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Track(s) taken from CDA67503

O vos omnes

composer
author of text
Lamentations

Westminster Cathedral Choir, Martin Baker (conductor)
Recording details: July 2005
Westminster Cathedral, London, United Kingdom
Produced by Mark Brown
Engineered by Julian Millard
Release date: May 2005
Total duration: 5 minutes 51 seconds
 

Other recordings available for download

Frances Jellard (alto), The Cambridge Singers, John Rutter (conductor)
St John's College Choir Cambridge, Andrew Nethsingha (conductor), Hugh Cutting (countertenor)

Reviews

‘As is only to be expected from its past record, the Choir of Westminster Cathedral brings tonal richness and a superb musicality to its performances of these works. The solos sound as confident from the trebles as from the men, and one can almost smell the incense from the atmospheric recording’ (The Daily Telegraph)

‘A stirring Vision of aeroplanes testifies to the choir's extraordinary virtuosity which, under Baker, is clearly going from strength to strength … Hyperion has been making recordings in Westminster Cathedral almost since the day the company first came into being, and, as ever, the sound on this latest disc is gorgeous, full of depth, and with an ideal balance between, choir, organ and atmosphere’ (International Record Review)

‘A glorious celebration of music written with the acoustics of Westminster Cathedral in mind’ (Classic FM Magazine)
O vos omnes was first performed on 13 April 1922 during Holy Week. This setting of words from the Office of Tenebrae for Maundy Thursday is in some ways a precursor of the Mass. It delves into a past world of supple lines reminiscent of Gregorian chant and modal harmonies, yet the scoring and harmonic control are entirely modern. The verses (from the book of Lamentations) are scored for divided upper voices with a solo alto declaiming parts of the text. The final obligatory statement ‘Jerusalem, convertere ad Dominum’ receives added weight and darkness with the addition of the otherwise silent tenors and basses, working first antiphonally with the upper voices and then conjoining for the final bars.

from notes by Andrew Carwood © 2005

Créé le 13 avril 1922, pendant la Semaine sainte, O vos omnes, mise en musique d’un texte emprunté à l’office des Ténèbres pour le Jeudi saint, est, en quelque sorte, un fourrier de la Mass, qui fouille dans un passé révolu de lignes souples renouvelées du chant grégorien et des harmonies modales, nonobstant une écriture et une maîtrise harmonique des plus modernes. Les versets (extraits du Livre des Lamentations) s’adressent à des voix supérieures divisées, avec un alto solo déclamant des parties du texte. L’incontournable énonciation finale, «Jerusalem, convertere ad Dominum», gagne en poids et en noiceur avec l’ajout des ténors et des basses (silencieux par ailleurs), qui travaillent d’abord en antiphonie avec les voix supérieures, avant de s’unir à elles pour les ultimes mesures.

extrait des notes rédigées par Andrew Carwood © 2005
Français: Hypérion

O vos omnes wurde erstmals am 13. April 1922 in der Karwoche aufgeführt. Es handelt sich dabei um eine Vertonung des Tenebrae-Offiziums für Gründonnerstag und ist in gewisser Weise ein Wegbereiter der Messe. Es taucht in eine vergangene Welt geschmeidiger Stimmen ein, die an den Gregorianischen Choral und an modale Harmonien erinnern, obwohl die Besetzung und die harmonische Stimmführung vollkommen modern sind. Die Verse stammen aus den Klageliedern Jeremias und sind mit geteilten Oberstimmen besetzt, wobei ein Soloalt Textausschnitte deklamiert. Dem letzten Ausruf, „Jerusalem, convertere ad Dominum“, wird Gewicht und Dunkelheit hinzugefügt, indem die sonst schweigenden Tenöre und Bässe zunächst antiphonisch gegen die Oberstimmen gesetzt erklingen und dann in den letzten Takten die Oberstimmen unterstützen.

aus dem Begleittext von Andrew Carwood © 2005
Deutsch: Viola Scheffel

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