[Cover graphic]

Compact Disc CDA67668

£13.99

There are few better examples of a composer’s style developing concurrently with the emergence of a vocal group than in the a cappella vocal music of Antony Pitts. The Tonus Peregrinus octet exists to perform ancient and modern works interspersed with music written by its director. The two-way influence between consort and composer is palpable. The resulting compositions are as much theological statements as stand-alone pieces of music and as such they bear comparison with some of the monuments of, for instance, the music of the English Reformation. Specific musical germs such as false relations and the use of carefully controlled dissonances to create suspensions provide obvious aural connections with the music of the sixteenth century. But there are other musical devices such as medieval hocket, psalmodic chanting, jazz-infused rhythmic cells, and close-harmony effects which combine to create a simultaneously antiquated yet modern musical style.

Building on the success of their first Hyperion release Seven Letters, this disc contains contains further dazzling, ecstatic, arresting, thought-provoking works, sung with limpid beauty by Tonus Peregrinus.

Recorded in Bromley Parish Church on 6–8 June 2007
Recording Engineer
MIKE SKEET
Recording Producer
STEPHEN RICE
Post-production
ANTONY PITTS
Executive Producers
SIMON PERRY
NICK FLOWER
© Hyperion Records Ltd, London, MMVIII

Duration: 68'05
DDD
Front illustration: The Burning Bush by Blandine van Noordt-Grauer

ANTONY PITTS (b1969)

Alpha and Omega

TONUS PEREGRINUS
soprano Joanna Forbes, Rebecca Hickey
alto Kathryn Knight, Alexander L’Estrange
tenor Richard Eteson, Alexander Hickey
bass Francis Brett, Nick Flower
ANTONY PITTS director

Contents:

  1. The Peace of Jerusalem 2007 SATB divisi [8'15]

    Sanctus and Benedictus 1993 SATB [3'26]

  2. Sanctus [2'07]
  3. Benedictus [1'19]

    A Thousand Years 1999 SATB divisi [7'50]

  4. a day is like a thousand years… [3'48]
  5. … and a thousand years like one day [4'02]

  6. My Dove 1997 SSAATTBB solos REBECCA & ALEXANDER HICKEY [7'22]

    The ‘I AM’ Sayings of Jesus 1996–2007 [41'09]

  7. Before Abraham was, I AM 2006 MTB [5'45]
  8. I AM the Bread of Life 2000 SATB [4'34]
  9. I AM the Resurrection and the Life 1996 SSAATBB [4'46]
  10. I AM the Light of the World 2001 SATBarB [2'11]
  11. I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life 2001–2003 UPPER/LOWER [3'38]
  12. I AM the True Vine 2003 SMATBarB [7'43]
  13. I AM the Door—I AM the Good Shepherd 2003–2007 solo FRANCIS BRETT / UNISON [4'17]
  14. I AM Alpha and Omega 2003, revised 2007 SATBSATB [8'12]
Sleeve Notes

'A disc worthy of serious attention … This is a most successful recording, Tonus Peregrinus never wearied by the vastness of its task and the vision of Christ always palpable in the composer's creative insights' (International Record Review)

'Tonus Peregrinus is proving to be one of the most skilful vocal groups around. Its composer/founder/director demands much from his singers, which they accomplish with impressive fluency and musicality. Pitts shows considerable ingenuity and flair in his settings of sacred texts, which include The Peace of Jerusalem, Sanctus and Benedictus, A Thousand Years and the totally captivating My Dove. The outstanding work is The I AM Sayings of Jesus, which Pitts constructs using various combinations of voices and intervals from the unison to the octave, but never in a mathematical sequence. The moods range from the austere to the ecstatic, from the simplistic to a dissonant but ordered turmoil ­ it¹s a remarkable achievement' (Choir & Organ Magazine)

'The principal work on this programme is the "I AM" sayings of Jesus which at 40 minutes makes up almost two thirds of total playing time. The comforting yet perplexing texts allow Pitts free reign to express his vivid word painting and the music is also informed with great restlessness and agitation. The other four works are similar to the main opus but each has its own distinct message to convey. Tonus Peregrinus are a capable choir, founded by Pitts himself to promote the Christian message and they perform with spellbinding excitement matching spirituality with technical prowess. This is a sumptuously beautiful disc on all counts' (Classical.net)

'This music strives for, and frequently succeeds in expressing a state of astonishing, soaring, feral ecstasy. Pitts' work frequently includes dense chromatic harmonies that in other contexts might sound raw, but when sung, are complex, but warm, even lush. He may flirt with a reassuring, familiar sentimentality, but he never succumbs to it, and the effect is bracing. On the other hand, his music is never so uncompromisingly dense that it loses the listener; it's rooted in triadic harmony and has an undeniable emotional directness that never leaves the work's meaning in doubt … In the double quartet that he conducts, Tonus Peregrinus, Pitts has assembled an ensemble for which he can write with impunity. Their ability to negotiate the music's extreme demands is staggering, and they do it with wonderfully pure tone, warm blend, and impassioned expressiveness. Pitts is a composer to watch out for: these remarkably assured and compelling works should be strong interest to any fan of contemporary choral music' (Allmusic.com)

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