ALSO AVAILABLE 2CD KGS0001 + CD hybrid SACD KGS0002 MOZART NINE REQUIEM LESSONS & REALISATIONS CAROLS STEPHEN CLEOBURY CONDUCTOR ELIN MANAHAN THOMAS STEPHEN CLEOBURY CHRISTINE RICE CONDUCTOR JAMES GILCHRIST CHRISTOPHER PURVES ACADEMY OF ANCIENT MUSIC ENGLISH NINE LESSONS & CAROLS MOZART REQUIEM REALISATIONS Stephen Cleobury, Choir of King’s College, Cambridge Stephen Cleobury, Elin Manahan Thomas, Christine Rice, James Gilchrist, Christopher Purves, Academy of HYMN Music and readings from A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols (2010 service), plus carol commissions Ancient Music, Choir of King’s College, Cambridge and a specially-composed work by John Rutter ANTHEMS CD + SACD dual layer CD + SACD KGS0003 hybrid SACD KGS0005 STEPHEN CLEOBURY BRITTEN FAURÉ SAINT REQUIEM CONDUCTOR NICOLAS CANTIQUE DE JEAN RACINE HYMN TO ST CECILIA MESSE BASSE REJOICE IN THE LAMB STEPHEN CLEOBURY CONDUCTOR STEPHEN CLEOBURY GERALD FINLEY CONDUCTOR TOM PICKARD ANDREW KENNEDY ORCHESTRA OF THE AGE ALISON BALSOM BRITTEN SINFONIA OF ENLIGHTENMENT BRITTEN SAINT NICOLAS FAURÉ REQUIEM Stephen Cleobury, Andrew Kennedy, Stephen Cleobury, Gerald Finley, Tom Pickard, Britten Sinfonia, Choir of King’s College, Cambridge Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Also includes “Hymn to St Cecilia” and “Rejoice in Choir of King’s College, Cambridge the Lamb” Also includes “Cantique de Jean Racine” and “Messe basse” KGS0004 HYMN-ANTHEMS late Victorians, and on into the 20th century. Cathedral services, once sparsely att ended or even closed to outsiders, ENGLISH The traditional English anthem was based on a prose were now being opened up to the general public, who text taken from the bible, most often from the Psalms, or naturally liked the sound of a familiar tune. On the other occasionally from the Book of Common Prayer. In the 19th side, the cathedral-type anthem was being more and more century, metrical texts, and tunes to go with them, gradually widely adopted by parish choirs. Some hymn-anthems became more common. There are a few earlier examples, were originally designed for a large choir and orchestra including some of Handel’s anthems. In the early 1800s at choral festivals. The recent discovery of Bach’s chorale HYMN many cathedral choirs were no longer capable of singing cantatas off ered an enticing model, and many composers diffi cult music, so they substituted strophic hymns. John explored diff erent ways of including hymns in their anthems. Clarke (later Clarke-Whitfeld) complained in 1805 of ‘the ANTHEMS absurd, if not profane, introduction of [William] Jackson’s The Great War led to new thinking on many fronts, including Hymns, in siciliana movements! ... The Sicilian Mariners criticism of anything that suggested elitism. Some church 1 Hear my words, ye people – Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry 14:42 Hymn! ... The Portuguese Hymn [Adeste, fi deles]! &c. &c. authorities asserted that anthems should be discontinued Stephen Cleobury conductor, Daniel D’Souza bass, Tom Pickard treble, Douglas Tang organ, Choir of King’s College, Cambridge as substitutes for anthems!’ One of the fi nest examples of altogether, on the ground that people att ended church to this movement is Thomas Att wood’s melodious ‘Come, join in the service and not to listen to the choir. This led 2 O for a closer walk with God – Sir Charles Villiers Stanford 03:15 Holy Ghost’, a sett ing of the only hymn that was part of the to a compromise: an anthem for the choir, incorporating Stephen Cleobury conductor, Parker Ramsay organ, Choir of King’s College, Cambridge authorised prayer-book liturgy (in the ordination service). a hymn in which the congregation could take part. It was discussed as such in ‘The Hymn-Anthem: A New Choral 3 Blessed city, heavenly Salem – Sir Edward Cuthbert Bairstow 08:00 Composed for the choir of St. Paul’s cathedral, it was fi rst Form’ by Charles F. Waters (Musical Times, July 1930). Stephen Cleobury conductor, Parker Ramsay organ, Choir of King’s College, Cambridge sung there on Whitsunday 1831. 4 Jesu, grant me this I pray – Percy William Whitlock 04:47 By that time non-scriptural hymns, once disdained as In this recording the King’s College Choir off ers a varied Stephen Cleobury conductor, Choir of King’s College, Cambridge dissenters’ music, were fast gaining acceptance in the selection of hymn-anthems from the period of their greatest popularity, the 1890s to the 1930s. Most of them owe their 5 Seven Chorale Preludes, Set 2 No 5 “Eventide” – Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry 04:03 Church of England. Even the Oxford Movement supported materials to Hymns Ancient and Modern (HA&M), the Stephen Cleobury organ them when they were based on mediæval or other Latin originals. As Peter Horton has shown, some Victorians dominant hymnal of the time. The variety of approaches 6 O sons and daughters – Sir Henry Walford Davies 02:22 began using hymns as anthem texts. Samuel Sebastian to the form is refl ected in their diff ering generic titles – Stephen Cleobury conductor, Rupert Peacock treble, Joel Williams tenor, Parker Ramsay organ, Choir of King’s College, Cambridge Wesley chose a hymn by his grandfather Charles, ‘Thou anthem, motet, hymn, song. Some of the hymn texts are biblical paraphrases; some are poems not originally conceived 7 O what their joy and their glory must be – Sir William Henry Harris 07:56 judge of quick and dead’, to conclude his great anthem as hymns. A hymn-anthem may incorporate existing hymn Stephen Cleobury conductor, Douglas Tang organ, Choir of King’s College, Cambridge ‘Let us lift up our heart’, and others followed suit. It took one more step to introduce an existing hymn tune as well tunes, dating from the 6th to the 19th century, or launch a 8 Three Preludes (Founded on Welsh Hymn Tunes): II. Rhosymedre – Ralph Vaughan Williams 04:21 as a hymn text. One of the earliest anthems to do so had new tune, which may later be adopted for congregational Stephen Cleobury organ a Cambridge origin. William Sterndale Bennett ’s ‘Lord, use, as Parry’s was. Some use scriptural prose as well as who shall dwell in thy tabernacle’ was commissioned for a hymn. The musical treatment also varies widely: there 9 Vexilla Regis – John Nicholson Ireland 10:25 Commencement Sunday, 1856, to mark his appointment may be a recognisably strophic form, like a theme and Stephen Cleobury conductor, Adam Banwell & Tom Pickard trebles, Feargal Mostyn-Williams alto, Ruairi Bowen tenor variations; or the tune may be a source of motives for Benedict Oakley bass, Parker Ramsay organ, Choir of King’s College, Cambridge as professor of music, and performed at the University Church of St. Mary. Appropriately, one section made use development or fugal treatment. 10 Three Songs of Praise: I. Praise – Sir George Dyson 02:09 of the well-known 17th-century tune ST. MARY’S, with a Stephen Cleobury conductor, Parker Ramsay organ, Choir of King’s College, Cambridge newly-writt en text. It was no coincidence that Bennett had The two organ preludes are also based on familiar hymn been studying the music of J. S. Bach. tunes. The magnifi cent organ at King’s is well suited to the 11 God omnipotent reigneth – Charles Wood 03:01 music of the period, used to great advantage by Stephen Stephen Cleobury conductor, Douglas Tang organ, Choir of King’s College, Cambridge The hymn-anthem began to be recognised as a distinct form Cleobury. The choir off ers a vast range of mood and 12 Lord, Thou hast been our refuge – Ralph Vaughan Williams 07:47 in the 1880s. It gained enormously in popularity with the expression, from tender to awe-inspiring, while the famous Stephen Cleobury conductor, Alison Balsom trumpet, Douglas Tang organ, Choir of King’s College, Cambridge acoustics of the chapel add an aura of splendour throughout. 3 1 Hear my words, ye people (1893) 3 Blessed city, heavenly Salem (1914) between phrases. The tune had been composed by William climactic return for the fi nal unison verse, followed by a Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry (1848–1918) Sir Edward Cuthbert Bairstow (1874–1946) H. Monk for Henry Lyte’s famous evening hymn ‘Abide reassuringly traditional Amen over a tonic pedal. with me’ in the fi rst edition of HA&M (1861). Parry goes Parry was not primarily a composer of church music, but through the tune only once, at a deliberate pace. His sett ing 8 Organ solo: Prelude on RHOSYMEDRE (1920) his occasional ventures in that direction often transcended Bairstow was a Yorkshireman. He wrote this anthem for is largely diatonic, and is quiet and contemplative until the Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872–1958) the eff orts of his contemporaries. This anthem, commissioned Heaton parish choir soon after his appointment as organist build-up after line 3 (‘and comforts fl ee’). The tune is here for a festival of the Salisbury Diocesan Choral Association, of York Minster. It is one of fi ve hymn-anthems in his output, From Three Preludes Founded on Welsh Hymn Tunes, published played on a clarinet stop, but when the last line is repeated was designed for a massed gathering of parish choirs with and was to become perhaps his best-known work. ‘Blessed in 1920 with a dedication to Alan Gray. The tune, also a cor-anglais stop comes into play. orchestra. It is on a grand scale with an elaborate, almost City’ was even chosen for the title of Francis Jackson’s named LOVELY, was by John David Edwards (1805–85), symphonic organ part. After extended development of biography of the composer. Both text and tune come from vicar of Rhosymedre, Denbighshire, and was set to Charles 6 O sons and daughters, let us sing (1918) prose passages from Job, Isaiah, and the Psalms, including the 9th-century processional hymn Urbs beata Jerusalem; Wesley’s hymn ‘Author of love divine’ in the English Hymnal, Sir Henry Walford Davies (1896–1941) sections in related keys for bass solo, treble solo, and Bairstow used fi ve of its eight verses, in a heavily revised of which Vaughan Williams was one of the editors.