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Track(s) taken from CDA67593

Ave verum corpus, Op 2 No 1

composer
originally composed as a Pie Jesu in 1887; rearranged as Ave verum corpus in 1902
author of text
Sequence Hymn for Corpus Christi

Westminster Abbey Choir, James O'Donnell (conductor), Robert Quinney (organ)
Recording details: July 2006
Westminster Abbey, London, United Kingdom
Produced by Jeremy Summerly
Engineered by Simon Eadon & David Hinitt
Release date: February 2007
Total duration: 2 minutes 39 seconds
 

Other recordings available for download

Worcester Cathedral Choir, Donald Hunt (conductor), Adrian Partington (organ)
Westminster Cathedral Choir, James O'Donnell (conductor), Iain Simcock (organ)
St Paul's Cathedral Choir, John Scott (conductor), Andrew Lucas (organ)
The Rodolfus Choir, Ralph Allwood (conductor)
Huddersfield Choral Society, Aidan Oliver (conductor), Thomas Trotter (organ)

Reviews

‘The Abbey Choir … give an excellent account of themselves, the trebles especially singing with the confidence of professional musicianship and with voices in fine, generous bloom. In some of the short, quieter pieces, such as They are at rest and Ecce sacerdos magnus, they achieve a standard as near perfection as any. And Robert Quinney is a tremendous asset: an organist who puts his technical skill to imaginative use, sometimes … to vivid effect. Recorded sound is both clear and spacious, and the authoritative booklet contains some evocative period photographs’ (Gramophone)

‘The Westminster Abbey Choir delivers its organ-accompanied programme with beautiful tonal colour and blend’ (BBC Music Magazine)

‘The most impressive items are Great is the Lord and Give unto the Lord, two powerfully expressive large-scale anthems composed just before the First World War. Their texts allow Elgar to explore a wide range of choral and organ effects in the service of some vividly graphic word-painting, which Westminster Abbey Choir bring to life with obvious relish’ (The Daily Telegraph)

‘James O'Donnell never lets a detail pass or an effect count for nothing; likewise the Westminster Abbey Choir. Rarities, such as the Queen Alexandra Memorial Ode of 1932, receive equal care and attention … above all, this disc projects Elgarian grandeur and dignity’ (Classic FM Magazine)

‘Every work on the disc receives a convincing performance. James O'Donnell has chosen the tempi carefully, allowing the music enough space to breathe in the Abbey's generous acoustic whilst managing to avoid any sense of dragging. The choir sings well throughout and almost without fail produces a well-blended sound. Robert Quinney's accompaniments are colourful and exciting … highly recommended’ (Cathedral Music)

‘The Choir of Westminster Abbey, directed by James O'Donnell, does great service in a programme ranging from his naive early pieces for his local Catholic Church, to Coronation music and an Ode, written for the unveiling of Queen Alexandra's memorial in 1932, one of his last pieces. Beautiful singing and sound quality from Hyperion’ (Liverpool Daily Post)

‘These choral works can be judged as small masterpieces’ (Classics Today)
When Elgar left school at the age of fifteen his father asked his friend W A Allen, a local solicitor and the treasurer of St George’s, if he had a position for the young Edward. Elgar thus worked, as what appears to have been office boy and clerk, but left after a year. When Allen died in January 1887 Elgar marked it with a funeral setting from the Requiem Mass for the choir of St George’s, subsequently resetting it to the words of Ave verum in 1902. Ave Maria was similarly written for St George’s and revised with Ave verum for publication in 1902 when the opus number was allocated. The music for Ave Maria is dedicated to Mrs H A Leicester, wife of his friend Hubert Leicester.

from notes by Lewis Foreman © 2007

Quand Elgar quitta l’école à l’âge de quinze ans, son père demanda à son ami W. A. Allen, avoué local et trésorier de Saint George, s’il avait un poste pour son jeune fils. Ce fut ainsi qu’Elgar travailla, semble-t-il, comme garçon de bureau et comme clerc, mais pendant un an seulement. À la mort d’Allen (janvier 1887), il composa une musique funèbre inspirée de la messe de requiem pour le chœur de Saint George, musique qu’il recycla, en 1902, sur les paroles de l’Ave verum. L’Ave Maria, également destiné à Saint George, fut révisé en même temps que l’Ave verum pour être publiée en 1902, année de l’attribution du numéro d’opus. Elgar dédia son Ave Maria à Mrs H. A. Leicester, la femme de son ami Hubert Leicester.

extrait des notes rédigées par Lewis Foreman © 2007
Français: Hypérion

Als Elgar im Alter von 15 Jahren die Schule verließ, bat sein Vater seinen Freund W. A. Allen, einen ortsansässigen Rechtsanwalt und Kassenwart der St. Georgskirche, um eine Position für den jungen Edward. Elgar arbeitete also für ihn, vermutlich als Bürogehilfe, kündigte aber nach einem Jahr. Als Allen im Januar 1887 starb, gedachte er ihm mit einem Satz aus der Requiemsmesse für den Chor der Georgskirche, den er 1902 auf die Worte des Ave verum umarbeitete. Ave Maria wurde ebenfalls für St. Georg geschrieben und zur Veröffentlichung 1902 zusammen mit dem Ave verum revidiert, wenn sie auch ihre Opusnummer erhielten. Die Musik für Ave Maria ist Frau H. A. Leicester, der Frau seines Freundes Hubert Leicester gewidmet.

aus dem Begleittext von Lewis Foreman © 2007
Deutsch: Renate Wendel

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