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Track(s) taken from CDH55228

Great king of gods

composer
1617; probably composed to mark the departure of King James I to Scotland
author of text
written for the visit of James I to Scotland

Winchester Cathedral Choir, David Hill (conductor), Stephen Farr (organ), Donald Sweeney (bass), Nicholas Pepin (countertenor), Thomas King (countertenor)
Recording details: April 1999
Winchester Cathedral, United Kingdom
Produced by Mark Brown
Engineered by Antony Howell & Julian Millard
Release date: April 2000
Total duration: 4 minutes 43 seconds
 

Other recordings available for download

Westminster Abbey Choir, James O'Donnell (conductor)
Magdalena Consort, His Majestys Sagbutts & Cornetts, Charles Daniels (tenor), Jeremy Budd (tenor), Peter Harvey (bass)

Reviews

‘Hill breathes new life into Gibbons' musical and spoken rhetoric, using tempo and dynamics to set up conflicts between vocal lines. Perfectly complemented by Robin Blaze … the choral sound is exemplary―clean, but edged with an appealing English softness … a glorious sound’ (BBC Music Magazine)

‘This recording is a well-balanced introduction to Gibbons' obvious musical talent’ (Scotland on Sunday)
‘Great King of Gods’ prefaced the one and only return by James to his native land, in 1617. Its chordally weighted, upbeat stately major mode confidently instructs Jehovah of Psalm 95 to safeguard the king’s passage and finally translate his person bodily heavenwards, thwarting decay.

from notes by David Pinto © 2017

Other albums featuring this work

An English Coronation 1902-1953
Studio Master: SIGCD5692CDs Download onlyStudio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available
Gibbons: In chains of gold - The English pre-Restoration verse anthem, Vol. 1
Studio Master: SIGCD511Download onlyStudio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available
Music from the reign of King James I
CDA67858
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