Christ Church Cathedral Choir Notes: January 2010

January 31, 2010

From Petrus Comestor's Bible Historiale, Naaman Healed in the Jordan, Koninklijke Bibliotheek, The Hague, 1373

There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian." [NRSV, Luke 4:27].

Christ Church Cathedral Choir Notes
Fourth Sunday after Epiphany

Click to go immediately to:

1) The Music Programme Homepage

2) The Music Calendar for Choral Eucharist and Evensong

3) The Concert Calendar

The Communion motet at choral Eucharist this coming Sunday is Orlande de Lassus, Ave verum corpus. Click to read briefly about Ave verum corpus and access a wide variety of versions.

Joos van Wassenhove, The Institution of the Eucharist, Galleria Nazionale delle Marche, Urbino, 1473-75

Francis Poulenc, Salve Regina, is the Introit for choral evensong this coming Sunday. It is interesting to compare his motet, Salve Regina, with the Salve Regina that the nuns sing as they go to their death by guillotine in Poulenc's Les Dialogues des Carmélites.

For the text, right-click here, then left-click on "Open in New Window."

Click to hear Francis Poulenc, Salve Regina, performed by The Sixteen, Harry Christophers conducting.

Click to go to the Salve Regina, Les Dialogues des Carmélites, performed at Teatro della Scala, Riccardo Muti, conducting; Robert Carsen, directing.

McGill Winter Noon-Hour Organ Recital Series
The Wolff organ of Redpath Hall: 12:30 pm
Admission Free

Friday, Jan 29: Hank Knox
Friday, Feb 5: Han Mi Kang
Friday, Feb 12: Thomas Pousont

2010 is the 200th anniversary of the birth of Samuel Sebastian Wesley (1810-76)

Click to go to Samuel Sebastian Wesley, Blessed be the God and Father, performed by Consortium; Helen Swift, soprano; Gareth Price, organ.

For a performance by the Choir of St. Paul's Cathedral, London; Jeremy Budd, treble; John Scott conducting; Andrew Lucas, organ, right-click here, then left-click on "Open in New Window," then click on "0749 Part III," then hold button and slide to 8:41 (8 minutes and 41 seconds). Click here for text.

Click to go to Felice Anerio, Stabat Mater, performance by the National Youth Choir of Great Britain, Mike Brewer conducting.

Matthias Grünewald, Crucifixion, Öffentliche Kunstsammlung, Basle, c. 1501

Click for Johann Sebastian Bach, Cantata 21, performance by Soprano: Barbara Schlick; Tenor: Guy de Mey; Bass: Klaus Mertens; Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir; Ton Koopman conducting. Recorded at Waalse Kerk, Amsterdam, Holland.

Domenico Feti, Parable of the Lost Drachma, Gemäldegalerie, Dresden, 1618-22

January 24, 2010

Jesus Teaching in the Synagogue in Nazareth, Saint Martin, Zillis, Switzerland, 12th c.

Christ Church Cathedral Choir Notes
Third Sunday after Epiphany

Click to go immediately to:

1) The Music Programme Homepage

2) The Music Calendar for Choral Eucharist and Evensong

3) The Concert Calendar

Johann Sebastian Bach, Awake us, Lord, and hasten, BWV 22 (mvt 5), the closing chorale of Cantata 22, sung in English, in an unusually free translation by Charles Sanford Terry, will be the Introit at choral Eucharist for this coming Sunday.

Click to read the text in Terry's translation and the original German with a more literal translation by Francis Browne, and for access to performances in the original German by the Choir Of King's College, Cambridge; Stephen Cleobury conducting; Benjamin Bayl, organist; and by the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and Choir; Ton Koopman conducting.

Click to go to the entire Johann Sebastian Bach, Cantata 22, performed by Alto: Paul Esswood; Tenor: Kurt Equiluz; Bass: Max van Egmond; Tölzer Knabenchor (Chorus Master: Gerhard Schmidt-Gaden) & Choir Of King's College, Cambridge, (Chorus Master: David Willcocks); Leonhardt-Consort, Gustav Leonhardt conducting.

Christ and the Twelve Apostles, Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, Barcelona, 12th c.

Click to go to the entire Johann Sebastian Bach, Cantata 22, performed by Alto: Elisabeth von Magnus; Tenor: Paul Agnew; Bass: Klaus Mertens; Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir; Ton Koopman conducting.

Unknown, Jesus predicts his death, Evangelicae historiae imagines, 1593

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Sicut Cervus, is the Communion motet at choral Eucharist for the coming Sunday.

Click to read briefly about the motet and to access a variety of performances.

Click to watch the hour-long BBC programme, Sacred Music: Palestrina and the Popes, music by The Sixteen, Harry Christophers conducting.

Click to watch Johann Sebastian Bach, Mass in B Minor, BWV 232, performed by Ruth Ziesak, soprano; Joyce DiDonato, mezzosoprano; Daniel Taylor, countertenor; Paul Agnew, tenor; Dietrich Henschel, bass; the Ensemble Orchestral de Paris in the Cathedral of Notre Dame, Paris; John Nelson conducting.

Albrecht Dürer, Mass, Staatliche Museen, Berlin, 1523

McGill Autumn Noon-Hour Organ Recital Series
The Wolff organ of Redpath Hall
Admission Free

Friday, January 22: Julia Dokter
Friday, January 29: Hank Knox

Friday, February 5: Han Mi Kang
Friday, February 12: Thomas Pousont

Three Hundredth Anniversary of the Birth of Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (1710-36)

Click to go to a performance of Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Salve Regina in A Minor, by Dorothea Röschmann, soprano; David Daniels, countertenor; Europa Galante; Fabio Biondi conducting.

Giovanni Bellini, Virgin and Child (detail), Burrell Collection, Glasgow, 1485-88

January 17, 2010

Juan de Flandes, Marriage Feast at Cana, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1500

Jesus said to them, "Fill the jars with water." And they filled them up to the brim [NRSV, John 2:7].

Christ Church Cathedral Choir Notes
Second Sunday after Epiphany

Click to go immediately to:

1) The Music Programme Homepage

2) The Music Calendar for Choral Eucharist and Evensong

3) The Concert Calendar

The Introit for Choral Eucharist this coming Sunday is Sing my soul by the Pulitzer-Prize winning composer, Ned Rorem. To listen to it performed by the VocalEssence Ensemble, Philip Brunelle directing, click here, then click on "Listen to the performance," then hold the button and slide it to 41:56 (41 minutes and 56 seconds).

Click here to go to an hour and half progamme of Ned Rorem's music on Pipedreams.

McGill Winter Noon-Hour Organ Recital Series
The Wolff organ of Redpath Hall
Admission Free

Friday, January 15: Frederico Andreoni
Friday, January 22: Julia Dokter

Friday, January 29: Hank Knox
Friday, February 5: Han Mi Kang
Friday, February 12: Thomas Pousont

500th Anniverday of the birth of Jacobus Clemens Non Papa (1510-1555)

Click to go to Jacobus Clemens Non Papa, Requiem, performance by the Tudor Consort, Doug Fullington conducting.

Angel with Trumpet, Cluny Museum, Paris

Click to listen to Krzysztof Penderecki, Stabat Mater; Polish Chamber Choir (Schola Cantorum Gedanensis), Jan Łukaszewski conducting.

Master of the Strauss Madonna, Crucifixion, Groeninge Museum, Bruges, c. 1445

Click to go to Johann Sebastian Bach, Meine Seufzer, meine Tränen / My sighs, my tears, Cantata 13, performance by Boy Soprano: Walter Gampert (Soloist of the Tölzer Knabenchor); Alto: Paul Esswood; Tenor: Kurt Equiluz; Bass: Max van Egmond; Tölzer Knabenchor (Chorus Master: Gerhard Schmidt-Gaden) & King's College Choir Cambridge (Chorus Master: David Willcocks) / Leonhardt-Consort; Gustav Leonhardt conducting.

January 10, 2010

Herod and the Three Magi, Canterbury Cathedral, c. 1180

Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared [Matthew 2:7].

Christ Church Cathedral Choir Notes
The Epiphany of the Lord

Click to go immediately to:

1) The Music Programme Homepage

2) The Music Calendar for Choral Eucharist and Evensong

3) The Concert Calendar

All four organ voluntaries for the Epiphany find their inspiration in the chorale, Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern / How brightly shines the Morning Star, by Philipp Nicolai. Click for a wide variety of music that this chorale has inspired.

Rogier van der Weyden, The Advent of Christ, Bladelin Triptych, Staatliche Museen, Berlin, 1445-50

Pipedreams has two programs dedicated to Epiphany Music. Click to hear either of them: 2006 - 2007.

1692 Arp Schnitger organ at the Martinikerk, Groningen, The Netherlands

Celebrate Epiphany by listening to Gian Carlo Menotti, Amahl and the Night Visitors.

Click to listen on YouTube to the entire original 1951 NBC-TV production, Thomas Schippers conducting (digitally remastered).

Hieronymus Bosch, The Adoration of the Magi, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New york, c. 1500

Performance by the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, Alastair Willis conducting. [NML] (info)

Click for the script.

Click for a video performance by the Milwaukee Opera Theater.

Click for the possibility to borrow the 1955 NBC-TV production on DVD from la Bibliothèque nationale du Québec. Click for a scene (Don't cry mother dear) on YouTube.

Click to hear Johann Sebastian Bach, Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern / How brightly shines the morning star, Cantata 1, performed by Soprano: Deborah York; Tenor: Paul Agnew; Bass: Klaus Mertens; Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir; Ton Koopman conducting. Recorded at Waalse Kerk, Amsterdam, Holland.

Sassetta, Star from Journey of the Magi, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1435

Jacques Daret, The Adoration of the Magi, Staatliche Museen, Berlin, 1433-35

Anyone with online access to the Naxos Music Library, in particular cardholders of la Bibliothèque nationale du Québec and members of "Beethoven on Demand" (info ), may listen online to seven different versions of Johann Sebastian Bach, Christmas Oratorio.

Click here for the Sixth Day of Christmas (Epiphany).

McGill Autumn Noon-Hour Organ Recital Series
The Wolff organ of Redpath Hall
Fridays at 12:30 pm, January 15 to February 12, 2010
Admission Free

January 3, 2010

Giovanni Belini, Madonna Adoring the Sleeping Child, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1640s

Christ Church Cathedral Choir Notes
Second Sunday after Christmas Day

Click to go immediately to:

1) The Music Programme Homepage

2) The Music Calendar for Choral Eucharist and Evensong

3) The Concert Calendar

Morten Lauridesen, O magnum mysterium, sung by the Brussels Chamber Choir (2008), Helen Cassano conducting.

This past Sunday, the choir sang Tomás Luis de Victoria, O magnum mysterium. This coming Sunday there will be a version by Morten Lauridsen. Click to go the text, translation and access to numerous versions by different composers.

Hans Baldung Grien, Birth of Jesus, Alte Pinakothek, Munich, 1520

Click to go to a performance of Hector Berlioz, L'Enfance du Christ, by the Lille National Orchestra, Jean-Claude Casadesus conducting.

Bartolomé Carducho, The Flight into Egypt, Art Institute, Chicago, c.1485

Giovanni Bellini (workshop), The Circumcision, National Gallery, London, c. 1500

Anyone with online access to the Naxos Music Library, in particular cardholders of la Bibliothèque nationale du Québec and members of "Beethoven on Demand" (info ), may listen online to seven different versions of Johann Sebastian Bach, Christmas Oratorio.

Click here for the Fourth Day of Christmas (New Year's Day).

Click here for the Fifth Day of Christmas (Sunday after New Year).

Click here for the Sixth Day of Christmas (Epiphany).