Mater ora filium: Music for Epiphany
£14.20
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Label: Harmonia Mundi
Cat No: HMU907653
Format: CD
Number of Discs: 1
Genre: Christmas
Release Date: 2nd December 2016
Contents
Works
Mater ora filiumI sing of a maiden
Epiphany
Ecce advenit dominator Dominus
Magi veniunt ab Oriente
The Three Kings (arr. Ivor Atkins)
Here is the little door
Long, Long Ago
Omnes de Saba venient
Nesciens mater
I wonder as I wander (arr. Rutter)
Palestrina, Giovanni Pierluigi da
Tribus miraculis ornatumVidentes Stellam
Reges Tharsis et insulae
As with gladness men of old (arr. Graham Ross)
Hail to the Lord's Anointed (arr. Graham Ross)
O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness (arr. Graham Ross)
Benedicamus Domino
Bethlehem Down (arr. David Hill)
Illuminare, Jerusalem
Artists
Alexander Porteous (tenor)Laurence Harris (baritone)
Michael Papadopoulos (organ)
Clare College Choir
Conductor
Graham RossWorks
Mater ora filiumI sing of a maiden
Epiphany
Ecce advenit dominator Dominus
Magi veniunt ab Oriente
The Three Kings (arr. Ivor Atkins)
Here is the little door
Long, Long Ago
Omnes de Saba venient
Nesciens mater
I wonder as I wander (arr. Rutter)
Palestrina, Giovanni Pierluigi da
Tribus miraculis ornatumVidentes Stellam
Reges Tharsis et insulae
As with gladness men of old (arr. Graham Ross)
Hail to the Lord's Anointed (arr. Graham Ross)
O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness (arr. Graham Ross)
Benedicamus Domino
Bethlehem Down (arr. David Hill)
Illuminare, Jerusalem
Artists
Alexander Porteous (tenor)Laurence Harris (baritone)
Michael Papadopoulos (organ)
Clare College Choir
Conductor
Graham RossAbout
The feast of Epiphany falls on 6 January, 12 days after Christmas. Marked in the Christian world with the story of the Magi, many composers have been inspired by the account of ‘the three kings’ following the star, bringing their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. This sequence of music explores some of the greatest musical contributions to the feast, principally from the 16th and 20th centuries. Three great Epiphany hymns frame this sequence, all in new arrangements by Graham Ross, and all here receiving their première recordings. Graham Ross has also written the excellent booklet note and is aided and abetted, again, by John Rutter as producer, engineer and editor.
Sound/Video
Paused
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1Orlande de Lassus: Omnes de Saba
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2Traditional: O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness!
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3John Sheppard: Reges Tharsis
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4William Byrd: Ecce advenit dominator Dominus
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5Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina: Tribus miraculis ornatum
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6Jacobus Clemens non Papa: Magi veniunt ab oriente
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7Jean Mouton: Nesciens Mater
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8Francis Poulenc: Videntes stellam
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9Howard Howells: Long, long ago
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10Judith Bingham: Epiphany
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11Traditional: Hail to the Lord's Anointed!
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12Peter Warlock: Bethlehem Down
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13Judith Weir: Illuminare, Jerusalem
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14John Jacob Niles: I wonder as I wander
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15Howard Howells: Here is the little door
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16Peter Cornelius: The Three Kings
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17Lennox Berkeley: I sing of a maiden
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18Peter Warlock: Benedicamus domino
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19Traditional: As with gladness men of old
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20Arnold Bax: Mater ora filium
Europadisc Review
The listener’s attention is immediately grabbed by a rousing account of Lassus’s wonderfully exuberant double-choir motet Omnes de Saba venient, and the first section of the disc is dominated by Renaissance masterpieces. Tudor composers John Sheppard and William Byrd are represented by Reges Tharsis and Ecce advenit dominator Dominus respectively, while the choir’s bright sound brings idiomatic benefits to Palestrina and Clemens non Papa. But it is Jean Mouton’s contrapuntal tour de force Nesciens mater that provides an early highpoint, a glowing performance awash with rich choral timbre, while featuring characterful individual lines that trace the canonic parts.
The rest of the disc is predominantly twentieth-century: the choir’s lovely high voices are heard to best effect in the halting, glistening phrases of Poulenc’s Videntes stellam, where one can sense the vivid twinkling of brilliant stars. Admirers of Herbert Howells will be pleased at the inclusion of the lesser-known Long, long ago and the carol-anthem Here is the little door, both of them beautifully crafted and winningly sung. Judith Bingham’s Epiphany (1995), accompanied by some fine organ playing from Michael Papadopoulos, brings a welcome modern edge to proceedings, building to a magnificent climax, and Judith Weir’s Illuminare Jesu is another notable item, with its ear-catching refrain.
Home comforts come in the form of a trio of seasonal favourites: Peter Warlock’s Bethlehem Down, John Jacob Niles’s evergreen I wonder as I wander and Peter Cornelius’s The Three Kings (with a sensitive baritone solo from Laurence Harris), in arrangements by David Hill, John Rutter and Ivor Atkins respectively. Lennox Berkeley’s I sing of a maiden brings softer hues, while Warlock’s Benedicamus Domino gets a spirited, finely shaded performance. The climax of the disc is the title track, Arnold Bax’s multi-section eight-voice Mater ora filium, and here the choir excel themselves, with radiant top Cs from the sopranos and a wide dynamic and expressive range. It’s beautifully shaped by Ross, and sets the seal on a treasurable release.
Three popular seasonal hymns – O worship the Lord, Hail to the Lord’s Anointed and As with gladness – all in sensitively festive arrangements by Graham Ross (complete with tastefully effective descants) – lend structural support to the programme, just as they would in an actual service, making the disc as attractive as a recital as it is for dipping into. There are detailed notes from Ross himself, full texts, and it is all supported by a sympathetically warm recording. Just the thing for those who like to continue their seasonal celebrations into the New Year, and a splendid addition to the choir’s ongoing series.
Reviews
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