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Track(s) taken from CDA67694

Beati omnes qui timent Dominum

composer
6vv
author of text
Psalm 127 (128)

The Brabant Ensemble, Stephen Rice (conductor)
Recording details: September 2007
Merton College Chapel, Oxford, United Kingdom
Produced by Jeremy Summerly
Engineered by Justin Lowe
Release date: September 2008
Total duration: 6 minutes 39 seconds

Cover artwork: Virgin Annunciate (1450/5). Fra Angelico (Guido di Pietro) (c1387-1455)
Detroit Institute of Arts, USA, Bequest of Eleanor Clay Ford / Bridgeman Images
 

Reviews

‘This is The Brabant Ensemble at their most vigorous and confident … in a fast-growing discography, this is a valuable addition’ (Gramophone)

‘Rice and his ensemble reveal a composer of warmth and passion who could also write resplendently joyful music when required … the whole recital is marked by an extraordinary unanimity of ensemble, security of intonation and intelligence that surpass all rivals in the repertory. In short, this is a valuable and exquisitely sung addition to the Morales discography’ (International Record Review)

‘Music of astonishing beauty and rapt polyphonic intensity, which the voices of the Brabant Ensemble unfold with perfect poise’ (The Guardian)

‘The Magnficat setting glows with power, and the three Lamentations have a grave beauty impossible to resist with the radiant tone and golden blend of Stephen Rice's Brabant Ensemble. The wise selection focuses on material underexposed elsewhere’ (The Times)

‘The young Oxford choir turns its immaculate ensemble, lucid diction and faultless tuning to the Spanish composer Morales. His Lamentations flow with exquisite sadness … the lines blend like threads in a tapestry … the selection of motets is rich with dynamic contrast, expressivity and downright beautiful singing’ (Classic FM Magazine)

‘This first-rate recording makes an important contribution not only for its exceptional performances, but in its thoughtful programming … essential’ (Classics Today)
Beati omnes qui timent Dominum must be considered one of Morales’s most attractive works: its sunny disposition is in many ways rather distinct from his usually rather more serious style, creating a sound reminiscent of his distinguished Dutch contemporary Clemens non Papa. (Since the motet is attributed to Morales in a Toledo Cathedral manuscript dating from his tenure as maestro de capilla, his authorship must be secure, however.) The mostly imitative six-voice texture is punctuated with moments of near-homophony, for instance at ‘beatus es, et bene tibi erit’ in the first part, and especially the hoped-for ‘Peace upon Israel’, evoked by lengthened note values in the final minute of the piece.

from notes by Stephen Rice © 2008

Beati omnes qui timent Dominum rompt, à bien des égards, avec le sérieux habituel de Morales, qui signe là l’une de ses œuvres les plus attrayantes, d’un naturel radieux et dont la sonorité rappelle celle d’un éminent contemporain hollandais: Clemens non Papa. (Comme ce motet est imputé à Morales dans un manuscrit de la cathédrale de Tolède datant de l’époque où il était maestro de capilla, la paternité en est certaine.) La texture à six voix, essentiellement imitative, est ponctuée par des moments de quasi-homophonie, par exemple à «beatus es, et bene tibi erit» dans la première partie et, surtout, pour l’espoir de la «Paix sur Israël», traduit par des valeurs de note allongées dans la dernière minute du motet.

extrait des notes rédigées par Stephen Rice © 2008
Français: Hyperion Records Ltd

Beati omnes qui timent Dominum muss als eines von Morales’ attraktivsten Werken betrachtet werden: sein sonniges Gemüt unterscheidet sich in vieler Hinsicht von seinem normalerweise eher seriösen Stil, und kreiert einen Klang, der an den seines renommierten niederländischen Zeitgenossen Clemens non Papa erinnert. (Da die Motette in einem Manuskript in der Kathedrale von Toledo, das aus seiner Amtszeit als Maestro de Capilla stammt, Morales zugeschrieben ist, muss seine Autorschaft jedoch als gesichert betrachtet werden.) Der weitgehend imitative sechsstimmige Satz wird von Momenten von Homophonie unterbrochen, zum Beispiel bei „beatus es, et bene tibi erit“ im ersten Teil, und besonders für den erhofften „Frieden für Israel“, der durch die verlängerten Notenwerte in der letzten Minute des Stückes evoziert wird.

aus dem Begleittext von Stephen Rice © 2008
Deutsch: Renate Wendel

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