Sunday 18th March 2018 passion Sunday

Jubilate Deo in B flat  Charles Villiers Stanford 

Taken from the Novello Copy:
Sir Charles Villiers Stanford has a perverse relationship with posterity.  Remembered today largely for his choral miniatures, this restless symphonist was the unwilling Janus of British music. A significant presence on the European scene in his own lifetime, he was an outspoken critic of Wagner, Strauss and modernism in general. Nevertheless, as a formalist with flair and skill, his influence catalysed much of the great English Music of the 20th century.  As fellow composer George Dyson said: "In a certain sense the very rebellion he fought was the most obvious fruit of his methods". The Jubilate in B flat displays the composer's trademark of thematic structures.
Also see 21.5.2017.

O Saviour of the World   Arthur Somervell (1863-1937)

Sir Arthur Somervell was born in the Lake district, son of Robert Miller Somervell, the founder of K Shoes. He studied composition under Sir Charles Villiers Stanford at King's College Cambridge. For 2 years he studied music at the High School for Music in Berlin, and following that from 1885-1887 at the Royal School of Music in London under Parry. In 1894 he became a Professor at The Royal School of Music, in 1901, he was appointed Inspector of Music at the Board of Education and Scottish Education Department and in 1902 received the Doctor of Music degree from the University of Cambridge. He achieved success during his lifetime for his choral works, but is now mostly remembered for his song cycles. He had a conservative style showing influences from Mendelssohn and Brahms.  He was also very active in music education. He was knighted in 1929.

Sir Arthur Sumervill
Picture from Hyperion.

"O Saviour of the World" is a suitable anthem for Lent, Holy Week or Communion, The words are from the Anglican Order for the Visitation of the Sick.

11th March 2018 Mothering Sunday

What Wondrous Love Is This   Geoffrey Weaver

Geoff Weaver was born in 1943.  He read Music at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge gaining an honours degree. He founded the Bath Youth Choir and directed the Bach Cantata Choir. After teaching in the UK, worked in Hong Kong for 8 years with the Church Mission Society. He was Director of Music for 4 years in Bradford Cathedral and 8 years on the training staff at CMS Training College at Selly Oak. He was also Director of Studies/Outreach for the Royal School of Church Music for 8 years.

Picture from St Michael's Chamber Choir

"What Wondrous Love is This" is an American Folk Hymn arranged by Geoff Weaver.  It starts as a simple melody sung for us today by the Junior Choir, and goes into 3 part harmony for the middle stanza, finishing with unison Alto, Tenor, Bass and  Soprano descant, building to a joyous crescendo.

4th March 2018 3rd Sunday in Lent

Ave Verum Corpus   Edward Elgar

See previous post 22.10.17

11th February 2018 Quinquagesima

taken from Wikipedia

Ave Verum  Charles Gounod (1818-1893)

Gounod was born in Paris,  his father an artist and his mother a pianist and also his first piano teacher.  He showed an early aptitude for music.  He studied at the Paris Conservatoire and won the Prix de Rome in 1839 for his Cantata Fernand.  He contemplated taking holy orders but went back to composition before taking his vows.  In 1854 he competed a Messe Solennelle also know as St Cecilia Mass.

The sister of Felix Mendelssohn, Fanny, introduced Gounod to the works of JS Bach, in particcular he admired The Well-Tempered Clavier  and it inspired him to write a melody to the Prelude in C major, later adding the words "Ave Maria" and it became a success. in 1859 he wrote Faust for which he is best remembered.

Between 1870 and 1874, Gounod lived in London, becoming conductor the Royal Choral Society. Much of his music at this time was choral.

As he grew older his music became more sacred. He was made a Grand Officer of the Légion d'honneur in 1888 and died of a stroke in 1893.

4th February 2018 Candlemass

When to the Temple Mary Went       Johannes Eccard (1553-1611)

Johannes Eccard was a German composer born in Mühlhausen in what is now Thuringia , Germany.  At the age of 18 he went to Munich as a pupil of Orlando Lasso and it is thought he travelled with Lasso to Paris. In 1574 he was back in Mühlhausen and stayed there for 4 years.  With Joachim a Burck he edited a collection of sacred songs, Crepundia sacra Helmboldi (1577). In 1583 he was appointed assisstant conductor and in 1599 conductor at Konigsberg. In 1608 he was called to Berlin as principal conductor, a post he only held or 3 years due to his death.

Eccard's works are mostly choral compositions for 4 to 9 voices, sacred chorales and cantatas. He is much admired by musicians for the polyphonic structure of his work.

Eccard from Wikipedia

28th January 2018 Epiphany 4

The Lamb      Music John Tavener (1944 - 2013), Words William Blake (1757-1827)

John Tavener from Wikipedia

Tavener was born in Wembley, London.  He was a music scholar at Highgate School, where a fellow scholar was John Rutter. The school choir was often used by the BBC when they needed a boys' choir. He began to compose whilst at school and was also a pianist good enough to perform with the National Youth Orchestra. In 1961 he was organist and choirmaster at St John's Presbyterian church, Kensington, a post he held for 13 years. He went to the Royal Academy of Music in 1962 where he decided to concentrate on composition and gave up the piano.

He came to prominence with his Cantata "The Whale" in 1968. In 1971 he began teaching at Trinity College of Music in London. In 1977 he converted to Russian Orthodox Church.  Orthodox liturgy became a major influence on his composition.  

"The Lamb" written in 1982 for his nephew's third birthday has become a choral classic.  It was composed in a single afternoon for unaccompanied SATB choir, using William Blake's poem.

He was knighted in 2000 for his services to music. John Rutter describes Tavener as having the "very rare gift" of being able to "bring an audience to a deep silence."

William Blake was largely unrecognised during his life, he is now considered to be one of the seminal figures of poetry and art in the Romantic age. He was born in Soho and although his family were English Dissenters, he was baptised.  The Bible  was a profound influence on his work. In 1772 Blake was apprenticed to James Basire, an engraver, for 7 years. At the end of his term aged 21, he became a profession engraver.  He had been taught an outmoded style and it is thought that this tuition held him back from greatness during his lifetime. 

In 1779, Blake began as a student at the Royal Academy where he was somewhat rebellious against Joshua Reynolds.

In 1800, Blake moved to Felpham, illustrating poetry by William Hayley.  He was unhappy in his work and returned to London after 3 years.

William Blake
Wikipedia

Blake was often considered "mad" by his contemporaries for his idiosyncratic views.  The singularity of his work makes him difficult to classify. 

"The Lamb" is from a collection of poems "Songs of Innocence".   It was always intended to be sung, but Blake's melody is lost. It was set to music by Vaughn Williams in his song cycle "Ten Blake Songs"  and later by Sir John Tavener.

Sunday 21st January 2018 Epiphany 3

Ave Verum Corpus   WA Mozart

See 23rd July 2017