October 5, 2014

Hezekiah, Sankta Maria Kyrka, Åhus, Sweden, 17th cent..jpg

Hezekiah, Sankta Maria Kyrka, Åhus, Sweden, 17th cent.


Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, ‘Hear the word of the Lord: Days are coming when all that is in your house, and that which your ancestors have stored up until this day, shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left, says the Lord [NRSV, 2 Kings 20:16-17]


Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost
October 5, 2014
Click to go immediately to:







_______________

Casavant Organ - Notre Dame Basilica - Montreal.jpg

Casavant Organ - Notre Dame Basilica - Montreal


The Canadian International Organ Competition, held in Montreal every three years, runs from October 7 to 19, 2014.  Competition will be held at three church organs: the 1961 Beckerath organ of the Church of the Immaculate Conception, the 1915/1996 Casavant organ, Opus 615, of the Church of Saint John the Baptist and the 1891/2002 Casavant organ, Opus 26/1034, of Notre-Dame Basilica.


Click here for complete information here.


_______________


The Christ Church Cathedral Choirs annual fundraising concert this year on Friday, November 7, 2014, will feature the music of John Taverner (1490-1545 ) and Sir John Tavener (1944-2013).


Sir John Tavener, The Lamb, will also be performed as the Introit for Choral Evensong this coming Sunday.


The_Lamb_1826.jpg


Little Lamb, who made thee?
Dost thou know who made thee?
Gave thee life, and bid thee feed
By the stream and o’er the mead;
Gave thee clothing of delight,
Softest clothing, wooly, birght;
Gave thee such a tender voice,
Making all the vales rejoice?
Little Lamb, who made thee?
Little Lamb, I’ll tell thee,
Little Lamb, I’ll tell thee;
He is called by thy name,
For he calls himself a Lamb.
He is meek, and he is mild,
He became a little child.
I, a child, and thou, a Lamb
We are called by his name.
Little, Lamb, God bless thee.
                    William Blake (1757-1827)

"The Lamb" is a poem by William Blake, published in Songs of Innocence in 1789."The Lamb" is the companion poem to Blake's poem: "The Tyger" in Songs of Experience. Blake wrote Songs of Innocence as a contrary to the Songs of Experience – a central tenet in his philosophy and a central theme in his work.  Like many of Blake's works, the poem is about Christianity. The lamb is a common metaphor for Jesus Christ, who is also called "The Lamb of God" in John 1:29.
This poem has a simple rhyme scheme : AA BB CC DD AA AA EF GG FE AA. The layout is set up by two stanzas with the refrain: "Little Lamb who made thee?/Dost thou know who made thee?". In the first stanza, the speaker asks the lamb who his creator is; the answer lies at the end of the poem. Here we find a physical description of the lamb, seen as a pure and gentle creature. In the second stanza, the lamb is compared with the infant Jesus, as well as between the lamb and the speaker's soul. In the last two lines the speaker identifies the creator: God.
Like the other Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience, The Lamb was intended to be sung; William Blake's original melody is now lost. It was made into a song by Vaughan Williams, although he described it as "that horrible little lamb - a poem that I hate". It was also set to music by Sir John Tavener, who explained, "The Lamb came to me fully grown and was written in an afternoon and dedicated to my nephew Simon for his 3rd birthday." American poet Allen Ginsberg set the poem to music, along with several other of Blake's poems, in the 1970s. (Wikipedia)


Ralph Vaughan Williams, The Lamb, performed by Bryan Pinkall, tenor; Kelley Tracz, oboe [YouTube]
John Tavener, The Lamb, performed by the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge [YouTube]
Allen Ginsberg, The Lamb, from Holy Soul Jelly Roll, Vol.3 Ah! [Grooveshark]
_______________

Francisco Guerrero



The Mass setting and both motets for this coming Sunday at 12h45 are the work of Francisco Guerrero.


Various selections:


Sanctíssima María [text]
L’Escolania del Escorial, Javier M. Carmena conducting [YouTube] (Followed by Pan Divino at 2:03)


Pan divino [text]
Música Ficta - Ensemble Fontegara, Raúl Mallavibarrena conducting [YouTube].
L’Escolania del Escorial, Javier M. Carmena conducting [YouTube] (Begins at 2:03 after Sanctissima Maria)
Agrupaciones Corales "Provincia de Valladolid" [listen]


Missa Surge Propera
The Tallis Scholars, Peter Phillips conducting [CML] (info)


Missa de la Batalla Escoutez
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers conducting [CML] (info)


Ave Maria [text]
Hesperion XXI, La Capella Reial de Catalunya, Jordi Savall conducting [YouTube]


Ave Virgo Sanctissima [text]
An interesting feature with this great motet: The 2 soprano parts are in strict canon throughout, the second exactly echoing the first at four bars distance.
The Cambridge Singers, John Rutter conducting. [YouTube]
The Seasons of Angels, Anne Taylor [Grooveshark]


Duo seraphim [text]
La Capella Reial de Catalunya - Hespérion XX - Jordi Savall conducting. [YouTube]


O Domine Jesu Christe [text],
Musica Sonora, Joel Schwindt conducting [YouTube]
Brisbane Chamber Choir, Graeme Morton conducting [YouTube]


In exitu Israel [text]
The Westminster Cathedral Choir, James O’Donnell conducting [listen]
________________

Charles Tournemire, L'orgue mystique: Cycle after Pentecost, Op. 56, No. 44.


 



Mass of the 17th Sunday after Pentecost


Prelude for the Introit [YouTube]
Offertory  [YouTube]
Elevation [YouTube]
Communion [YouTube]
Alleluiatic Choral No. 2  [YouTube]
Click for the entire performance of L'Orgue mystique byGeorges Delvallée.
 
_______________


Click to go to Bach Cantatas for Online Listening.


Giovanni Battista Naldini, Raising of the Son of the Widow of Naim, J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, 1570-80
 
Bach Cantatas for the Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity:
Click to go to Johann Sebastian Bach, Liebster Gott, wenn werd ich sterben? Dearest God, when shall I die?, Cantata 8, with performances by Gardiner, Herreweghe, Leonhardt, Leusink, Rifkin, Rilling and Thomas.


Click to go to Johann Sebastian Bach, Wer weiß, wie nahe mirmein Ende? / Who knows how near my end is to me?, Cantata 27, with performances by Gardiner, Harnoncourt, Koopman, Kuijken, Leusink, Richter and  Rilling.


Click to go to Johann Sebastian Bach, Christus, der ist mein Leben / Christ is my life, Cantata 95, with performances by Gardiner, Harnoncourt, Leusink, Rilling and Suzuki.

Click to go to Johann Sebastian Bach, Komm, du süße Todesstunde / Come, sweet hour of death, Cantata 161, with performances by Gardiner, Harnoncourt, Koopman, Leusink, Linde, Rilling, Sándor, Schröder and Thomas.