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Track(s) taken from CDA67503

A vision of aeroplanes

composer
author of text
Ezekiel 1

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: 10 minutes 6 seconds
 

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)
The critical school which claims that Vaughan Williams wrote solely in a comfortable pastoral style needs to check its facts, especially in the face of the extraordinary setting of words from the prophet Ezekiel. A vision of aeroplanes was written for Harold Darke (who had conducted the first performances of the Te Deum in G and Valiant-for-Truth) and was first performed under his direction on 4 June 1956. With its cataclysmic organ writing and whirling voice-parts it is a highly imaginative setting without a trace of pastoralism. Epic in style and proportion, the ‘vision’ has more than a hint of the film scores which had preoccupied Vaughan Williams for the previous ten years.

from notes by Andrew Carwood © 2005

La théorie critique selon laquelle Vaughan Williams écrivit exclusivement dans un agréable style pastoral ne tient pas, surtout au regard de l’extraordinaire mise en musique des paroles du prophète Ézéchiel. A vision of aeroplanes fut écrite pour Harold Darke, qui en dirigea la création le 4 juin 1956 – tout comme il l’avait déjà fait pour le Te Deum in G et Valiant-for-Truth. Avec son écriture d’orgue cataclysmique et ses parties vocales tourbillonnantes, cette mise en musique des plus imaginatives n’offre pas la moindre trace de pastoralisme. Épique dans son style comme dans ses proportions, cette «vision» fait plus qu’allusion aux musiques de films qui venaient juste d’accaparer dix ans de la vie du compositeur.

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

Die kritischen Stimmen, die behaupten, dass Vaughan Williams ausschließlich in einem behaglichen pastoralen Stil geschrieben habe, sollten sich mit dem Oeuvre des Komponisten genauer auseinandersetzen und insbesondere die außergewöhnliche Vertonung von Worten des Propheten Hesekiel untersuchen. A vision of aeroplanes entstand für Harold Darke (der die ersten Aufführungen des Te Deum in G und Valiant-for-Truth dirigiert hatte) und wurde erstmals unter seiner Leitung am 4. Juni 1956 aufgeführt. Es ist dies ein besonders phantasievolles Stück mit einem verheerenden Orgelpart und umherwirbelnden Singstimmen ohne jede Spur von pastoralen Klängen. Die „Vision“ ist episch in sowohl Stil als auch Proportion und erinnert mehr als nur ein wenig an Filmmusik, für die sich Vaughan Williams bereits zehn Jahre lang interessiert hatte.

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

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