''Three Latin Motets'',
Op. 38, is a collection of three sacred
motet
In Western classical music, a motet is mainly a vocal musical composition, of highly diverse form and style, from high medieval music to the present. The motet was one of the pre-eminent polyphonic forms of Renaissance music. According to Margar ...
s based on
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
texts for mixed unaccompanied choir by
Charles Villiers Stanford
Sir Charles Villiers Stanford (30 September 1852 – 29 March 1924) was an Anglo-Irish composer, music teacher, and conductor of the late Romantic music, Romantic era. Born to a well-off and highly musical family in Dublin, Stanford was ed ...
, comprising ''Justorum animae'', ''Coelos ascendit hodie'' and ''Beati quorum via''. The texts come from different sources, and the scoring is for four to eight parts. They were published by
Boosey & Co in 1905. The works, some of Stanford's few settings of church music in Latin, have remained in the choral repertoire internationally and are performed in liturgies and concert.
History
Stanford may have composed the three motets at the end of the 19th century, possibly when he was a teacher at the
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...
in London.
John Bawden assumes that he wrote the works even earlier, in 1892, when he left his position as the organist of
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...
, dedicating them to
Alan Gray
Alan Gray (23 December 1855 – 27 September 1935) was an English organist and composer.
Life and career
Gray was born in into a well-known York family (the Grays of Grays Court). His father William Gray was a solicitor and (in 1844) Lord ...
, his successor, and the college choir.
Stanford's biographer
Jeremy Dibble Jeremy Dibble is a British musicologist. He is (at 2021) a professor of musicology at Durham University. He works in the university's department of music having been appointed as a lecturer there in 1993. Before this he was a lecturer at University ...
noted performances of the first motet at the chapel of Trinity College during
Evensong
Evensong is a church service traditionally held near sunset focused on singing psalms and other biblical canticles. In origin, it is identical to the canonical hour of vespers. Old English speakers translated the Latin word as , which became ...
on 24 February 1888 and 24 February 1892, and of the last one likely there on 1 February 1890, and therefore deduced that they were written around 1887/88.
In a letter dated 18 November 1888, Stanford wrote to the publisher
Novello of his interest in setting
introit
The Introit (from Latin: ''introitus'', "entrance") is part of the opening of the liturgical celebration of the Eucharist for many Christian denominations. In its most complete version, it consists of an antiphon, psalm verse and ''Gloria Patri'', ...
s from the
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
missal
A missal is a liturgical book containing instructions and texts necessary for the celebration of Mass throughout the liturgical year. Versions differ across liturgical tradition, period, and purpose, with some missals intended to enable a pries ...
, which he felt were "admirably suitable and always lyrical (not didactic) in character".
In 1891, he wrote to the publisher requesting the return of the scores that were not published, because he wanted to reuse them. These pieces were probably the subsequently published motets, because other than these, Stanford wrote music for the
Anglican Church
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...
in English.
Stanford did not set introits but rather Latin texts of different origin. His
autographs
An autograph is a person's own handwriting or signature. The word ''autograph'' comes from Ancient Greek (, ''autós'', "self" and , ''gráphō'', "write"), and can mean more specifically:Philip Babcock Gove, Gove, Philip B. (ed.), 1981. ''Webst ...
are lost.
The pieces were published as
motet
In Western classical music, a motet is mainly a vocal musical composition, of highly diverse form and style, from high medieval music to the present. The motet was one of the pre-eminent polyphonic forms of Renaissance music. According to Margar ...
s in 1905 by
Boosey & Co, which made them suitable for both Catholic and Anglican usage.
''Three Latin Motets''
comprised ''Justorum animae'', ''Coelos ascendit hodie'' and ''Beati quorum via''.
The motets became a staple of Anglican church music, frequently performed and recorded, both as a set and individually.
Motet descriptions
The three
a cappella
''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...
motets are all based on Latin texts, but with different background, scoring and character:
# ''Justorum animae'' (The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God)
for four-part choir
SATB
SATB is an initialism that describes the scoring of compositions for choirs, and also choirs (or consorts) of instruments. The initials are for the voice types: S for soprano, A for alto, T for tenor and B for bass.
Choral music
Four-part harm ...
# ''Coelos ascendit hodie'' (Today, Jesus Christ has ascended into the heavens)
for two four-part choirs
# ''Beati quorum via'' (Blessed are those that are undefiled)
for six-part choir SSATBB
''Justorum animae''
In ''Justorum animae'', Stanford set verses from the beginning of chapter 3 of the
Book of Wisdom
The Book of Wisdom, or the Wisdom of Solomon, is a Jewish work written in Greek and most likely composed in Alexandria, Egypt. Generally dated to the mid-first century BCE, the central theme of the work is "wisdom" itself, appearing under two p ...
, "Justorum animae in manu Dei sunt, et non tanget eos tormentum malitiae. Vissi sunt oculis insipientium, illi autem sunt in pace" (But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and there shall no torment touch them. In the sight of the unwise they seemed to die, but they are in peace).
In the Catholic missal, it is an
offertory
The offertory (from Medieval Latin ''offertorium'' and Late Latin ''offerre'') is the part of a Eucharistic service when the bread and wine for use in the service are ceremonially placed on the altar.
A collection of alms (offerings) from the c ...
hymn on
All Souls' Day
All Souls' Day, also called ''The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed'', is a day of prayer and remembrance for the faithful departed, observed by certain Christian denominations on 2 November. Through prayer, intercessions, alms and ...
.
Brahms
Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped with ...
, whom Stanford admired, used the same passage for the
fugue
In music, a fugue () is a contrapuntal compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject (a musical theme) that is introduced at the beginning in imitation (repetition at different pitches) and which recurs frequently in the c ...
ending the third movement of ''Ein deutsches Requiem''.
Stanford composed the text for a mixed unaccompanied four-part choir,
SATB
SATB is an initialism that describes the scoring of compositions for choirs, and also choirs (or consorts) of instruments. The initials are for the voice types: S for soprano, A for alto, T for tenor and B for bass.
Choral music
Four-part harm ...
.
The piece is in
G major
G major (or the key of G) is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative minor is E minor and its parallel minor is G minor.
The G major scale is:
Notable compositi ...
and
common time
The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...
, marked ''Andante moderato''.
Its outer sections consider the souls, in peace in God's hand, while a contrasting middle section reflects the torment mentioned. The reprise adds sustained notes to the first
theme
Theme or themes may refer to:
* Theme (arts), the unifying subject or idea of the type of visual work
* Theme (Byzantine district), an administrative district in the Byzantine Empire governed by a Strategos
* Theme (computing), a custom graphical ...
.
''Coelos ascendit hodie''
In ''Coelos ascendit hodie'', Stanford set an
Ascension hymn which is well known in German as "Gen Himmel aufgefahren ist" from the 14th century.
Stanford composed the text for a two mixed unaccompanied four-part choirs, both
SATB
SATB is an initialism that describes the scoring of compositions for choirs, and also choirs (or consorts) of instruments. The initials are for the voice types: S for soprano, A for alto, T for tenor and B for bass.
Choral music
Four-part harm ...
.
The piece is in
A major
A major (or the key of A) is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has three sharps. Its relative minor is F-sharp minor and its parallel minor is A minor. The key of A major is the only k ...
and
common time
The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...
, marked ''Allegro''.
Stanford wrote an
antiphon
An antiphon (Greek ἀντίφωνον, ἀντί "opposite" and φωνή "voice") is a short chant in Christian ritual, sung as a refrain. The texts of antiphons are the Psalms. Their form was favored by St Ambrose and they feature prominently ...
al setting, with choir II interrupting choir I by inserted Alleluja calls to the first line, with switched positions for the second line. The piece has a strong rhythmic element, and closes with both choirs united on "Amen".
''Beati quorum via''
Stanford set a paraphrase of the first verse of
Psalm 119
Psalm 119 is the 119th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in the English of the King James Version: "Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord". The Book of Psalms is in the third section of the Hebrew Bible, the ' ...
in Latin, "Beati quorum via integra est, qui ambulant in lege Domini" (Happy are they that are upright in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD).
He composed the text for a mixed unaccompanied six-part choir,
SSATBB.
The piece is in
A-flat major
A-flat major (or the key of A-flat) is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has four flats.
The A-flat major scale is:
:
Its relative minor is F minor. Its parallel minor, A-flat minor, ...
and 3/4 time, marked ''Con moto tranqillo ma no troppo lento'' (In calm movement but not too slow).
The three upper voices begin, imitated by the three lower voices. For the second part of the text, the lower voices begin with different material.
Dibble noted that the piece is reminiscent of the
sonata form
Sonata form (also ''sonata-allegro form'' or ''first movement form'') is a musical form, musical structure generally consisting of three main sections: an exposition, a development, and a recapitulation. It has been used widely since the middle ...
, with these two
themes, which are then combined.
He called the motet a "pastoral prayer", and it was also described as "meditative in character".
R. J. Stove wrote in his review of Paul Rodmell's Stanford biography: "his finest unaccompanied motets, such as Beati quorum via, attain neo-Brucknerian sublimity", comparing Stanford's work to that of
Hubert Parry
Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, 1st Baronet (27 February 18487 October 1918) was an English composer, teacher and historian of music. Born in Richmond Hill in Bournemouth, Parry's first major works appeared in 1880. As a composer he is b ...
and
Anton Bruckner
Josef Anton Bruckner (; 4 September 182411 October 1896) was an Austrian composer, organist, and music theorist best known for his symphonies, masses, Te Deum and motets. The first are considered emblematic of the final stage of Austro-Germ ...
.
Recordings
The three motets were recorded in 2012 by the
Winchester Cathedral Choir
Winchester Cathedral Choir is an internationally recognized professional choir based at Winchester Cathedral at Winchester in Hampshire. The choir currently consists of 18 boy choristers and 12 lay clerks and sings eight services weekly in the Cath ...
, conducted by
David Hill, in a collection of Stanford's sacred choral music. They appeared, sung by the
Trinity College Choir Cambridge conducted by
Stephen Layton
Stephen David Layton (born 23 December 1966) is an English conductor.
Biography
Layton was raised in Derby, where his father was a church organist. He was a chorister at Winchester Cathedral, and subsequently won scholarships to Eton College a ...
, on a 2017 collection of choral music by Stanford.
Legacy
Of Stanford's works, his church music, and particularly the ''Three Latin Motets'', continues to be frequently performed and recorded, while his music in other genres, such as opera and orchestral music, is rarely performed.
The Stanford Society presents a recording of ''Beati'' by
Voces8
Voces8, styled VOCES8, is an a cappella octet from England. They have appeared internationally and made recordings of classical music, jazz, pop, and their own arrangements. Recent recordings are for Decca Classics and under their own label, Voc ...
on its web page.
References
External links
*
*
*
*
*
{{italic title
Compositions by Charles Villiers Stanford
Choral compositions
Psalm settings
Compositions in G major
Compositions in A major
Compositions in A-flat major