Bach: Sämtliche Motetten Cantates waren Bachs dagelijks brood, een vast onderdeel van zijn wekelijkse taken als Thomascantor. Voor zijn motetten lag dat anders: in Leipzig klonk behalve de cantate doorgaans geen nieuwe muziek (in plaats daarvan werd er gekozen uit de motettenbundel Florilegium Portense). Dat liet Bach de ruimte om tegen betaling werken te schrijven […]
John Rutter: Christ our Emmanuel (SATB) A lilting 3/4 metre carries the listener through this familiar Christmas story, beautifully depicted in a text by the composer. Rutter employs artful word-painting throughout, and the verse-refrain structure enables the compelling melody to soon become as familiar as any traditional carol of the season. Christ our Emmanuel may […]
This is a beautiful and dynamic setting of well-known words from the Song of Songs (or Song of Soloman). With a soaring soprano melody, McGlade’s fluid vocal lines drive harmonic twists within an immediately accessible sound-world. Perfect for concert performance
McGlade’s setting of ‘The Call’ by George Herbert is simple but effective, reflecting the directness of the original poem. The three-bar phrases create a feeling of expectancy throughout the verses, and are beautifully intensified by harmonic shifts in one verse and a soaring descant in another.
Let all mortal flesh keep silence is a reflective, homophonic setting of text from the fourth-century Orthodox Liturgy of St James. Sheehan’s setting, an original rather than the customary pairing with the hymn tune ‘Picardy’, is steeped in the Orthodox tradition, and has pure harmonies and a beautiful stillness
