Nunc dimittis (Tye) - from CDA67928 - Hyperion Records

Reviews

‘For a true celebration of the English high-treble phenomenon one need look no further than this. The amplitude of the basses makes a most wonderful balancing effect with the brightness of the boys and there are great surges of sound that almost lift you out of your seat. Just as you think they've given their all, a super-charged wave of glory takes it all to the next level. Their quiet singing is heavenly, too, and both ends of the dynamic spectrum are sublimely devotional’ (Choir & Organ)

‘The Gloria of Tye's magnificent Missa Euge bone brings you up short with some startlingly grumpy gestures and intriguing harmonic shifts, but the dark clouds never last long—the closing section of his glorious motet Peccavimus cum patribus nostris, for instance, resolves in an explosion of dazzling polyphony. Westminster Abbey Choir are on brilliant form here, trebles crisp and alert and lay vicars forthright and muscular’ (The Observer)

‘Immediately one is introduced to Tye's extraordinary sound-world of unusual cadences and rigorous alternation of high and low voices to achieve impressive effects. All of these are carefully allowed to speak for themeselves thanks to the judicious direction of Westminster Abbey's Organist and Master of the Choristers, James O'Donnell’ (International Record Review)

The English text of the Nunc dimittis is non-standard: it has features in common with versions from 1535 and 1539, and the musical setting predates the award of Tye’s doctorate in 1545. This canticle would seem to date from Tye’s Cambridge years, when the composer first fell under the influence of the Protestant reformer Richard Cox (later Archdeacon of Ely Cathedral and responsible for Tye’s appointment as Master of the Choristers there). The pervasive, almost self-conscious, use of imitation shows the influence of the modern Continental style, but the harmonic idiom and the manner of text-setting are quintessentially English.

Le texte anglais du Nunc dimittis n’est pas standard: il partage des éléments avec des versions de 1535 et de 1539 et sa mise en musique est antérieure au doctorat de Tye (1545). Ce cantique semble remonter aux années que le compositeur passa à Cambridge, sous l’influence première du réformateur protestant Richard Cox (futur archidiacre de la cathédrale d’Ely, dont il fera nommer Tye maître des choristes). L’usage presque envahissant de l’imitation révèle l’influence du style continental moderne, même si l’idiome harmonique et la manière de mettre le texte en musique sont tout ce qu’il y a de plus anglais.

Der englische Text des Nunc dimittis entspricht nicht dem Standard: es hat gemeinsame Merkmale mit Fassungen aus den Jahren 1535 und 1539, und die musikalische Vertonung muss entstanden sein, bevor Tye 1545 die Doktorwürde verliehen wurde. Dieses Canticum scheint aus der Zeit zu stammen, die Tye in Cambridge verbrachte, als er erstmals unter den Einfluss des protestantischen Reformers Richard Cox kam (der später der Erzdiakon der Kathedrale zu Ely wurde und dort die Ernennung Tyes als Master of the Choristers bewirkte). Der durchgängige, fast gezwungene Einsatz der Imitation zeigt den Einfluss des modernen Stils des europäischen Kontinents, doch sind der harmonische Ausdruck und die Art der Textvertonung urenglisch.

Recording details: June 2011
All Hallows, Gospel Oak, London, United Kingdom
Produced by Jeremy Summerly
Engineered by David Hinitt
Release date: May 2012
Total duration: 3 minutes 33 seconds

Cover artwork: Orb of the world in Christ’s hand (detail from the Westminster Retable).
Copyright © Dean and Chapter of Westminster

Nunc dimittis

Westminster Abbey Choir, James O'Donnell (conductor)

Reviews

Introduction