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In Exile (Sumsion)
''In Exile'' is a motet by Herbert Sumsion, who was for decades organist at Gloucester Cathedral. He set in 1981 a biblical text from Psalm 137 in English, beginning "By the waters of Babylon", scored for double choir a cappella. The motet was published by Basil Ramsey. History and text Sumsion set in 1981 a translation of part of Psalm 137, expressing the distress of the Israelites in exile and captivity in Babylon after the destruction of the Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem. Sumsion selected for his composition. It was premiered as part of he Three Choirs Festival that year by the Donald Hunt Singers at the Gloucester Cathedral. Music Sumsion knew Gloucester Cathedral's acoustics very well, as he was a chorister there from age nine, and then a pupil of Herbert Brewer, and cathedral organist from 1928 to 1967. He wrote the motet for a double choir, both SATB. It is written in B-flat minor, B minor, beginning in 3/4 time, time, marked ''Andante (tempo), Andante''. Coro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Herbert Sumsion
Herbert Whitton Sumsion (14 January 1899 – 11 August 1995) was an English musician who was organist of Gloucester Cathedral from 1928 to 1967. Through his leadership role with the Three Choirs Festival, Sumsion maintained close associations with major figures in England's 20th-century musical renaissance, including Edward Elgar, Herbert Howells, Gerald Finzi, and Ralph Vaughan Williams. Although Sumsion is known primarily as a cathedral musician, his professional career spanned more than 60 years and encompassed composing, conducting, performing, accompanying, and teaching. His compositions include works for choir and organ, as well as lesser-known chamber and orchestral works. Biography Training and early career Sumsion was born in Gloucester, a cathedral city on the River Severn. In 1908, at the age of nine, Sumsion became a probationer in the cathedral choir in Gloucester, which was then under the direction of Herbert Brewer. After two years Sumsion became a full ch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Homophony
In music, homophony (;, Greek: ὁμόφωνος, ''homóphōnos'', from ὁμός, ''homós'', "same" and φωνή, ''phōnē'', "sound, tone") is a texture in which a primary part is supported by one or more additional strands that flesh out the harmony. One melody predominates while the other parts play either single notes or an elaborate accompaniment. This differentiation of roles contrasts with equal-voice polyphony (in which similar lines move with rhythmic and melodic independence to form an even texture) and monophony (in which all parts move in unison or octaves). Historically, homophony and its differentiated roles for parts emerged in tandem with tonality, which gave distinct harmonic functions to the soprano, bass and inner voices. A homophonic texture may be homorhythmic, which means that all parts have the same rhythm. Chorale texture is another variant of homophony. The most common type of homophony is melody-dominated homophony, in which one voice, often the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Choral Compositions
A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which spans from the medieval era to the present, or popular music repertoire. Most choirs are led by a conductor, who leads the performances with arm, hand, and facial gestures. The term ''choir'' is very often applied to groups affiliated with a church (whether or not they actually occupy the quire), whereas a ''chorus'' performs in theatres or concert halls, but this distinction is not rigid. Choirs may sing without instruments, or accompanied by a piano, pipe organ, a small ensemble, or an orchestra. A choir can be a subset of an ensemble; thus one speaks of the "woodwind choir" of an orchestra, or different "choirs" of voices or instruments in a polychoral composition. In typical 18th century to 21st century oratorios and masses, 'chorus' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hyperion Records
Hyperion Records is an independent British classical record label. History Hyperion is an independent British classical label that was established in 1980 with the goal of showcasing recordings of music in all genres and from all time periods, from the twelfth century to the twenty-first. The company was named after Hyperion, one of the Titans of Greek mythology. It was founded by George Edward Perry, widely known as "Ted". Early LP releases included rarely recorded 20th century British music by composers such as Robin Milford, Alan Bush and Michael Berkeley. The success of the venture was sealed with a critically acclaimed and popular disc of music by Hildegard of Bingen, ''A Feather on the Breath of God'' (1985), directed by the medievalist Christopher Page and his group Gothic Voices. The current director of Hyperion Records is Simon Perry, son of Ted Perry. Recognition Hyperion became renowned for recording lesser-known works, particularly reviving Romantic piano con ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the database was first made available on the Internet in 1994. AllMusic is owned by RhythmOne. History AllMusic was launched as ''All Music Guide'' by Michael Erlewine, a "compulsive archivist, noted astrologer, Buddhist scholar and musician". He became interested in using computers for his astrological work in the mid-1970s and founded a software company, Matrix, in 1977. In the early 1990s, as CDs replaced LPs as the dominant format for recorded music, Erlewine purchased what he thought was a CD of early recordings by Little Richard. After buying it he discovered it was a "flaccid latter-day rehash". Frustrated with the labeling, he researched using metadata to create a music guide. In 1990, in Big Rapids, Michigan, he founded ''All Music Guide' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boydell & Brewer
Boydell & Brewer is an academic press based in Woodbridge, Suffolk, England, that specializes in publishing historical and critical works. In addition to British and general history, the company publishes three series devoted to studies, editions, and translations of material related to the Arthurian legend. There are also series that publish studies in medieval German and French literature, Spanish theatre, early English texts, in other subjects. Depending on the subject, its books are assigned to one of several imprints in Woodbridge, Cambridge (UK), or Rochester, New York, location of its principal North American office. Imprints include Boydell & Brewer, D.S. Brewer, Camden House, the Hispanic series Tamesis Books ("Tamesis" is the Latin version of the River Thames, which flows through London), the University of Rochester Press, James Currey, and York Medieval Press. The company was co-founded by historians Richard Barber and Derek Brewer in 1978, merging the two companies B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mass In G Minor (Vaughan Williams)
The Mass in G minor is a choral work by Ralph Vaughan Williams written in 1921. It is the first Mass written in a distinctly English manner since the sixteenth century. The composer dedicated the piece to Gustav Holst and the Whitsuntide Singers at Thaxted in north Essex, but it was first performed by the City of Birmingham Choir on 6 December 1922. Though the first performance was in a concert venue Vaughan Williams intended the Mass to be used in a liturgical setting. R.R Terry directed its first liturgical performance at Westminster Cathedral. It is written for unaccompanied double choir and four soloists, and divided into five movements: # Kyrie # Gloria in excelsis # Credo # Sanctus Osanna I - Benedictus - Osanna II # Agnus Dei The work has been described as spirituality reminiscent of William Byrd and his contemporaries, and might be thought of as a vocal equivalent to the '' Tallis Fantasia'', with its double choir and four soloists mirroring the Fantasia's double st ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Magnificat And Nunc Dimittis For St Paul's Cathedral
The and for St Paul's Cathedral, also known as the ''St Paul's Service'', is a setting by the English composer Herbert Howells of the and for the Anglican service of Evensong. Scored for four-part choir and organ, it was written in 1950 for St Paul's Cathedral in London. History and text The (Song of Mary) and the (Song of Simeon) are biblical canticles. Mary sings the Magnificat ("My soul doth magnify the Lord") on the occasion of her visit to Elizabeth, as narrated in the Gospel of Luke (). Simeon sings the Nunc dimittis ("Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace") when Jesus is presented in the temple (). The canticles are part of the daily service of Evening Prayer in the Anglican church and have been set to music frequently. Howells set the combination of Magnificat and Nunc dimittis 20 times, taking the words from the ''Book of Common Prayer''. The ''St Paul's Service'' is scored for a four-part choir and organ. He finished it at his home in Barnes, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Worcester Cathedral
Worcester Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Worcester, in Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ..., England, situated on a bank overlooking the River Severn. It is the seat of the Bishop of Worcester. Its official name is the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Mary the Virgin, of Worcester. The present cathedral church was built between 1084 and 1504, and represents every style of English architecture from Norman architecture, Norman to Perpendicular Gothic. It is famous for its Norman crypt and unique chapter house, its unusual Transitional Gothic bays, its fine woodwork, and its "exquisite" central tower, which is of particularly fine proportions.Tim Tatton-Brown and John Crook, ''The English Cathedral'' The cathedral contains the tombs of John ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edward Elgar
Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestral works including the ''Enigma Variations'', the ''Pomp and Circumstance Marches'', concertos for Violin Concerto (Elgar), violin and Cello Concerto (Elgar), cello, and two symphony, symphonies. He also composed choral works, including ''The Dream of Gerontius'', chamber music and songs. He was appointed Master of the King's Musick in 1924. Although Elgar is often regarded as a typically English composer, most of his musical influences were not from England but from continental Europe. He felt himself to be an outsider, not only musically, but socially. In musical circles dominated by academics, he was a self-taught composer; in Protestant Britain, his Roman Catholicism was regarded with suspicion in some quarters; and in the class-consci ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gerald Finzi
Gerald Raphael Finzi (14 July 1901 – 27 September 1956) was a British composer. Finzi is best known as a choral composer, but also wrote in other genres. Large-scale compositions by Finzi include the cantata '' Dies natalis'' for solo voice and string orchestra, and his concertos for cello and clarinet. Life Gerald Finzi was born in London, the son of John Abraham (Jack) Finzi and Eliza Emma (Lizzie) Leverson. Finzi became one of the most characteristically "English" composers of his generation. Despite his being an agnostic of Jewish descent, several of his choral works incorporate Christian texts. Finzi's father, a successful shipbroker, died a fortnight short of his son's eighth birthday. Finzi was educated privately. During World War I the family settled in Harrogate, and Finzi began to study music at Christ Church, High Harrogate, under Ernest Farrar from 1915.McVeagh, p. 9 Farrar, a former pupil of Stanford, was then aged thirty and he described Finzi as "very shy, but f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Herbert Howells
Herbert Norman Howells (17 October 1892 – 23 February 1983) was an English composer, organist, and teacher, most famous for his large output of Anglican church music. Life Background and early education Howells was born in Lydney, Gloucestershire, the youngest of the six children of Oliver Howells, a plumber, painter, decorator and builder, and his wife Elizabeth. His father played the organ at the local Baptist church, and Herbert himself showed early musical promise, first deputising for his father, and then moving at the age of eleven to the local Church of England parish church as choirboy and unofficial deputy organist. The Howells family's risky financial situation came to a head when Oliver filed for bankruptcy in September 1904, when Herbert was nearly 12. This was a deep humiliation in a small community at the time and one from which Howells never fully recovered. Financially assisted by a member of the family of Charles Bathurst, 1st Viscount Bledisloe, who had ta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
