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Track(s) taken from CDA67558

Richte mich, Gott, Op 78 No 2

composer
1843/4
author of text
Psalm 43

St John's College Choir Cambridge, David Hill (conductor)
Recording details: July 2005
St John's College Chapel, Cambridge, United Kingdom
Produced by Mark Brown
Engineered by Julian Millard
Release date: May 2006
Total duration: 3 minutes 37 seconds

Cover artwork: Tyrolean Girl Contemplating a Crucifix (detail) (1865). Rudolph Friedrich Wasmann (1805-1886)
Hamburger Kunsthalle, Germany / Bridgeman Images
 

Other recordings available for download

Corydon Singers, Matthew Best (conductor)

Reviews

‘Outgoing, excitingly resonant, spirited singing’ (Gramophone)

‘I doubt that you would find a better performance of Mendelssohn's sacred choral music than this. Finely executed with immaculate phrasing sensitively performed, it is clear that David Hill is leading the choir of St John's to even greater heights while it maintains its own highly individual sound. The whole production is worthy of the highest praise’ (Choir & Organ)

‘This is one special record’ (American Record Guide)

‘Some lovely—indeed memorable—performances here; including a gorgeous account of Mendelssohn's richly opulent Ave Maria, Op 23 No 2 (Allan Clayton the wonderfully yearning tenor soloist) and a gloriously magisterial Warum toben die Heiden? from Op 78 … Quentin Beer is an impressively clear and pure-voiced treble in that most famous of all treble solos—O, for the wings of a dove … the recording is a triumph. Hyperion has come up with a far more rewarding sound than either Decca or Naxos was ever able to achieve at St John's’ (International Record Review)

‘The Choir of St John's College, Cambridge, under David Hill, simply outsings all the current competition in sacred music by Mendelssohn’ (Fanfare, USA)
The setting of Richte mich, Gott (Psalm 43) exchanges the double chorus of Warum toben for a single four-voice choir, and is noticeably simpler in outline. Following the stern contours of the D minor opening section, characterized by the male voices in unison alternating with the female choir in four-part harmony, the move to the relative major (F) at the words ‘Sende dein Licht’ soars away to uplifting effect. The following 3/8 andante reverts to the atmosphere and textures of the opening section before the final verses resolve former tensions in the warm glow of a D major chorale.

from notes by Julian Haylock © 2006

Richte mich, Gott (Psaume 43) abandonne le double chœur de Warum toben pour un seul chœur à quatre voix et offre un dessin remarquablement plus simple. Après les austères contours de la section initiale en ré mineur, marqué par une alternance voix masculines à l’unisson/chœur féminin dans une harmonie á quatre parties, le passage au majeur relatif (fa, aux mots «Sende dein Licht») s’élève avec un effet édifiant. Puis, l’andante à 3/8 revient à l’atmosphère et aux textures de la section initiale avant que les derniers versets ne résolvent les tensions passées dans la chaude lueur d’un choral en ré majeur.

extrait des notes rédigées par Julian Haylock © 2006
Français: Hypérion

Die deutlich einfacher gestaltete Vertonung von Richte mich, Gott (Psalm 43) tauscht den Doppelchor aus Warum toben die Heiden gegen einen einzigen vierstimmigen Chor aus. Der erste Abschnitt, der durch Männerstimmen im Unisono geprägt wird, die sich mit dem vierstimmigen Frauenchor einander abwechseln, bewegt sich streng innerhalb der Konturen eines d-Moll. Dann entschwebt das Geschehen wirkungsvoll beim Übergang zur verwandten Durtonart (F-Dur) auf die Worte „Sende dein Licht“. Das folgende Andante im 3/8-Takt kehrt zur Atmosphäre und Textur des Anfangsabschnitts wieder zurück, bevor die letzten Verse die früheren Spannungen in das warme Glühen eines D-Dur-Chorals auflösen.

aus dem Begleittext von Julian Haylock © 2006
Deutsch: Elke Hockings

Other albums featuring this work

Mendelssohn: Choral Music
CDH55268Download only
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