Howells: Requiem

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Howells: RequiemOpis:ReviewHerbert Howells' Requiem must be one of the most beautiful and searingly moving works in the entire English sacred musical canon. Written in the early 30s but not released until 1980, it is inextricably linked to untimely youthful death; Howells modelled it on Walford Davies' A Short Requiem of 1915, written in memory of those killed in the war. Later, he drew heavily from it for Hymnus Paradisi, his memorial to the nine-year-old son he lost to polio in 1935.

However, despite all this, the Requiem manages to express not just deep grief but also eternal hope, largely thanks to its unusual structure. It juxtaposes traditional “Salvator mundi” and “Requiem aeternam” movements with settings of three of the Bible's most encouraging passages: Psalms 23 and 121, and John's vision in the book of Revelation of the new heavens and the new earth.

The Requiem appears here as the climax of a Howells-only programme that spans the decades of his career. A Hymn for St Cecilia, written in 1960, opens the disc, followed by a much earlier work, the 1916 Salve Regina. Also to be enjoyed are the Gloucester Service and the St Paul's Service, Take Him, Earth, for Cherishing, and the rousing hymn All My Hope on God is Founded.

In all, it's a glorious celebration of Howells' sacred output, creating a highly sympathetic musical picture of a composer deeply affected by death (three of the works on this disc are linked in some way to his son), but also capable of much joy. Gorgeously sung throughout, this is repertoire perfectly suited to Trinity Choir's pure, chorister-like sound. Their graceful, dignified reading of the Requiem, framed within the wonderful acoustic of Ely Cathedral's Lady Chapel, is one to cherish. --Charlotte Gardner Find more music at the BBC This link will take you off in a new windowProduct DescriptionHerbert Howells was acutely sensitive to the transience of life, having witnessed the loss of friends and contemporaries in the First World War and encountered deep personal tragedy when his son Michael died of polio at the age of just nine. And so a mood of elegiac yearning inhabits much of his choral music: the austere, lovely a cappella Requiem, and the elegant Take him, earth, for cherishing, commissioned to commemorate the death of President John F Kennedy, here lovingly performed by the young voices of Trinity College Choir, Cambridge, in Hyperions Record of the Month for April 2012. And yet Howells could write magnificently thrilling music too, as demonstrated by the fresh brilliance of A Hymn for St Cecilia, the spine-tingling grandeur of the St Pauls Service, or the life-affirming hymn All my hope on God is founded, here further sweetened with a descant by John Rutter.

ReviewLayton's performances have exactly the poise and careful moulding that this rather fragile, deeply felt music needs. *** --Guardian,30/03/12The Trinity College Choir brings clarity of words and superb singing. ***** --Daily Telegraph,31/03/12The choir of Trinity College, Cambridge, is ideally pure and full in tone. This is a perfect disc of its kind. GRAMOPHONE CHOICE --Gramophone,June'12Trinity's youthful timbre intensifies the Requiem s sense of loss. BBC MUSIC CHORAL & SONG CHOICE Peformance ***** Recording ***** --BBC Music Magazine,June'12Another tempting release in Hyperion's ongoing relationship with Trinity College Choir under Stephen Layton. --IRR,June'12Winner of The Gramophone Award,2012 for best Choral recording. --GramophoneAutor:Stephen Layton: Trinity College Choir CambridgeNośnik:Płyt:Język: English: Published; English: Original Language; EnglishData wydania: 2012-04-01Waga: 0.22 gramWysokość: 0.4 cmSzerokość: 4.9 cmDługość: 5.6 cmUWAGA: Kupując produkt na tej aukcji zgadzasz się na wydłużony termin realizacji wysyłki (10-14 dni roboczych). Podany towar pochodzi z zagranicznego magazynu, stąd wydłużony czas realizacji który podany jest obok.