''Sancta Civitas'' (The Holy City) is an

oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is mus ...

Ralph Vaughan Williams Ralph Vaughan Williams, (; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...

. Written between 1923 and 1925, it was his first major work since the Mass in G minor two years previously. Vaughan Williams began working on the piece from a rented furnished house in the village of

Danbury, Essex Danbury is a village in the City of Chelmsford district, in the county of Essex, England. It is located northeast of Charing Cross, London and has a population of 6,500. It is situated on a hill above sea level. The city of Danbury, Connectic ...

, found for him by his former pupil,

Cecil Armstrong Gibbs Cecil Armstrong Gibbs (10 August 1889 – 12 May 1960) was a prolific and versatile English composer. Though best known for his choral music and, in particular, songs, Gibbs also devoted much of his career to the amateur choral and festival mov ...

. The work received its first performance in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

in May 1926, during the

General Strike A general strike refers to a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large co ...

. Although its title is in Latin, the libretto is entirely in English, based upon texts from

Revelation In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with a deity or other supernatural entity or entities. Background Inspiration – such as that bestowed by God on the ...

. The text is drawn from several translations, including

Taverner's Bible Taverner's Bible, more correctly called ''The Most Sacred Bible is the holy scripture, the old and new testament, translated into English, and newly recognized with great diligence after most exemplars by Rychard Taverner'', is a minor revision ...

. Late in life, Vaughan Williams called ''Sancta'' the favourite of his choral works. Michael Kennedy described it as "in the form of a homage to Bach from the twentieth century".Kennedy, Michael. ''The Works of Ralph Vaughan Williams'' (1964), p.216

Orchestration

''Sancta Civitas'' is scored for a full orchestra, with optional organ, as well as a mixed chorus, a semi-chorus, a "distant chorus" of boys (accompanied by an offstage trumpet), a baritone solo, and a tenor solo.

Structure

The work lasts approximately 30 to 35 minutes. Although ''Sancta Civitas'' is presented in the score as a single continuous piece, recordings typically divide it into 10 sections as follows: # I was in the spirit (Lento) # And I saw Heaven opened (Allegro) # And I saw an angel standing in the sun (Meno mosso) # Babylon the great is fallen (Lento) # Rejoice over her O Heavens (Allegro moderato) # And I saw a new heaven (Adagio) # Therefore are they before the throne of God (Poco meno largo) # And I saw a pure river # Holy, Holy, Holy (Andante sostenuto) # Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory (Poco animato)

Vocal score

The piano reduction of the orchestral parts used in the first vocal score was prepared by fellow composer

Havergal Brian Havergal Brian (born William Brian; 29 January 187628 November 1972) was an English composer. He is best known for having composed 32 symphonies (an unusually high total for a 20th-century composer), most of them late in his life. His best-know ...

. That score is now superseded by the revised and corrected edition issued by

Faber Music Faber Music is a British sheet music publisher best known for contemporary classical music. It also publishes music tutor books, and in 2005 acquired popular music publisher International Music Publications. Faber Music has close relations to th ...

in 2014.

Recordings

Sir David Willcocks Sir David Valentine Willcocks, (30 December 1919 – 17 September 2015) was a British choral conductor, organist, composer and music administrator. He was particularly well known for his association with the Choir of King's College, Cambrid ...

, conductor-

John Shirley-Quirk John Stanton Shirley-Quirk CBE (28 August 19317 April 2014) was an English bass-baritone. A member of the English Opera Group during 1964–76, he gave premiere performances of several operatic and vocal works by Benjamin Britten, recording these ...

, baritone;

Ian Partridge Ian Partridge (born 12 June 1938) is a retired English lyric tenor, whose repertoire ranged from Monteverdi, Bach and Handel, the Elizabethan lute songs, German, French and English songs, through to Schoenberg, Weill and Britten, and on to cont ...

, tenor; with

Bach Choir The Bach Choir is a large independent musical organisation founded in London, England in 1876 to give the first performance of J. S. Bach's ''Mass in B minor'' in Britain. The choir has around 240 active members. Directed by David Hill MBE ( Yal ...

and

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

. *

Richard Hickox Richard Sidney Hickox (5 March 1948 – 23 November 2008) was an English conductor of choral, orchestral and operatic music. Early life Hickox was born in Stokenchurch in Buckinghamshire into a musical family. After attending the Royal Gram ...

, conductor-

Bryn Terfel Sir Bryn Terfel Jones, (; born 9 November 1965) (known professionally as Bryn Terfel) is a Welsh bass-baritone opera and concert singer. Terfel was initially associated with the roles of Mozart, particularly '' Figaro'', ''Leporello'' and ''D ...

, baritone;

Philip Langridge Philip Gordon Langridge (16 December 1939 – 5 March 2010)Millington (7 March 2010) was an English tenor, considered to be among the foremost exponents of English opera and oratorio. Early life Langridge was born in Hawkhurst, Kent, educ ...

, tenor; with

London Symphony Chorus The London Symphony Chorus (abbreviated to LSC) is a large symphonic concert choir based in London, UK, consisting of over 150 amateur singers, and is one of the major symphony choruses of the United Kingdom. It was formed in 1966 as the ''L ...

and

. * David Hill;

Andrew Staples Andrew Staples (born 19 August 1979) is an English operatic tenor. Education and training Staples started as a chorister at St Paul's Cathedral and was accepted at Eton College under a musical scholarship. Career With The Royal Opera, Staples ...

, Matthew Brook.

Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an English orchestra, founded in 1893 and originally based in Bournemouth. With a remit to serve the South and South West of England, the BSO is administratively based in the adjacent town of Poole, s ...

, Winchester Cathedral Choristers;

Naxos Naxos (; el, Νάξος, ) is a Greek island and the largest of the Cyclades. It was the centre of archaic Cycladic culture. The island is famous as a source of emery, a rock rich in corundum, which until modern times was one of the best abr ...

Catalogue No. 8.572424:cond. Released Mar 29, 2010. c/w ''

Dona nobis pacem Dona nobis pacem (Latin for "Grant us peace") is a phrase in the Agnus Dei section of the mass (liturgy), mass. The phrase, in isolation, has been appropriated for a number of musical works, which include: Classical music * "Dona nobis pacem (ro ...

References

External links

* Oratorios Compositions by Ralph Vaughan Williams 1925 compositions {{classical-composition-stub