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See Terms & Conditions for p&p rates. | |  | Bernstein: Chichester Psalms, Divertimento for Orchestra
This is the sixth release in EMI's American Classics series, a series devoted to releasing the Company's extensive catalogue of American music of the 19th and 20th centuries. The first disc in this release is of music by, perhaps, the most widely known and ecclectic of composers, Leonard Bernstein. Bernstein was active in so many different fields of music, from composing for films and Broadway shows; writing operas, symphonies, chamber works, and some really effecting songs, to being one of the greatest conductors and musical educators of recent times. The Divertimento for Orchestra, of 1980, is a relatively late work written to commemorate the centenary of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. It is a piece full of wit and light-heartedness. The Broadway show 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue was a notable flop when first produced in 1976, the year of the American bicentenary. Bernstein used some of the music in later compositions: an example of which is the final item on this disc, the beautiful song To what you said from Songfest. Chichester Psalms was written to a commission from the organist and the dean of Chichester Cathedral for the 1965 Festival. “An hors d'oeuvre rather than an entree, but a fine introduction to Bernstein's music - original and utterly American” BBC Music Magazine, July 2011 **** | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Bernstein - Chichester Psalms
“It’s good to have a new Naxos recording with Marin Alsop conducting the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in sensitive, exciting, and impressively lucid performances of three Bernstein works… …The Bournemouth Symphony, in technically adept, bracing performances, plays like a top-notch orchestra.” New York Times “Everything in the score clearly stands out under Alsop's eagle eyes and ears, with syncopated rhythms and canonic passages securely aligned and the Bournemouth brass at their assertive best” Classics Today “Some years ago Andrew Litton presided over a memorable all-Bernstein concert for Virgin Classics that showed that the Bournemouth orchestra could swing with the best of them; now it's the turn of new principal conductor Marin Alsop to put them through their paces.
Very sassily they strut, too, in the exuberant outer numbers of On the Town. It's a similar tale in the symphonic suite from On the Waterfront.
Alsop displays a special sympathy for this score's intimate undertow, investing softer music with a tingling atmosphere and lyrical poetry that consistently ignite the imagination, and moulding the love theme with a warmth and vulnerability that all but match the composer's NYPO version. Not that there's any lack of red-blooded drama or brazen spectacle, even though Mike Clements's otherwise excitingly dynamic sound-frame exposes some slight thinness of violin tone.
The account of the Chichester Psalms is polished, communicative and beautifully sprung, attaining eloquent heights in the soothing setting of Psalm 23 for boy treble and mixed choir, as well as the strings' impassioned plea that launches the last movement.
A conspicuous success. The playing-time is comparatively stingy, but, given the superior quality of the music-making and the low Naxos price-tag, not many should complain.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010 “Alsop and her Bournemouth band capture [On the Waterfront] as surely and atmospherically as they do the glitzy exuberance of On the Town...it reeks of adrenaline, and brutal oppression...It may be cheap, it may have been recorded this side of the Atlantic, but it never shows. This really is bargain Bernstein; his pupil's done him proud.” Andrew McGregor, bbc.co.uk, 9th October 2003 | | | (also available to download from $6.00) | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | American Choral Music
“Half of this programme is devoted to unaccompanied choral music by Copland: In the Beginning, a striking 15-minute 'Creation' for mixed four-part chorus and solo mezzo (which is eloquently executed by Catherine Denley) written in 1947, and three of four short motets he composed in 1921, while studying with Nadia Boulanger in Paris.
The performance of the Chichester Psalms recorded here uses Bernstein's own reduced (but very effective) instrumentation of organ, harp and percussion, but follows the composer's New York precedent in employing a mixed chorus – although the illusion of a cathedral choir is persuasively conveyed.
It's very impressive.
The singing of the Corydon Singers under Matthew Best is very fine, and the vivid recording, which gives the voices a pleasant bloom while avoiding the resonance of King's College Chapel, reproduces the instrumental accompaniment, notably the percussion, with electrifying impact. Best's soloist is Dominic Martelli, and very sweetly he sings too. The disc is completed by Barber's setting of the Agnus Dei from 1967 and is an arrangement of the famous Adagio for Strings.
This imaginative and enterprising programme is extremely well sung and vividly recorded.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Bernstein: Chichester PsalmsMusic for Choir and Harp
The recording takes as its tagline 'Music for Choir and Harp' and at its core are three substantial works: Bernstein's Chichester Psalms in its 'chamber' version for choir, organ, harp and percussion; a setting of the Lord's Prayer by Leoš Janáček, Otčenáš; and A Ceremony of Carols by Benjamin Britten, in its arrangement by Julian Harrison for SATB, rather than the original version with three treble parts. “The polished sound of the Choir of St John's College, Cambridge (including some very accomplished treble soloists) under the meticulous direction of Andrew Nethsinga could be described as 'urbane'...[the Janacek works] are considerable enhanced by the rich, vibrant singing of Justin Lavender. Frances Kelly's contribution as both accompanist and soloist is truly wonderful” Gramophone Magazine, March 2012 “Bernstein's evergreen Chichester Psalms are sung here as they were conceived: for an Anglican choir of boys and men...The singing is again of a predictably high standard. With attractive instrumental interludes by Marcel Grandjany and William Mathias thrown in, this disc certainly has a lot going for it.” BBC Music Magazine, April 2012 *** “This is an interesting and well-planned programme of music for choir, harp and organ. The Choir...sounds on good form...Justin Lavender is a forthright and suitably Slavonic-sounding soloist with credible Czech pronunciation” International Record Review, March 2012 | | | Usually despatched in 8 - 10 working days. |
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| |  | A Festival of Psalms
Sally Pryce (harp), Robert Millett (percussion) & Greg Morris & Ian Le Grice (organ) The Choir of the Temple Church, James Vivian (director) The Psalms of David are arguably the portion of the Old Testament that has been enfolded most completely within the Christian tradition and its liturgies. Their messages of strife and joy, prayer and praise, resonate strong and loud alongside the teachings of Jesus and find special expression in musical settings. This disc is an exploration of all these themes, as interpreted by composers over the course of four and a half centuries. The Temple Church is one of the most historic and beautiful churches in London. Situated between Fleet Street and the Thames Embankment, its recorded musical history extends back to its restoration in 1841, although a church has stood on the site for over 800 years. This is Signum’s second disc with the choir, following 2010’s release of ‘The Majesty of Thy Glory’. “this anthology links the liturgies of Jewish and Christian traditions...
The organ can sometimes hang too heavily over the pieces by Wesley and Parry. But the highlight is the beautiful version of Allegri's "Miserere mei, Deus", with its solo treble soaring high and weightless like the vaulting of a cathedral.” The Independent, 10th February 2012 *** | | | Usually despatched in 3 - 4 working days. |
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| |  | Songs of Hope
Rosa Lamoreaux (soprano), Daniel Taylor (countertenor), Benjamin Butterfield (tenor), William Sharp (baritone) Bach Choir of Bethlehem, Members of the Bach Festival Orchestra, Greg Funfgeld All of the music on this album was commissioned, one way or another, for special occasions, in thankfulness for the past and in hopefulness for the future. A Dream of Time by Paulus was commissioned in 2008 to celebrate Greg Funfgeld’s 25 years as Artistic Director and Conductor of The Bach Choir of Bethlehem. “[A Dream of Time] is the most impressive performance on the disc...There are many beautiful moments in the work” MusicWeb International, June 2012 | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Bernstein: Symphony No. 3 & Chichester Psalms
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| |  | Rutter - Gloria
Here are dynamic modern performances of some of the most popular of all sacred vocal works written in the second half of the last century, expertly done by chamber choirs soaked in the tradition which the works themselves draw upon. The Gloria is perhaps the best-known of the extended compositions by John Rutter, composer of such choral evergreens as A Gaelic Blessing and Shepherds’ Pipe Carol. Rutter’s setting fully captures the exuberance of the text, with sparkling orchestral colours and fullbodied choral parts. Like the Gloria, Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms (socalled because of the nature of their original commission, made in 1964 by the Dean of Chichester Cathedral, Walter Hussey) may be musically sophisticated in technical terms, but never at the expense of creating an instant impression or of serving the texts. The poignant treble solo in the second movement is still, along with ‘Maria’, one of Bernstein’s most imperishable melodies. Poulenc, too, had melodies pouring out of him, though his settings of ancient liturgical texts (and rustic peasant prayers) in Litanies à la Vierge Noire, Quatre Petites Prières de Saint François d’Assise, Exsultate Deo and Salve Regina are in the more austere tradition of French sacred works. Recordings date from 1995 Two of the finest chamber choirs in the English choral tradition, expertly directed and recorded Booklet notes in English, with sung texts in the original language and English translation | | | Usually despatched in 4 - 5 working days. |
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| |  | Walton: Belshazzar's Feast
“…the choral ensemble is so superb and the recording arguably the clearest and best balanced yet given to this dazzling work with its vast forces.” Gramophone | | | Usually despatched in 4 - 5 working days. |
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