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Track(s) taken from CDA66758

Great is the Lord, Op 67

composer
1910/2; SSATB divisi, B solo, organ
author of text
after Psalm 47 (48)

St Paul's Cathedral Choir, John Scott (conductor), Andrew Lucas (organ)
Recording details: June 1994
St Paul's Cathedral, London, United Kingdom
Produced by Mark Brown
Engineered by Antony Howell
Release date: February 1995
Total duration: 10 minutes 56 seconds
 

Other recordings available for download

Westminster Abbey Choir, James O'Donnell (conductor), Robert Quinney (organ)
The Choir of Trinity College Cambridge, Stephen Layton (conductor), Florian Störtz (bass), Harrison Cole (organ)
Worcester Cathedral Choir, Donald Hunt (conductor), Adrian Partington (organ)
Westminster Cathedral Choir, Colin Campbell (bass), Andrew Reid (organ), James O'Donnell (conductor)

Reviews

‘A rich feast here … a magnificent choir’ (Gramophone)

‘A memorable record of some of the best 19th- and 20th-century church music’ (Methodist Recorder)
Though not readily associated with Anglican church music (despite being fully aware of its repertoire), Elgar composed two major extended anthems. The first—Great is the Lord, Op 67, a substantial multi-sectional work, begun in 1910—is a setting of Psalm 48 and was eventually used to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Royal Society in 1912. It was first sung in Westminster Abbey on 16 July of that year under the baton of the Abbey’s director of music Sir Frederick Bridge. In the ebullient outer sections in D major, it is possible to hear echoes of the finale of Elgar’s violin concerto (‘is mount Zion, on the sides of the north’) as a counterpoint to the main theme, while the contrasting inner sections seem to draw more extensively on the style of thematic material first heard in The Apostles and The Kingdom, in particular the episode for baritone solo (‘We have thought on thy loving-kindness’).

from notes by Jeremy Dibble © 2023

Cette œuvre fut entamée en 1910 mais, sans commande immédiate ni perspective d’interprétation, sa composition s’éternisa jusqu’en 1912; elle fut créée avec une accompagnement d’orgue en l’abbaye de Westminster le 16 juillet 1912, sous le baguette de Sir Frederick Bridge, puis orchestrée en september 1913.

Sensiblement moins complexe que bien des œuvres similaires, cette mise en musique elgarienne est découpée en plusieurs sections utilisant chacune un matériel nouveau. À l’ouverture, altos, ténors et basses sont à l’unisson, puis à deux parties et avec des passages d’harmonie en blocs. Elgar adresse le texte central «We have thought on Thy loving-kindness, O God» à une basse solo et, dans l’écriture chorale plus riche de la section conclusive, certaines inventions rappellent des moments comparables dans les oratorios.

extrait des notes rédigées par Lewis Foreman © 2007
Français: Hyperion Records Ltd

Dieser Satz wurde 1910 begonnen, aber ohne unmittelbaren Auftrag oder Gelegenheit zur Aufführung zog sich die Komposition bis 1912 hin. Das Werk wurde am 16. Juli 1912 mit Orgelbegleitung unter Sir Frederick Bridge in der Westminster Abbey uraufgeführt. Es wurde im September 1913 orchestriert.

Elgars Satz ist wesentlich weniger komplex als viele ähnliche Werke und ist in mehrere Abschnitte unterteilt, die jeweils neues Material verwenden. Am Anfang singen Alt, Tenor und Bass unisono, später zweistimmig mit Passagen von Blockharmonik. Elgar setzt den zentralen Text „Wir gedenken deiner liebenden Güte, o Gott“ für Bass-Solo und findet im üppigeren Chorsatz des Schlussteils einen Erfindungsreichtum, der an ähnliche Momente in den Oratorien erinnert.

aus dem Begleittext von Lewis Foreman © 2007
Deutsch: Renate Wendel

Other albums featuring this work

Anthems, Vol. 1
Studio Master: CDA68434Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available
Elgar: Cathedral Music
CDH55147
Elgar: Great is the Lord & other works
CDA67593
English Choral and Organ Music
CDH55009Download only
The music of Westminster Cathedral Choir
WCC100Super-budget price sampler
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