Programme

Although German by birth, Handel became so established in London musical circles that his music is sometimes mistaken for that of an English composer. It is not certain when his Ode for the Birthday of Queen Anne was composed, but it was in either 1713 or 1714. The opening words, “Eternal source of light divine” [1], are set over a slow moving accompaniment, the solo voice weaving a beautiful melodic line which is echoed by the trumpet. Messiah was first performed in Dublin in 1742. The solo parts were taken by some of the most famous singers of the day. Handel composed three different settings of the words “How beautiful are the feet” [6], reflecting changing circumstances. The most popular version is that in G minor included in this recording, the violin part setting the Siciliana rhythm.

Sir Walter Alcock was assistant to Frederick Bridge (“Westminster Bridge”) at Westminster Abbey before moving to Salisbury, where he was cathedral organist for 30 years. At Westminster Abbey he played the organ at three coronations: those of Edward VII, George V and George VI. It was for George V’s coronation that he composed his setting of the Sanctus [2] from the Office of Holy Communion. It has rich harmonies, including a striking change of key for the middle section, and is distinguished by the effective use of very soft singing.

In 1979 Geoffrey Burgon wrote music for a television series based on John Le Carré’s Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. The closing music of each episode was his setting of the Nunc Dimittis [3] for treble soloist with organ and obbligato trumpet. In the performance recorded for the series, the treble soloist was Paul Phoenix, a chorister at St Paul’s Cathedral, who went on to become a member of the King’s Singers. The music is appropriately simple, but there are some surprises in the harmony.

Mendelssohn spent much of his time in Britain, where he was a great favourite of Queen Victoria and her German husband, Prince Albert. His Symphony No. 2, known as the Lobgesang (Hymn of Praise), was first performed in Leipzig in 1840: it was composed to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the invention of printing. In its English version, the work has remained popular with amateur choral societies, and the duet I waited for the Lord [5] is also well known as an anthem often heard in services.

John Dankworth has written music in many different styles, but it is as one of Britain’s foremost jazz performers that he is best known. When he was a clarinet student at the Royal Academy of Music he would pretend that he was carrying a bassoon case when in fact there was a saxophone inside! In those days the saxophone was regarded with great suspicion. His setting of Paul Wigmore’s Light of the World [4] has a gentle melody with sweet harmonies that cross effortlessly to the sacred idiom from the world of jazz.

The great English church musician Samuel Sebastian Wesley, son of Samuel Wesley, was cathedral organist first at Hereford then at Exeter, after which he spent 7 years at Leeds Parish Church, followed by cathedral appointments at Winchester and Gloucester, where he died in 1876. There is a charming story that he composed Blessed be the God and Father [7] for a service at Hereford when the only singers available were trebles and a bass, who was the Dean’s butler. It is an extended anthem rather like a cantata with impressive passages for men’s voices and a beautiful duet for trebles, ending with a section for full choir.

Vocal music makes up the majority of the output of Franz Schubert. In particular, the solo songs which he performed with the baritone Johann Michael Vogl earned him a secure place in the history of song. The songs of The Lady of the Lake were often included in their recitals: Ave Maria [8] became the most popular. The words set by Schubert were a German translation of poetry by Walter Scott. It is most commonly performed in Britain to the familiar Latin words.

The reputation of Robert Schumann as a composer of vocal music rests largely upon his astonishing outpouring of solo songs in the year 1840. His choral song in four parts, setting a poem by Friedrich Rückert, was published in 1846. It is included on this disc as The Angels’ Goodnight [9], and is a fittingly tender response to the words of the poem.

It is commonly known that Parry’s famous tune, often sung to the words “Dear Lord and Father of mankind”, is taken from his oratorio Judith, published in 1888. This disc gives us an opportunity to hear Parry’s music to the original text, “Long Since in Egypt’s plenteous land” [10]. Parry’s broad and beautiful melodic line is accompanied by subtle harmonies and counter-melodies. Each verse is set differently: the first two have slightly different accompaniments; the third has a new tune in the minor key; in the fourth there is a return to the original tune, followed by unaccompanied writing for three high voices with an instrumental postlude based on the main theme.

Malcolm Archer, at present Organist and Director of Music at St Paul’s Cathedral, has for many years provided both original compositions and arrangements that are a delight to sing. His arrangement of Brother James’s Air [11], a tune by James Leith Macbeth Bain (c. 1860-1925), has a flowing organ accompaniment, building up to the strong final verse of the paraphrase of Psalm 23.

Benjamin Britten’s unerring instinct for writing music for voices is nowhere better demonstrated than in his A Ceremony of Carols, first performed by the Fleet Street Choir in Norwich Castle in 1942. The variety of moods created by the combination of treble voices and harp is quite breathtaking. In Balulalow [12], a setting of a 16th century text, the point when the soloist is joined by all the voices is one of those heart-stopping magical moments. This little babe [13] features a restless throbbing accompaniment. It very cleverly introduces a canon for verse two, but the last verse is set as a three-part canon, to dazzling effect.

The music of John Rutter is popular throughout the world: indeed, he is much in demand to conduct choirs, especially in the United States, in larger works such as his Gloria and Magnificat. The two shorter works included on this disc, The Lord Bless you and keep you [14] and A Gaelic Blessing [20], demonstrate his skill in writing memorable flowing melodies, with passages in harmony where the lower parts sing accompanying lines which seem effortless. The organ accompaniments of both pieces feature sustained chords for the left hand and pedals with a guitar-like right hand part.

As Handel changed certain features of his oratorio, Messiah, so Gabriel Fauré’s first version of his setting of the Requiem Mass, completed in 1888, differed from the final published version, which employed a larger orchestra including violins. The manuscript of Pie Jesu [15] is lost, but it was probably accompanied by violas, cellos, basses, harp and organ. It is deservedly popular as an anthem with organ only.

Colin Mawby, famous for his work at Westminster Cathedral, set a fuller version of the text of Ave verum corpus [16] than did Mozart. His version, like Mozart’s, is mostly homophonic. He divides the choir into eight parts with an organ accompaniment. The harmonic language is rich, with many added note chords: the style becomes particularly passionate at the words “in cruce pro homine” and again at “Esto nobis pregustatum in mortis”. After such richness, the motet ends in a subdued way, the score marked pppp.

Two unaccompanied traditional tunes are sung by treble soloist Andrew Swait. I would be true [17] is a well known Irish tune commonly known as the Londonderry Air. The American tune Amazing Grace [21] is often associated with gospel singers: its melodic line twice soars to the highest note.

Mozart’s Ave verum corpus [18] was composed in 1791, the year of the composer’s death. It is justifiably popular: the voices are accompanied by strings and organ; the style is restrained and yet heartfelt, with a remarkable key-change at the words “Cujus latus perforatum”. At the end the instruments play a short postlude to end this perfect miniature.

The American composer Morten Lauridsen, who has for many years held the Chair of composition at the University of Southern California, set the complete text of the antiphon in honour of the Blessed Sacrament, Ubi Caritas [19]. The ancient plainsong theme heard at the outset is familiar to many in the setting by Maurice Duruflé of the first section of the text; Lauridsen’s interpretation owes much to the French style with its blurring of the harmonies in a post-Impressionistic manner; but Lauridsen introduces original melodic ideas and alludes to the plainsong theme rather than reproducing it exactly. The piece ends with an extended “Amen”.

Philip Colls 2005

Texts

[1] Eternal source of light
From the Ode for the Birthday of Queen Anne

Eternal source of light divine,
With double warmth Thy beams display,
And with distinguished glory shine,
To add a lustre to this day.

[2] Sanctus
Composed for the Coronation of King George V

Holy, Holy, Holy,
Lord God of hosts,
Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory:
Glory be to Thee,
O Lord most High.
Amen.

[3] Nunc Dimittis

Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace,
according to Thy word:
For mine eyes have seen Thy salvation,
Which Thou has prepared before the face of all people;
To be a light to lighten the Gentiles, and to be the glory of Thy people Israel.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost:
As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be;
World without end. Amen.

Luke 2, 29-3

[4] Light of the world

Light beyond shadow, joy beyond tears,
Love that is greater when darkest our fears;
Deeper the peace when the storm is around,
Dearer the Christ to the lost who is found.

Light of the world, Jesus shining!
Sins of the world, see Him dying!
In our darkness, He is light, in our crying, He is love,
In the noise of life imparting peace that passes understanding;

Light beyond shadow, joy beyond tears,
Love that is greater when darkest our fears;
Deeper the peace when the storm is around,
Dearer the Christ to the lost who is found.

Paul Wigmore

[5] I waited for the Lord

I waited for the Lord,
He inclined unto me,
He heard my complaint.
O blest are they that hope and trust in Him.

W Bartholomew

[6] How beautiful are the feet

How beautiful are the feet of those whose preach the gospel
of peace,
And bring glad tidings of good things!

Romans 10, 15

[7] Blessed be the God and Father

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. But as He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation. Pass the time of your sojourning here in fear. See that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently. Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God. For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. Amen.

Peter I, 3-5, 15-17, 22-25

[8] Ave Maria

Ave Maria, gratia plena,
Dominus tecum. Benedicta tu in mulieribus,
Et benedictus fructus ventris tui Jesus.

Ave Maria, mater dei,
Ora pro nobis pecatoribus.
Nunc et in hora mortis nostrae.

Ave Maria, gratia plena,
Dominus tecum. Benedicta tu in mulieribus,
Et benedictus fructus ventris tui Jesus.

Hail Mary, full of grace,
The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women,
And blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God,
Pray for us sinners,
Now and at the hour of our death.

Hail Mary, full of grace,
The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women,
And blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

9 The Angels’ Goodnight

‘Good-night, good-night’ a voice is calling:
‘Come to thy rest!’
The Angels’ prayer as night is falling:
‘Friend thou art blest!’
I hear it now, this holy greeting
On breath of evening light
Still in thy peaceful dreams repeating:
‘Sleep, friend, good-night’.

10 Long since in Egypt’s plenteous land

Long since in Egypt’s plenteous land,
Our fathers were oppressed,
But God, whose chosen folk they were,
Smote those who long enslaved them there,
And all their woes redressed.

The Red Sea stayed them not at all,
Nor depths of liquid green;
On either hand a mighty wall
Of waters clear rose high at His call,
And they passed through between.

In deserts wild they wandered long,
They sinned, and went astray;
But yet His arm to help was strong,
He pardoned them though they did wrong,
And brought them on their way.

At last to this good land they came,
With fruitful plenty blest;
Here glorious men won endless fame,
Here God made holy Zion’s name,
And here He gave them rest.

Oh, may we ne’er forget what He hath done,
Nor prove unmindful of His love,
That, like the constant sun,
On Israel hath shone,
And sent down blessings from above.

11 Brother James’ Air

The Lord’s my shepherd, I’ll not want;
He makes me down to lie
In pastures green; He leadeth me
The quiet waters by.

My soul He doth restore again,
And me to walk doth make
Within the paths of righteousness,
E’en for His own name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk in death’s dark vale,
Yet will I fear no ill:
For Thou art with me, and Thy rod
And staff me comfort still.

Goodness and mercy all my life
Shall surely follow me;
And in God’s house for evermore
My dwelling-place shall be.

Psalm 23 from the Scottish Psalter (1650)

12 Balulalow

O my deare hart, young Jesu sweit
Prepare Thy creddil in my spreit,
And I sall rock Thee to my hert,
And never mair from Thee depart.

But I sall praise Thee evermoir
With sanges sweit unto Thy gloir;
The knees of my hert sall I bow,
And sing that richt Balulalow.

James, John and Robert Wedderburn

13 This little Babe

This little babe so few days old,
Is come to rifle Satan’s fold;
All hell doth at His presence quake,
Though He Himself for cold do shake;
For in this weak unarmed wise
The gates of hell He will surprise.

With tears He fights and wins the field,
His naked breast stands for a shield;
His battering shot are babish cries,
His arrows looks of weeping eyes,
His martial ensigns Cold and Need,
And feeble Flesh His warrior’s steed.

His camp is pitched in a stall,
His bulwark but a broken wall;
The crib His trench, haystalks His stakes,
Of shepherds He His muster makes;
And thus, as sure His foe to wound,
The angel’s trumps alarum sound.

My soul, with Christ join thou in fight;
Stick to the tents that He hath pight.
Within His crib His surest ward;
This little Babe will be thy guard.
If thou wilt foil thy foes with joy,
Then flit not from this heavenly Boy.

Anonymous (c1400)

14 The Lord bless you and keep you

The Lord bless you and keep you: the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you: the Lord lift up the light of His countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen

Numbers 6, 24

15 Pie Jesu

Pie Jesu, Domine, dona eis requiem.
Dona eis requiem, sempiternam requiem.

Gentle Jesus, Lord, grant them rest;
Grant them rest, eternal rest.

Requiem Mass

16 Ave verum corpus

Ave verum Corpus, natum de Maria Virgine,
Vere passum, immolatum in cruce pro homine,
Cujus latus perforatum unda fluxit et sanguine;
Esto nobis praegustatum, in mortis examine.

Hail, true body of Christ, born of Virgin Mary,
Verily suffered, sacrificed upon the Cross for mankind.
From whose pierced side flow water and blood,
That we may have a foretaste of our death.

Text: 14th Century

17 I would be true

I would be true for there are those that trust me.
I would be pure for there are those that care.
I would be strong for there is much to suffer.
I would be brave for there is much to dare.
I would be friend of all, the foe, the friendless.
I would be giving and forget the gift.
I would be humble for I know my weakness.
I would look up, laugh, love and live.

Anon.

18 Ave verum Corpus

Ave verum Corpus, natum de Maria Virgine,
Vere passum, immolatum in cruce pro homine,
Cujus latus perforatum unda fluxit et sanguine;
Esto nobis praegustatum, in mortis examine.
O Jesu dulcis! O Jesu pie!
O Jesu Fili Mariae.

Hail, true body of Christ, born of Virgin Mary,
Verily suffered, sacrificed upon the Cross for mankind.
From whose pierced side flow water and blood,
That we may have a foretaste of our death.
O sweet Jesus! O gentle Jesus! 
O Jesus, Son of Mary.

Text: 14th Century

19 Ubi caritas et amor

Ubi caritas et amor, deus ibi est.
Congregavit nos in unum Christi amor.
Exultemus et in ipso iucundemur.
Timeamus et amemus Deum vivum.
Et ex corde diligamus nos sincero.
Simul ergo cum in unum congregamur:
Ne nos mente dividamur caveamus.
Cessent iurgia maligna, cessent lites.
Et in medio nostri sit Christus Deus.
Amen.

Where charity and love are found, there is God.
The love of Christ has brought us together into one.
Let us rejoice and be glad in that love itself.
Let us fear and love the living God.
And let us love from a pure heart.
When we are gathered together in one place:
Let us take care that we be not divided in mind.
May evil quarrelling cease, may litigation cease.
And may the God Christ be among us.
Amen.

Anon. 9th Century

20 A Gaelic Blessing

Deep peace of the running wave to you,
Deep peace of the flowing air to you,
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you,
Deep peace of the shining stars to you,
Deep peace of the gentle night to you,
Moon and stars pour their healing light on you,
Deep peace of Christ the light of the world to you.

Adapted from an old Gaelic rune

21 Amazing Grace

Amazing grace (how sweet the sound)
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed!

Through many dangers, toils, and snares,
I have already come:
‘Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promised good to me,
His word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be
As long as life endures.

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
The sun forbear to shine;
But God, who called me here below,
Will be forever mine.

John Newton