Sanctum Est Verum Lumen Multi-Part Music for Choir

SANCTUM EST VERUM LUMEN MULTI-PART MUSIC FOR CHOIR

NATIONAL YOUTH CHOIR OF GREAT BRITAIN MIKE BREWER Sanctum est verum lumen: multi-part music for choir Notes on the music National Youth Choir of Great Britain Spem in alium is not the first piece to be contrapuntal tuttis for the full choir, overlapping Mike Brewer conductor written in forty parts – that was Ecce beatem exchanges between discrete blocs of singers, lucem by Alessandro Striggio – nor did it prove huge monolithic chords, close canons that to be the last word in contrapuntal complexity, eventually dissolve into unsynchronised but it remains an unparalleled tour-de-force heterophony, an ‘über-gimel’ for the eight of compositional virtuosity, combining sopranos alone (gimel being a favourite Tudor fluid imitative counterpoint,cori spezzati device where the upper voices are divided to 1 Gabriel Jackson: Sanctum est verum lumen [10.49] antiphony, dense pointillist ‘total polyphony’, provide a section of special brilliance), and at 2 Robert Wylkynson: Jesus autem transiens/Credo in Deum [5.10] numerological proportioning and sheer one point everyone briefly sings the same note sonorous spectacle, and its pre-echoes and (the D above middle C). I wanted to write a 3 Francisco Guerrero: Duo Seraphim [3.33] aftershocks reverberate through all the other piece that was essentially about light; the text, 4 Josquin des Prez (attrib.): Qui habitat [5.11] pieces on this disc. though funereal in origin, is radiantly optimistic and invites a variety of ways of evoking that 5 Tomás Luis de Victoria: Magnificat sexti toni [7.53] For me, Tallis is the greatest of all English sense of light in music, from gentle luminosity 6 Tarik O’Regan: I sleep, but my heart waketh [8.01] composers, and I had long wanted to write a to fiercely dazzling brightness. Soprano solo: Laura Attridge companion piece to Spem in alium; in 2005 (the Tallis quincentenary year) I was given the Illumination of a different kind may be found 7 Felice Anerio: Stabat Mater [9.19] opportunity to do so by the Lichfield Festival, in the pages of the Eton Choirbook, a richly 8 Johannes Ockeghem (attrib.): Deo gratia [3.42] where Sanctum est verum lumen was decorated collection of late 15th-century premiered by Ex Cathedra, directed by Jeffrey sacred music and one of the few English 9 Bo Holten: In nomine [6.35] Skidmore. It is (for how could it not be?) a manuscripts to survive the ravages of the Soloists: Zoe Brown, Elaine Tate, Christopher Hann, Bartholomew Lawrence conscious homage to Tallis’s masterpiece – Reformation. Compiled for use at Eton 10 Thomas Tallis: Spem in alium [10.01] both pieces are in the same key (though on College in the early sixteenth century, it is this recording Spem in alium is transposed up the repository of a repertoire that is unique Total playing time [70.21] a tone, in accordance with David Wulstan’s in its long-breathed floridity, a collection of theories about pitch in 16th-century England), brilliant, ornate polyphonic jewels to lighten the both pieces last 138 bars of four beats (that darkness of the medieval mind, from whose was pure coincidence, but seemed indeed ecstatic filigree the early music of Tallis was Recorded on 17 September 2006 & 12-13 April Producer: Paul Baxter Photograph editing: Raymond Parks providential!), and I divided the forty voices born. Among this compendium of extraordinary 2007 in St Alban the Martyr, Holborn and on Engineer: Adam Binks Design: Drew Padrutt into the same eight 5-part choirs that Tallis inspirations the most remarkable must be 4-5 August 2007 & 8 April 2008 in the Chapel of 24-bit digital editing: Adam Binks Booklet editor: John Fallas deployed. Sanctum est verum lumen Jesus autem transiens/Credo in Deum by Merton College, Oxford 24-bit digital mastering: Paul Baxter Delphian Records Ltd – Edinburgh – UK re-explores and re-imagines some of the Robert Wylkynson, master of the choristers at Photography © Delphian Records www.delphianrecords.co.uk myriad ways Tallis devised to combine and Eton from 1500. An example of the canonic exploit those forty parts: there are massive principle at its most reductive (it is a simple With thanks to Benjamin Nicholas and Gabriel Jackson Sanctum est verum lumen: multi-part music for choir Notes on the music National Youth Choir of Great Britain Spem in alium is not the first piece to be contrapuntal tuttis for the full choir, overlapping Mike Brewer conductor written in forty parts – that was Ecce beatem exchanges between discrete blocs of singers, lucem by Alessandro Striggio – nor did it prove huge monolithic chords, close canons that to be the last word in contrapuntal complexity, eventually dissolve into unsynchronised but it remains an unparalleled tour-de-force heterophony, an ‘über-gimel’ for the eight of compositional virtuosity, combining sopranos alone (gimel being a favourite Tudor fluid imitative counterpoint,cori spezzati device where the upper voices are divided to 1 Gabriel Jackson: Sanctum est verum lumen [10.49] antiphony, dense pointillist ‘total polyphony’, provide a section of special brilliance), and at 2 Robert Wylkynson: Jesus autem transiens/Credo in Deum [5.10] numerological proportioning and sheer one point everyone briefly sings the same note sonorous spectacle, and its pre-echoes and (the D above middle C). I wanted to write a 3 Francisco Guerrero: Duo Seraphim [3.33] aftershocks reverberate through all the other piece that was essentially about light; the text, 4 Josquin des Prez (attrib.): Qui habitat [5.11] pieces on this disc. though funereal in origin, is radiantly optimistic and invites a variety of ways of evoking that 5 Tomás Luis de Victoria: Magnificat sexti toni [7.53] For me, Tallis is the greatest of all English sense of light in music, from gentle luminosity 6 Tarik O’Regan: I sleep, but my heart waketh [8.01] composers, and I had long wanted to write a to fiercely dazzling brightness. Soprano solo: Laura Attridge companion piece to Spem in alium; in 2005 (the Tallis quincentenary year) I was given the Illumination of a different kind may be found 7 Felice Anerio: Stabat Mater [9.19] opportunity to do so by the Lichfield Festival, in the pages of the Eton Choirbook, a richly 8 Johannes Ockeghem (attrib.): Deo gratia [3.42] where Sanctum est verum lumen was decorated collection of late 15th-century premiered by Ex Cathedra, directed by Jeffrey sacred music and one of the few English 9 Bo Holten: In nomine [6.35] Skidmore. It is (for how could it not be?) a manuscripts to survive the ravages of the Soloists: Zoe Brown, Elaine Tate, Christopher Hann, Bartholomew Lawrence conscious homage to Tallis’s masterpiece – Reformation. Compiled for use at Eton 10 Thomas Tallis: Spem in alium [10.01] both pieces are in the same key (though on College in the early sixteenth century, it is this recording Spem in alium is transposed up the repository of a repertoire that is unique Total playing time [70.21] a tone, in accordance with David Wulstan’s in its long-breathed floridity, a collection of theories about pitch in 16th-century England), brilliant, ornate polyphonic jewels to lighten the both pieces last 138 bars of four beats (that darkness of the medieval mind, from whose was pure coincidence, but seemed indeed ecstatic filigree the early music of Tallis was Recorded on 17 September 2006 & 12-13 April Producer: Paul Baxter Photograph editing: Raymond Parks providential!), and I divided the forty voices born. Among this compendium of extraordinary 2007 in St Alban the Martyr, Holborn and on Engineer: Adam Binks Design: Drew Padrutt into the same eight 5-part choirs that Tallis inspirations the most remarkable must be 4-5 August 2007 & 8 April 2008 in the Chapel of 24-bit digital editing: Adam Binks Booklet editor: John Fallas deployed. Sanctum est verum lumen Jesus autem transiens/Credo in Deum by Merton College, Oxford 24-bit digital mastering: Paul Baxter Delphian Records Ltd – Edinburgh – UK re-explores and re-imagines some of the Robert Wylkynson, master of the choristers at Photography © Delphian Records www.delphianrecords.co.uk myriad ways Tallis devised to combine and Eton from 1500. An example of the canonic exploit those forty parts: there are massive principle at its most reductive (it is a simple With thanks to Benjamin Nicholas and Gabriel Jackson 13-part round), the piece also has a conceptual celebratory, Duo seraphim has the same bright on the sixth tone. Scored for three unequal and premiered by the National Youth Choir in neatness that is strikingly modern. A setting intensity that characterises all the music of choirs (SATB+SATB+SSABar), the piece 2006, this setting of lushly erotic lines from of the Apostles’ Creed is divided into twelve Guerrero, who was maestro di capella at Seville is constructed entirely from blocks – self- the Song of Songs also shows an interesting segments preceded by ‘Jesus autem transiens’ Cathedral in the mid-sixteenth century. contained blocks of material, patiently dislocation between the rich sensuality of the (‘Jesus then passing among them’). Each delineating each verse of the canticle, and words and the objectified constructivism of the successive entry is annotated with the name Surviving only in German sources published blocks of texture, each choir frequently being music that harks back to a medieval concept of of one of the twelve disciples, and as the after his death, the attribution of Qui habitat heard alone. While there are moments of word-setting where the music co-exists with motto threads its way through the texture in to Josquin des Prez has been questioned tutti magnificence, much of the writing is the text rather than seeking to illustrate it. Also long notes the subject of the piece is precisely on stylistic grounds, it being thought too antiphonal, with individual choirs calling to somewhat Perotinesque is the generation of a enacted by the music; as the harmonic build-up simple a conception to be the work of such a each other in close dialogue. After an opening substantial span of music from a small number becomes ever denser, unexpected shards of sophisticated polyphonist. Simple its essence intonation the sixth-tone plainchant weaves its of words, though the obsessive, almost manic, light are thrown out by the rich harmony. may be – the piece is made entirely of four way through the textures, the music’s slightly repetitions of the text (replete with Stravinskian interwoven six-voice canons – but it teems severe Palestrina-classicism coloured by a mis-accentuations) have an unusual air of both St Augustine’s association of the choice of with intricate detail. The harmonic ostinato characteristically Iberian directness and fervour, nonchalance and urgency. twelve disciples with the propagation of faith that underpins the overlapping lines becomes its brief forays into triple time enlivening the in the Trinity to the four corners of the earth ever more insistent as the piece progresses, ineluctable steadiness of its metre. Long attributed to Palestrina, the 12-part may well have informed Guerrero’s decision hypnotic in its mantra-like repetitions, while Stabat mater on this recording is now thought to cast his Trinitarian motet Duo Seraphim the contrapuntal scintillation that enlivens It is not immediately apparent how Tarik to be by Felice Anerio, who succeeded in twelve parts (his only work thus scored). it throws out new free dissonances and O’Regan’s I sleep, but my heart waketh Palestrina at the Papal chapel in Rome in 1590. Very much in the polychoral, rather than the melodic computations with every hearing. The fits into this mosaic of polychoral effusions Like Guerrero’s Duo seraphim it is scored for canonic, tradition of multi-part writing, its three seemingly monolithic, unchanging texture and tributes, for it is in only eight parts, and three equal four-part choirs; as in Victoria’s four-part choirs are only heard fully together, is rich with life, and in the work’s closing professes no avowed relationship with earlier Magnificat sexti toni the three choirs are tellingly, at ‘Plena est omnis terra gloria eius’ pages, as all twenty-four parts continue their music. But closer examination reveals in only heard as discrete units, either alone or (‘All the earth is full of his glory’). Elsewhere inexorable imitative progress, a bright carillon of the middle section of the piece the same in consort. Guerrero goes even further than the threefold inspiration is rigorously worked bell sounds rings out from the texture. Rather intensely-worked canons we find so frequently Victoria in his compositional restraint, the with thoroughgoing trialogues – ‘Sanctus, than working its canonic way down to silence elsewhere, and the same sense of slow- music being almost entirely homophonic: this sanctus, sanctus’, ‘et hi tres’ (followed by a the piece simply stops in mid-process, a vision moving harmonic masses being articulated is late Renaissance polyphony at its purest single concord for ‘unum sunt’), the three of eternity arbitrarily snatched away. through rhythmic animation. In this instance and most balanced, calm and unruffled in its persons of the Trinity neatly distinguished at the steady pulsation owes much to American measured unfolding of the text. In this almost ‘Pater, Verbum, et Spiritus Sanctus’ – while the Qui habitat may have been written in homage minimalism (just as Steve Reich, in his turn, minimalist setting such rare and tiny details text’s other numerical references are given to Ockeghem’s monumental multi-part canon; acknowledges a debt to the 12th-century of word-painting as Anerio allows himself are their due: the two Seraphim call to each other Victoria’s 12-part Magnificat sexti tonimight Perotin, whose vast organa combine endlessly devastating in their impact – the uniquely long in a fanfaring soprano duet and a brief trio be seen as a homage to himself, for it re-uses unchanging harmony with ceaselessly chord at ‘dolebat’, the brief outburst of triple limns the ‘three who give testimony’. Brief and material from his earlier four-part Magnificat renewing melodic detail). Commissioned time at ‘Inflammatus et accensus’ … But for 13-part round), the piece also has a conceptual celebratory, Duo seraphim has the same bright on the sixth tone. Scored for three unequal and premiered by the National Youth Choir in neatness that is strikingly modern. A setting intensity that characterises all the music of choirs (SATB+SATB+SSABar), the piece 2006, this setting of lushly erotic lines from of the Apostles’ Creed is divided into twelve Guerrero, who was maestro di capella at Seville is constructed entirely from blocks – self- the Song of Songs also shows an interesting segments preceded by ‘Jesus autem transiens’ Cathedral in the mid-sixteenth century. contained blocks of material, patiently dislocation between the rich sensuality of the (‘Jesus then passing among them’). Each delineating each verse of the canticle, and words and the objectified constructivism of the successive entry is annotated with the name Surviving only in German sources published blocks of texture, each choir frequently being music that harks back to a medieval concept of of one of the twelve disciples, and as the after his death, the attribution of Qui habitat heard alone. While there are moments of word-setting where the music co-exists with motto threads its way through the texture in to Josquin des Prez has been questioned tutti magnificence, much of the writing is the text rather than seeking to illustrate it. Also long notes the subject of the piece is precisely on stylistic grounds, it being thought too antiphonal, with individual choirs calling to somewhat Perotinesque is the generation of a enacted by the music; as the harmonic build-up simple a conception to be the work of such a each other in close dialogue. After an opening substantial span of music from a small number becomes ever denser, unexpected shards of sophisticated polyphonist. Simple its essence intonation the sixth-tone plainchant weaves its of words, though the obsessive, almost manic, light are thrown out by the rich harmony. may be – the piece is made entirely of four way through the textures, the music’s slightly repetitions of the text (replete with Stravinskian interwoven six-voice canons – but it teems severe Palestrina-classicism coloured by a mis-accentuations) have an unusual air of both St Augustine’s association of the choice of with intricate detail. The harmonic ostinato characteristically Iberian directness and fervour, nonchalance and urgency. twelve disciples with the propagation of faith that underpins the overlapping lines becomes its brief forays into triple time enlivening the in the Trinity to the four corners of the earth ever more insistent as the piece progresses, ineluctable steadiness of its metre. Long attributed to Palestrina, the 12-part may well have informed Guerrero’s decision hypnotic in its mantra-like repetitions, while Stabat mater on this recording is now thought to cast his Trinitarian motet Duo Seraphim the contrapuntal scintillation that enlivens It is not immediately apparent how Tarik to be by Felice Anerio, who succeeded in twelve parts (his only work thus scored). it throws out new free dissonances and O’Regan’s I sleep, but my heart waketh Palestrina at the Papal chapel in Rome in 1590. Very much in the polychoral, rather than the melodic computations with every hearing. The fits into this mosaic of polychoral effusions Like Guerrero’s Duo seraphim it is scored for canonic, tradition of multi-part writing, its three seemingly monolithic, unchanging texture and tributes, for it is in only eight parts, and three equal four-part choirs; as in Victoria’s four-part choirs are only heard fully together, is rich with life, and in the work’s closing professes no avowed relationship with earlier Magnificat sexti toni the three choirs are tellingly, at ‘Plena est omnis terra gloria eius’ pages, as all twenty-four parts continue their music. But closer examination reveals in only heard as discrete units, either alone or (‘All the earth is full of his glory’). Elsewhere inexorable imitative progress, a bright carillon of the middle section of the piece the same in consort. Guerrero goes even further than the threefold inspiration is rigorously worked bell sounds rings out from the texture. Rather intensely-worked canons we find so frequently Victoria in his compositional restraint, the with thoroughgoing trialogues – ‘Sanctus, than working its canonic way down to silence elsewhere, and the same sense of slow- music being almost entirely homophonic: this sanctus, sanctus’, ‘et hi tres’ (followed by a the piece simply stops in mid-process, a vision moving harmonic masses being articulated is late Renaissance polyphony at its purest single concord for ‘unum sunt’), the three of eternity arbitrarily snatched away. through rhythmic animation. In this instance and most balanced, calm and unruffled in its persons of the Trinity neatly distinguished at the steady pulsation owes much to American measured unfolding of the text. In this almost ‘Pater, Verbum, et Spiritus Sanctus’ – while the Qui habitat may have been written in homage minimalism (just as Steve Reich, in his turn, minimalist setting such rare and tiny details text’s other numerical references are given to Ockeghem’s monumental multi-part canon; acknowledges a debt to the 12th-century of word-painting as Anerio allows himself are their due: the two Seraphim call to each other Victoria’s 12-part Magnificat sexti tonimight Perotin, whose vast organa combine endlessly devastating in their impact – the uniquely long in a fanfaring soprano duet and a brief trio be seen as a homage to himself, for it re-uses unchanging harmony with ceaselessly chord at ‘dolebat’, the brief outburst of triple limns the ‘three who give testimony’. Brief and material from his earlier four-part Magnificat renewing melodic detail). Commissioned time at ‘Inflammatus et accensus’ … But for the most part the intense anguish of the text conductor of the orchestral and choral he challenged to outdo the Italian feast of interaction driving the piece to a gloriously is softened into a redemptive glow, the ‘glory repertoire, with a particular love of early polychoral splendour and rescue national affirmative conclusion. of paradise’ always present in music of great English music. For many years he was Chief pride by creating an even more sumptuous poise and quiet certainty. Guest Conductor of the BBC Singers, who contrapuntal banquet of his own – the Spem in alium only survives as a later English commissioned In nomine for their 75th challenge coming, perhaps, from Thomas contrafactum, its original Latin text having had Guillaume Crétin, in his Déploration sur le anniversary in 1999. The piece is entirely Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, in whose father’s to be re-attached to facilitate its performance as trépas de J. Ockeghem, referred to a multi- generated from material from the Benedictus octagonal Long Gallery at Arundel House it first intended. That a penitential Latin text and a voiced canon by the composer, and that has led of John Taverner’s Missa Gloria tibi trinitas may well have been premiered, the eight choirs celebratory English one find equal resonance in to this 36-part Deo gratia being attributed to (which also spawned a whole tradition of In neatly surrounding the audience for an all- the music speaks of the multivalent richness of the Flemish master. As with Qui habitat, it has nomine consort pieces in the late 1500s). A engulfing aural extravaganza? And are the forty Tallis’s inspiration. Though the specially-written been argued that such a master of freewheeling solo quartet sings the Taverner ‘In nomine’ parts an analogue for the Israelites’ forty years English words were almost certainly composed counterpoint as Ockeghem would never have in its entirety, in three segments, becoming in the wilderness: a not-so-coded reference to for the piece’s revival at the investiture of Henry, been content with such an essentially simple ever more distant with each appearance. The the plight of Catholics in Elizabethan England? Prince of Wales, in 1660, their first two lines piece, and a more likely explanation is that remaining twenty voices interleave close (The text, with its poignant reference to might fittingly be addressed to Tallis himself: it is the work of an anonymous composer, canonic derivations of the Taverner, which are ‘the time of trial’, would surely have been written in tribute to a lost work by Ockeghem. suffused with a gentle luminosity: quiet, static understood thus.) Sing and glorify heaven’s high majesty, But whether or not Deo gratia is of sufficient and ecstatic. A more brilliant light dazzles Author of this blessed harmony. polyphonic complexity to satisfy our ideas momentarily at ‘Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus’, After an unassuming opening, gently imitative about Ockeghem’s pre-eminence as a before the deep stillness returns. The result entries gradually sweeping across the ensemble © 2008 Gabriel Jackson contrapuntal virtuoso is less important than the is a kind of dream of the sixteenth century from one side to the other, the first arrival of effect of the piece as it is – whoever it is by – refracted through the lens of a late 20th- full 40-part polyphony occurs in the fortieth bar; Gabriel Jackson is a full-time composer with a and the aural illusions thrown up by this series century sensibility and technique. the overall length of the piece is 2 x 69 bars, particular commitment to the choral medium. His of overlapping nine-part canons are fascinating 69 being a cryptogram for the name Tallis (19 music is published by Oxford University Press. and rich. Once all thirty-six voices are engaged And so to Spem in alium itself. It is not known + 1 + 11 + 11 + 9 + 18) in the numbering of the the unrelenting tonic-tonic-dominant harmony exactly when it was written or why – freighted Latin alphabet. This complex dance of numbers that locks down the melodic intricacies of each as it is with number symbolism, one theory continues, underpinning the structure at many triple-time bar glints with brilliant colour, like a is that it was a fortieth-birthday tribute to levels and generating a compelling dramatic prism diffracting an unchanging beam into its either Mary Tudor (in 1556) or Elizabeth I (in energy as Tallis expertly balances sections of flickering spectra. 1573). A more likely explanation is that when polyphony and homophony, of intimacy and Alessandro Striggio visited London in 1567 grandeur; the arresting switch to A major A singularly Nordic light is shed on Tudor he had with him his own 40-part motet Ecce at ‘respice’ (preceded by a heart-stopping England by Denmark’s Bo Holten in his 24-part beatem lucem. Was Tallis so impressed he pause) is a particular coup de théâtre, and In nomine. Alongside his career as a prolific sought to emulate this hitherto-unprecedented the last three pages of the piece see all forty composer, Holten is also a distinguished feat of compositional glamour? Or was voices fully in play, their dense contrapuntal the most part the intense anguish of the text conductor of the orchestral and choral he challenged to outdo the Italian feast of interaction driving the piece to a gloriously is softened into a redemptive glow, the ‘glory repertoire, with a particular love of early polychoral splendour and rescue national affirmative conclusion. of paradise’ always present in music of great English music. For many years he was Chief pride by creating an even more sumptuous poise and quiet certainty. Guest Conductor of the BBC Singers, who contrapuntal banquet of his own – the Spem in alium only survives as a later English commissioned In nomine for their 75th challenge coming, perhaps, from Thomas contrafactum, its original Latin text having had Guillaume Crétin, in his Déploration sur le anniversary in 1999. The piece is entirely Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, in whose father’s to be re-attached to facilitate its performance as trépas de J. Ockeghem, referred to a multi- generated from material from the Benedictus octagonal Long Gallery at Arundel House it first intended. That a penitential Latin text and a voiced canon by the composer, and that has led of John Taverner’s Missa Gloria tibi trinitas may well have been premiered, the eight choirs celebratory English one find equal resonance in to this 36-part Deo gratia being attributed to (which also spawned a whole tradition of In neatly surrounding the audience for an all- the music speaks of the multivalent richness of the Flemish master. As with Qui habitat, it has nomine consort pieces in the late 1500s). A engulfing aural extravaganza? And are the forty Tallis’s inspiration. Though the specially-written been argued that such a master of freewheeling solo quartet sings the Taverner ‘In nomine’ parts an analogue for the Israelites’ forty years English words were almost certainly composed counterpoint as Ockeghem would never have in its entirety, in three segments, becoming in the wilderness: a not-so-coded reference to for the piece’s revival at the investiture of Henry, been content with such an essentially simple ever more distant with each appearance. The the plight of Catholics in Elizabethan England? Prince of Wales, in 1660, their first two lines piece, and a more likely explanation is that remaining twenty voices interleave close (The text, with its poignant reference to might fittingly be addressed to Tallis himself: it is the work of an anonymous composer, canonic derivations of the Taverner, which are ‘the time of trial’, would surely have been written in tribute to a lost work by Ockeghem. suffused with a gentle luminosity: quiet, static understood thus.) Sing and glorify heaven’s high majesty, But whether or not Deo gratia is of sufficient and ecstatic. A more brilliant light dazzles Author of this blessed harmony. polyphonic complexity to satisfy our ideas momentarily at ‘Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus’, After an unassuming opening, gently imitative about Ockeghem’s pre-eminence as a before the deep stillness returns. The result entries gradually sweeping across the ensemble © 2008 Gabriel Jackson contrapuntal virtuoso is less important than the is a kind of dream of the sixteenth century from one side to the other, the first arrival of effect of the piece as it is – whoever it is by – refracted through the lens of a late 20th- full 40-part polyphony occurs in the fortieth bar; Gabriel Jackson is a full-time composer with a and the aural illusions thrown up by this series century sensibility and technique. the overall length of the piece is 2 x 69 bars, particular commitment to the choral medium. His of overlapping nine-part canons are fascinating 69 being a cryptogram for the name Tallis (19 music is published by Oxford University Press. and rich. Once all thirty-six voices are engaged And so to Spem in alium itself. It is not known + 1 + 11 + 11 + 9 + 18) in the numbering of the the unrelenting tonic-tonic-dominant harmony exactly when it was written or why – freighted Latin alphabet. This complex dance of numbers that locks down the melodic intricacies of each as it is with number symbolism, one theory continues, underpinning the structure at many triple-time bar glints with brilliant colour, like a is that it was a fortieth-birthday tribute to levels and generating a compelling dramatic prism diffracting an unchanging beam into its either Mary Tudor (in 1556) or Elizabeth I (in energy as Tallis expertly balances sections of flickering spectra. 1573). A more likely explanation is that when polyphony and homophony, of intimacy and Alessandro Striggio visited London in 1567 grandeur; the arresting switch to A major A singularly Nordic light is shed on Tudor he had with him his own 40-part motet Ecce at ‘respice’ (preceded by a heart-stopping England by Denmark’s Bo Holten in his 24-part beatem lucem. Was Tallis so impressed he pause) is a particular coup de théâtre, and In nomine. Alongside his career as a prolific sought to emulate this hitherto-unprecedented the last three pages of the piece see all forty composer, Holten is also a distinguished feat of compositional glamour? Or was voices fully in play, their dense contrapuntal Texts and translations

1 Sanctum est verum lumen Sanctum est verum lumen et admirabilem ministrans lucem his qui permanserunt in agone Holy is the true light and passing wonderful, lending radiance to them that endured in the heat certaminis, recipient a Christo splendorem sempiternum in quo assidue felices laetantur. of the conflict, from Christ they inherit a home of unfading splendour, wherein they rejoice with gladness evermore. Antiphon at First Vespers, Feast of All Saints (English translation by Dr G.H. Palmer)

2 Jesus autem transiens/Credo in Deum Jesus autem transiens. Jesus then passing (among them). Credo in Deum Patrem omnipotentem, Creatorem caeli et terrae. I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth: Et in Jesum Christum Filium eius unicum Dominum nostrum: And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord, qui conceptus est de Spiritu Sancto, natus ex Maria Virgine, passus sub Pontio Pilato, crucifixus, Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, mortuus, et sepultus: was crucified, died and was buried; descendit ad inferna; tertia die resurrexit a mortuis; He descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead; ascendit ad caelos; sedet ad dexteram Dei Patris omnipotentis: He ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; inde venturus est iudicare vivos et mortuos. from whence he shall come to judge the living and the dead. Credo in Spiritum Sanctum, sanctam Ecclesiam catholicam, Sanctorum communionem, I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of Saints, the forgiveness remissionem peccatorum, carnis resurrectionem, et vitam aeternam. Amen. of sins, the resurrection of the body, and in everlasting life. Amen.

3 Duo Seraphim Duo Seraphim clamabant alter ad alterum: The two Seraphim cried one to the other: Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth: Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Hosts: Plena est omnis terra gloria eius. All the earth is full of his glory. Tres sunt qui testimonium dant in caelo: There are three who give testimony in heaven: Pater, Verbum, et Spiritus Sanctus: the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost: Et hi tres unum sunt. and these three are one. Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth: Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Hosts: Plena est omnis terra gloria eius. All the earth is full of his glory. Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto: Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost: Plena est omnis terra gloria eius. Amen. All the earth is full of his glory. Amen.

Isaiah 6:3, 1 John 5: 7-8 Texts and translations

Isaiah 6:3, 1 John 5: 7-8 4 Qui habitat Qui habitat in adjutorio altissimi in protectione Dei caeli commorabitur He that dwelleth in the aid of the most High, shall abide under the protection of the Almighty. Dicet Domino susceptor meus es tu et refugium meum. Deus meus sperabo in eum. He shall say to the Lord: Thou art my protector, and my refuge: my God, in him will I trust. Quoniam ipse liberavit me de laqueo venantium et a verbo aspero. For he hath delivered me from the snare of the hunters: and from the sharp word. Scapulis suis obumbrabit tibi et sub penis eius sperabis. He will overshadow thee with his shoulders: and under his wings thou shalt trust. Scuto circumdabit te veritas eius non timebis a timore nocturno. His truth shall compass thee with a shield: thou shalt not be afraid of the terror of the night. A sagitta volante in die a negotio perambulante in tenebris ab incursu et daemonio meridiano. Of the arrow that flieth in the day, of the business that walketh about in the dark: of invasion, Cadent a latere tuo mille et decem millia a dextris tuis ad te autem non approprinquabit. or of the noonday devil. Verumtamen oculis tuis considerabis et retributionem peccatorum videbis. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand: but it shall not come nigh thee. But thou shalt consider with thy eyes: and shalt see the reward of the wicked. Psalm 90 (91): 1-8

5 Magnificat sexti toni Magnificat anima mea Dominum. My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my saviour. Et exsultavit spiritus meus in Deo salutari meo. For he hath regarded the lowliness of his hand-maiden. Quia respexit humilitatem ancillae suae: ecce enim ex hoc beatam me dicent omnes generationes. For behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. Quia fecit mihi magna qui potens est, et sanctum nomen eius. For he that is mighty hath magnified me and holy is his Name. Et misericordia eius a progenie in progenies timentibus eum. And his mercy is on them that fear him throughout all generations. Fecit potentiam dispersit superbos mente cordis sui. He hath shewed strength with his arm: he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. Deposuit potentes de sede et exaltavit humiles. He hath put down the mighty from their seat and hath exalted the humble and meek. Esurientes implevit bonis, et divites dimisit inanes. He hath filled the hungry with good things and the rich he hath sent empty away. Suscepit Israel puerum suum, recordatus misericordiae suae. He remembering his mercy hath holpen his servant Israel Sicut locutus est ad patres nostros, Abraham et semini eius in saecula. As he promised to our forefathers, Abraham and his seed for ever. Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in saecula saeculorum. Amen. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

6 I sleep, but my heart waketh The edition used for track 5 may be obtained from JOED Music, 234 Stanley Park Rd, Carshalton Beeches, Surrey SM5 3JP, tel +44 (0)20 8643 4995. Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves’ eyes. Behold, thou art fair, my beloved. My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south. I sleep, but my heart waketh. My soul failed when he spake: I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer. Song of Solomon 1: 15, 16; 2: 10, 11; 4: 16; 5: 2, 6 (AV) 7 Stabat mater Stabat Mater dolorosa The grieving Mother stood crucifixi fige plagas that the wounds of the Crucified be well-formed iuxta crucem lacrimosa, beside the cross weeping cordi meo valide. in my heart. dum pendebat Filius; where her Son was hanging. Tui nati vulnerati, Grant that the punishment of your wounded Son, cuius animam gementem, Through her weeping soul, tam dignati pro me pati, Who so worthily suffered for me, contristatam et dolentem, compassionate and grieving, mecum poenas divide. may be shared with me. pertransivit gladius. a sword passed. Fac me tecum pie flere, Let me weep with you, O quam tristis, et afflicta O how sad and afflicted crucifixo condolere, bemoan the Crucified, fuit illa benedicta was that blessed donec ego vixero. for as long as I live; mater unigeniti. Mother of the Only-begotten! Iuxta crucem tecum stare, To stand beside the cross with you, Quae maerebat et dolebat Who mourned and grieved, et me tibi sociare and for me to join you et tremebat, cum videbat the pious Mother, seeing in planctu desidero. in mourning, this I desire. nati poenas incliti. the torment of her glorious Son. Virgo virginum praeclara, Chosen Virgin of virgins, Quis est homo qui non fleret, Who is the man who would not weep, mihi iam non sis amara, to me, now, be not bitter; Christi matrem si videret seeing the Mother of Christ fac me tecum plangere; let me mourn with you. in tanto supplicio? in such agony? fac, ut portem Christi mortem, Grant that I may bear the death of Christ, Quis non posset con tristari, Who would not have compassion passionis fac consortem, grant me the fate of His passion piam matrem contemplari on beholding the devout mother et plagas recolere. and the remembrance of His wounds. dolentem cum filio? suffering with her Son? Fac me plagis vulnerari, Let me be wounded with distress, Pro peccatis suae gentis For the sins of His people cruce hac inebriari inebriated in this way by the cross vidit Iesum in tormentis, she saw Jesus in torment ob amorem filii. and the love of your Son. flagellis subditum; and subjected to the scourge. Inflammatus et accensus Inflamed and burning, vidit suum dulcem natum She saw her sweet Son per te, Virgo, sim depensus through you, Virgin, may I be defended morientem, desolatum, dying, forsaken, in die iudicii. on the day of judgement. cum emisit spiritum. while He gave up His spirit. Fac me cruce custodiri, Let me be guarded by the cross, Eia mater, fons amoris, O Mother, fountain of love, morte Christi praemuniri, fortified by the death of Christ, me sentire vim doloris make me feel the power of sorrow, confoveri gratia. and cherished by grace. fac, ut tecum lugeam. that I may grieve with you. Quando corpus morietur, When my body dies, Fac, ut ardeat cor meum Grant that my heart may burn fac, ut animae donetur grant that to my soul is given in amando Christum Deum, in the love of the Lord Christ paradisi gloria. the glory of paradise. ut sibi complaceam. that I may greatly please Him. Sancta mater, istud agas, Holy Mother, grant this of yours, 7 Stabat mater Stabat Mater dolorosa The grieving Mother stood crucifixi fige plagas that the wounds of the Crucified be well-formed iuxta crucem lacrimosa, beside the cross weeping cordi meo valide. in my heart. dum pendebat Filius; where her Son was hanging. Tui nati vulnerati, Grant that the punishment of your wounded Son, cuius animam gementem, Through her weeping soul, tam dignati pro me pati, Who so worthily suffered for me, contristatam et dolentem, compassionate and grieving, mecum poenas divide. may be shared with me. pertransivit gladius. a sword passed. Fac me tecum pie flere, Let me weep with you, O quam tristis, et afflicta O how sad and afflicted crucifixo condolere, bemoan the Crucified, fuit illa benedicta was that blessed donec ego vixero. for as long as I live; mater unigeniti. Mother of the Only-begotten! Iuxta crucem tecum stare, To stand beside the cross with you, Quae maerebat et dolebat Who mourned and grieved, et me tibi sociare and for me to join you et tremebat, cum videbat the pious Mother, seeing in planctu desidero. in mourning, this I desire. nati poenas incliti. the torment of her glorious Son. Virgo virginum praeclara, Chosen Virgin of virgins, Quis est homo qui non fleret, Who is the man who would not weep, mihi iam non sis amara, to me, now, be not bitter; Christi matrem si videret seeing the Mother of Christ fac me tecum plangere; let me mourn with you. in tanto supplicio? in such agony? fac, ut portem Christi mortem, Grant that I may bear the death of Christ, Quis non posset con tristari, Who would not have compassion passionis fac consortem, grant me the fate of His passion piam matrem contemplari on beholding the devout mother et plagas recolere. and the remembrance of His wounds. dolentem cum filio? suffering with her Son? Fac me plagis vulnerari, Let me be wounded with distress, Pro peccatis suae gentis For the sins of His people cruce hac inebriari inebriated in this way by the cross vidit Iesum in tormentis, she saw Jesus in torment ob amorem filii. and the love of your Son. flagellis subditum; and subjected to the scourge. Inflammatus et accensus Inflamed and burning, vidit suum dulcem natum She saw her sweet Son per te, Virgo, sim depensus through you, Virgin, may I be defended morientem, desolatum, dying, forsaken, in die iudicii. on the day of judgement. cum emisit spiritum. while He gave up His spirit. Fac me cruce custodiri, Let me be guarded by the cross, Eia mater, fons amoris, O Mother, fountain of love, morte Christi praemuniri, fortified by the death of Christ, me sentire vim doloris make me feel the power of sorrow, confoveri gratia. and cherished by grace. fac, ut tecum lugeam. that I may grieve with you. Quando corpus morietur, When my body dies, Fac, ut ardeat cor meum Grant that my heart may burn fac, ut animae donetur grant that to my soul is given in amando Christum Deum, in the love of the Lord Christ paradisi gloria. the glory of paradise. ut sibi complaceam. that I may greatly please Him. Sancta mater, istud agas, Holy Mother, grant this of yours, National Youth Choir of Great Britain

8 Deo gratia Made up of 140 young voices, the National Youth collaborated with many local choirs and musical Choir (NYC) is the senior of the six choirs which groups. NYC is proud to be a prime mover in Deo gratia. Thanks be to God. make up the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain, promoting singing for young people as part of the under the overall directorship of Mike Brewer OBE Music Manifesto. 9 In nomine and Associate Director Greg Beardsell. Each choir meets for two residential courses during the year NYC often performs new music, and has In nomine Domini. In the name of the Lord. with regular concerts throughout the UK. NYC commissioned and recorded works by Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus, Dominus Deus Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Hosts. also tours abroad regularly and on a number of Jonathan Harvey, Colin Riley, Paul Reade, Giles Sabaoth. In the name of the Lord. occasions has visited Australia, New Zealand Swayne, Tarik O’Regan and Gabriel Jackson, In nomine Domini. and the Pacific Islands as well as the USA, South and also by its composer-in-association Richard Africa and Europe. Allain. For the choir’s 25th anniversary gala in 10 Spem in alium April 2008, NYC commissioned a new work Spem in alium nunquam habui, praeter in te, I have never put my hope in any other but Since its inaugural concert in the Royal Albert by American composer Eric Whitacre, which Deus Israel, qui irasceris, et propitius eris, et in you, O God of Israel, who can show both Hall in 1983, NYC has garnered an enviable was premiered with The King’s Singers at omnia peccata hominum in tribulatione dimittis, anger and graciousness, and who absolves all reputation for being one of the most flexible vocal Symphony Hall, Birmingham. Domine Deus, Creator caeli et terrae, respice the sins of man in a time of trouble. Lord God, ensembles in the world. The choir has performed humilitatem nostram. Creator of Heaven and Earth, be mindful of our alongside many leading musicians including The Royal Albert Hall remains a regular concert humiliation. The King’s Singers, Harry Christophers and The venue; NYC performed Karl Jenkins’ The Respond at Matins after Trinity during the readings from Judith Sixteen, George Shearing and Richard Rodney Armed Man: A Mass for Peace there, and their Bennett, and collaborated with musicians from subsequent recording went on to become a many places, including India, South America, the best-seller and Classic FM’s Record of the Week. Pacific Islands, Africa and the gospel tradition. Recent critically acclaimed recordings with Delphian include composer portraits of Richard Throughout its existence, NYC’s UK profile has Allain and of Giles Swayne (DCD34026 and grown significantly, and in recent years the choir DCD34033), and future projects will include a has performed in parliament for the anniversary disc of music by Kenneth Leighton. NYC’s sister of the abolition of the slave trade, at the National choir, Laudibus, also records for Delphian, and has Gallery, at the reopening of the Royal Festival Hall, recently issued Song of Songs (DCD34042), a in a number of television documentaries, and disc of settings of the Biblical text by composers sung with the National Youth Orchestra in the from Dunstaple to Skempton, and Ralph Vaughan BBC Proms. The choir has also sung at the FA Cup Williams: a cappella Choral Music (DCD34074, final and at international rugby matches. Thanks to Classic FM Magazine Disc of the Month, sponsorship through Youth Music, NYC has been September 2008). involved in outreach throughout the country, and Mike Brewer OBE National Youth Choir of Great Britain Recognised as a leading figure in choral music, and the organisation has grown to include SOPRANO ONE Rachel Spencer Fiona Harper Felicity Buckland Mike Brewer is in demand throughout Britain some seven choirs and over 500 singers. Mike Adele Clarkson Rebecca Hardwick Francesca Geach Flora Pethybridge and worldwide for vocal and conducting also conducts Laudibus, the award-winning Alice Usher Rebecca Lallemant Gillian Plummer Heather White workshops and as a guest conductor of choirs. chamber choir of outstanding NYC members Alison Seal Roseanne Havel Jenni Harper Jenna Hoyle His annual tours take in the USA, Singapore, and graduates, which also records on the Amy Puttick Ruth Waters Jennie Marsden Lara De Belder New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Mexico, Delphian label. Catherine Bell Sarah Bowe Jessica Dandy Lucinda Cox Venezuela and the Seychelles as well as regular Charlotte Trepess Sarah Rowley Judith Durrant Lucy Feldman Emily Meredith visits within Europe. He is an adviser on world Mike Brewer’s books for Faber Music Sarah Walker Katherine Higgins Lucy Potterton Emily Owen Zoe Brown Kitty Whately Martha McLorinan music to the IFCM and is assessor to Mexico’s include the best-selling Kickstart Your Choir, Emma Walshe Laura Attridge Nancy Cole choral programme. Warmups, Improve Your Sightsinging (with Felicity Martin SOPRANO TWO Laura Cheetham Rachel Coward Paul Harris) and Finetune Your Choir. Hamba Georgina Easton Alessandra Sorrentino Laura Wright Rachel Wyllie Mike is also consultant for over 20 prize- Lulu, his set of African songs, is performed Hannah Berridge Alex Davies Natasha Harbinson Rebekah Wheeler winning UK choirs, including the world-famous worldwide. Recently published by Faber are Hannah Campbell Alexia Prakas Olivia Brown Sarah Mapplebeck girls’ choir, Cantamus, and has often served Playpiece, commissioned for the Aberdeen Hannah Dobra Alison Hill Pippa Woodrow Shendie McMath as adjudicator for the finals of the ‘Choir of the Festival; Worldsong, performed in the Harriet Armston-Clarke Anna Gillingham Rachel Crisp Vassilena Milonidis Year’ competition and the National Festival Schools’ Proms 2005; and a second set of Heather Caddick Anna Goldbeck-Wood Rebecca Williams of Music for Youth in the UK as well as many African songs, Babevuya. Helen Lewis Bethan Thomas Rosie Deeks ALTO TWO international competitions. Helen McCombie Briony Soothill Sarah Champion Alexandra Wynn Mike is a gold-medallist double bass player Helen Vincent Charlotte Broadbent Sarah Griffiths Alice Hubbard Mike has been Musical Director of the National and was a Churchill Fellow for 2002/3. He was Holly Moore Charlotte Brosnan Sarah Rea Amelia Hudson Youth Choirs of Great Britain (NYC) since 1983, appointed OBE in 1995. Isolde Roxby Chloe Treharne Sian Rogers Amelia Okell Jenni France Claire Lewis Sophie Cox Anil Chopra Jennifer Sidebottom Elaine Tate Tempe Nell Beth Mackay Jennifer Stafford Eleanor Bacon Bethan Langford Josephine Organ-Jennings Eleanor Caine ALTO ONE Bethan Moore Julia Sitkovetsky Eleanor Mulindi-King Abigail Berry Carla Matthews Laura Braithwaite Elizabeth Stock Alicia Clarke Charlotte Kitson Lisa Swayne Emily Cooper Angharad Lyddon Charlotte Ramsbotham Louise Wayman Emily Garland Bethany Remfry Delphine Gatehouse Lucy Hughes Emily Haig Bethia Hourigan Elizabeth Curwen Lucy Potterton Emma Hopegood Claire Roberts Elizabeth Jarrett Lucy Savage Emma Price Eleanor Whittingham Emily Skinner Marie Macklin Esther Nosworthy Emily Jane Cooper Emma Stannard Natalie Hyde Felicity Davies Emma Price Esther Zuke Rachael Robinson Fenella Shelton Eve Langford Faith Fairbairn Mike Brewer OBE National Youth Choir of Great Britain Recognised as a leading figure in choral music, and the organisation has grown to include SOPRANO ONE Rachel Spencer Fiona Harper Felicity Buckland Mike Brewer is in demand throughout Britain some seven choirs and over 500 singers. Mike Adele Clarkson Rebecca Hardwick Francesca Geach Flora Pethybridge and worldwide for vocal and conducting also conducts Laudibus, the award-winning Alice Usher Rebecca Lallemant Gillian Plummer Heather White workshops and as a guest conductor of choirs. chamber choir of outstanding NYC members Alison Seal Roseanne Havel Jenni Harper Jenna Hoyle His annual tours take in the USA, Singapore, and graduates, which also records on the Amy Puttick Ruth Waters Jennie Marsden Lara De Belder New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Mexico, Delphian label. Catherine Bell Sarah Bowe Jessica Dandy Lucinda Cox Venezuela and the Seychelles as well as regular Charlotte Trepess Sarah Rowley Judith Durrant Lucy Feldman Emily Meredith visits within Europe. He is an adviser on world Mike Brewer’s books for Faber Music Sarah Walker Katherine Higgins Lucy Potterton Emily Owen Zoe Brown Kitty Whately Martha McLorinan music to the IFCM and is assessor to Mexico’s include the best-selling Kickstart Your Choir, Emma Walshe Laura Attridge Nancy Cole choral programme. Warmups, Improve Your Sightsinging (with Felicity Martin SOPRANO TWO Laura Cheetham Rachel Coward Paul Harris) and Finetune Your Choir. Hamba Georgina Easton Alessandra Sorrentino Laura Wright Rachel Wyllie Mike is also consultant for over 20 prize- Lulu, his set of African songs, is performed Hannah Berridge Alex Davies Natasha Harbinson Rebekah Wheeler winning UK choirs, including the world-famous worldwide. Recently published by Faber are Hannah Campbell Alexia Prakas Olivia Brown Sarah Mapplebeck girls’ choir, Cantamus, and has often served Playpiece, commissioned for the Aberdeen Hannah Dobra Alison Hill Pippa Woodrow Shendie McMath as adjudicator for the finals of the ‘Choir of the Festival; Worldsong, performed in the Harriet Armston-Clarke Anna Gillingham Rachel Crisp Vassilena Milonidis Year’ competition and the National Festival Schools’ Proms 2005; and a second set of Heather Caddick Anna Goldbeck-Wood Rebecca Williams of Music for Youth in the UK as well as many African songs, Babevuya. Helen Lewis Bethan Thomas Rosie Deeks ALTO TWO international competitions. Helen McCombie Briony Soothill Sarah Champion Alexandra Wynn Mike is a gold-medallist double bass player Helen Vincent Charlotte Broadbent Sarah Griffiths Alice Hubbard Mike has been Musical Director of the National and was a Churchill Fellow for 2002/3. He was Holly Moore Charlotte Brosnan Sarah Rea Amelia Hudson Youth Choirs of Great Britain (NYC) since 1983, appointed OBE in 1995. Isolde Roxby Chloe Treharne Sian Rogers Amelia Okell Jenni France Claire Lewis Sophie Cox Anil Chopra Jennifer Sidebottom Elaine Tate Tempe Nell Beth Mackay Jennifer Stafford Eleanor Bacon Bethan Langford Josephine Organ-Jennings Eleanor Caine ALTO ONE Bethan Moore Julia Sitkovetsky Eleanor Mulindi-King Abigail Berry Carla Matthews Laura Braithwaite Elizabeth Stock Alicia Clarke Charlotte Kitson Lisa Swayne Emily Cooper Angharad Lyddon Charlotte Ramsbotham Louise Wayman Emily Garland Bethany Remfry Delphine Gatehouse Lucy Hughes Emily Haig Bethia Hourigan Elizabeth Curwen Lucy Potterton Emma Hopegood Claire Roberts Elizabeth Jarrett Lucy Savage Emma Price Eleanor Whittingham Emily Skinner Marie Macklin Esther Nosworthy Emily Jane Cooper Emma Stannard Natalie Hyde Felicity Davies Emma Price Esther Zuke Rachael Robinson Fenella Shelton Eve Langford Faith Fairbairn Choral music on Delphian

Francesca Mastaglio Christopher Dawson Jolyon Loy Die Vögel unter dem Himmel Hannah Trenner David Pim Jonathan Bell Heinrich Schütz: Sacred Choral Music Helen Hutchinson Francis Powesland Julian Guidera National Youth Choir of Great Britain / Mike Brewer Johanne Stephenson Jack Furness Muir Hewitt John Kitchen solo organ Katie Lee Jonathan Cooke Nicholas Lockyer (DCD34043) Krishanthi Gill Laurence Panter René Bloice-Sanders Laura Baker Luke Sinclair Robert Garland Pipp Saul-Harrah Matthew Thomson Simon Hall The massed voices of the 140-strong National Youth Choir revel in the Rachel Doherty Michael Hickman Stefan Hargreaves magnificence of Schütz’s soaring lines, complemented by John Kitchen’s Rebecca Hutter Nicholas Ellington Stefan Porter solo contributions on the powerful Rieger organ of St Giles’ Cathedral, Rozanna Madylus Robin Firth Thomas Chevis Edinburgh. Revered by his contemporaries as the ‘Orpheus of our time’, Sabrina Rodriguez Sam Robinson Thomas Innes Schütz would never have heard his music performed by forces such as Sarah Rudebeck Samuel Morris these and on such a scale – surely he would have been a strong advocate of Sarah Thornhill Ted Lougher BASS TWO this astounding aural experience. Thomas Cooke Alex Shaw TENOR ONE William Morgan Alexander Walker ‘An amazing sense of choral discipline … combined with a genuinely exultant joy’ Alex Bowden Alexei Kalveks – Goldberg Magazine, ***** Alexander Berman BASS ONE Andrew Booth Christopher Hann Alexander Hargreaves Bartholomew Lawrence Gabriel Jackson: Sacred Choral Works Christopher Palmer Amar Shah Dominic Barberi Choir of St Mary’s Cathedral, Edinburgh / Matthew Owens Edmund Chan Andrew Martin Emile Perkins (DCD34027) Felix Leach Anthony Harris Freddie Coltart Fergus Brignall Callum Baxter James Ramsden The culmination of a four-year association between the choir of St Mary’s Geoffrey Hicking Chris Hughes Jamie Wardynski Cathedral and British Composer Award winner Gabriel Jackson, this disc presents Guy James Christopher Argyrakis John Murton nine world premiere recordings. Whether gentle and meditative, brilliantly Kieran Morris Christopher Hughes Laurence Kirkby exuberant, or soaring in ecstatic contemplation, Jackson’s vividly communicative Michael Bradley Christopher Wheeler Peter Bardsley music is brought thrillingly to life by a choir at the peak of its powers. Robbie Jacobs David Horton Philip Batty Sam Furness David Le Prevost Reuben McNaughton Simon Marsh David Wigy Sandy Walker ‘Beautifully crafted music that allows this excellent choir full rein … the Tim Lawrence Dominic Sedgewick Stuart Ruff Edinburgh choristers respond with superlative performances, full of spirit but Edmund Latham always secure and sensitive. Owens has trained this choir to an exceptionally high level and the sound can only be described as luxurious.’ TENOR TWO Edward Turner ‘Soprano One’, ‘Soprano Two’ etc. do not designate Adam Smith Greg Hallam singer roles in a specific piece, but choir roles. The full – Gramophone, December 2005 Adam Treadaway Huw Leslie complement of singers does not appear on any single track. Andrew Bartlett Joachim Cassel Bold type indicates section leaders ‘This disc will knock you out’ – Cathedral Music, November 2005 (Editor’s Choice) Choral music on Delphian