in the ideal acoustics of Scotland’s oldest concert hall. ‘The harpsichord is a gem, resonant and entrancing’ — BBC Music Magazine, September 2012

Handel: Overture Transcriptions & Suites John Kitchen harpsichord DCD34057 Handel’s overtures had an independent life almost from their inception, and the practice of performing them on keyboard instruments has a similarly long pedigree, beginning with a number of transcriptions made by the composer himself. John Kitchen virtuosically evokes Handel’s orchestral palette in the welter of timbres and colours which he summons forth from the Russell Collection’s 1755 Jacob Kirckman harpsichord, a classic instrument from the apex of the English harpsichord-building tradition. Interspersed between the overture transcriptions are two of Handel’s suites written for the harpsichord; these are played on a 1709 single-manual Thomas Barton instrument from the Rodger Mirrey Collection, one of very few extant early eighteenth-century English harpsichords. ‘stylishly played … The music is universally glorious’ — Sunday Times, August 2009 DCD34182