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Track(s) taken from CDA67957

Exultet iam angelica turba, C131

composer
a 17; a 14 in the 1615 Symphoniae sacrae, the three additional parts in the Kassel manuscript being in an unknown hand
author of text

Ex Cathedra, His Majestys Sagbutts & Cornetts, Concerto Palatino, Jeffrey Skidmore (conductor)
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Recording details: May 2012
All Hallows, Gospel Oak, London, United Kingdom
Produced by Adrian Peacock
Engineered by David Hinitt
Release date: November 2012
Total duration: 4 minutes 41 seconds

Cover artwork: The Transfiguration (1594/5, detail). Lodovico Carracci (1555-1619)
Pinacoteca Nazionale, Bologna / Alinari / Bridgeman Images
 

Reviews

‘This recital focuses on the Sacrae Symphoniae that represent his output at its most varied … when Ex Cathedra sing as a choir, as in the extended Litany, even Gabrieli's most staid oratory communicates with fervour’ (Gramophone)

‘There's great variety among the wonderful split-chorus effects, the hypnotic chordal intonations and the lovely spicy harmonic clashes … in the final piece, Exultent iam angelica … the performers marvellously project the power, glory and praise of this music’ (BBC Music Magazine)

‘Ex Cathedra under Jeffrey Skidmore, matched by the pungent colours of the period instruments, enunciates the words with crisp clarity, singing with fluency and relishing the sumptuous soundscapes that Gabrieli envisaged. Emotional sensitivity and reverence are harnessed as well, notably in the eight-part Litaniae Beatae Mariae Virginis, where Gabrieli’s ingenuity in finding different solutions for the repetitive 'ora pro nobis' highlights an inspired creativity that this disc illustrates in abundance’ (The Daily Telegraph)

‘Warmth and opulence permeate every pore of this deeply attractive and strangely compelling recording … this disc reveals an exceptionally high level of both accomplishment and expertise, and if a single track had to be singled out to show just how at ease the singers are in this repertoire, I would point straight to the magnificent Magnificat, which positively crackles with high-voltage intensity as the music passes rapidly between the three choirs. Again, excellent solo voices emerge from the texture with a wholly natural ease, while Skidmore drives it along with considerable verve and energy … this is altogether a superb release, which, while serving the cause of Gabrieli admirably, also reveals the best in British-based Early Music performing’ (International Record Review)

‘Jeffrey Skidmore's Ex Cathedra is an excellent choice … all three ensembles perform at a very high technical level, whether in massed groups or solos; stylistically well matched, and expertly led … Hyperion's recording team deserves a round of applause of their own for creating the perfect sound for all this … highly recommended’ (Fanfare, USA)
The magnificent seventeen-part setting in four choirs of Exultet iam angelica turba is a motet to accompany the lighting of the Easter candle in the early hours of Easter morning. A fourteen-part version was published in Gabrieli’s 1615 Symphoniae sacrae. The seventeen-part version survives only in a manuscript in Kassel, Germany, with the three extra parts added by an unknown hand: this is designated as Choir 4, to be sung in a ‘palchetto’—as in one of the nicchie of St Mark’s.

from notes by John Whenham © 2012

Le magnifique Exultet iam angelica turba à dix-sept voix en quatre chœurs est un motet destiné à accompagner l’allumage du cierge pascal au petit matin du jour de Pâques. Une version à quatorze voix a été publiée dans le recueil de Gabrieli de 1615. La version à dix-sept voix ne nous est parvenue que dans un manuscrit conservé à Kassel, en Allemagne, avec trois parties supplémentaires ajoutées par une main inconnue, appelées Chœur 4, à chanter dans un «palchetto»—comme dans l’une des nicchie de Saint-Marc.

extrait des notes rédigées par John Whenham © 2012
Français: Marie-Stella Pâris

Die herrliche 17-stimmige Vertonung zu vier Chören von Exultet iam angelica turba ist eine Motette zur Begleitung des Anzündens der Osterkerze am frühen Ostermorgen. In Gabrielis Band von 1615 wurde eine 14-stimmige Vertonung veröffentlicht, doch ist die 17-stimmige Version nur in einem Manuskript in Kassel überliefert, wobei die zusätzlichen drei Stimmen in einer unbekannten Handschrift hinzugefügt sind—es sind diese als Chor 4 bezeichnet, der in einem „palchetto“ (vergleichbar mit den nicchie von San Marco) gesungen werden soll.

aus dem Begleittext von John Whenham © 2012
Deutsch: Viola Scheffel

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