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Track(s) taken from CDA67593

Great is the Lord, Op 67

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

Westminster Abbey Choir, James O'Donnell (conductor), Robert Quinney (organ)
Recording details: July 2006
Westminster Abbey, London, United Kingdom
Produced by Jeremy Summerly
Engineered by Simon Eadon & David Hinitt
Release date: February 2007
Total duration: 10 minutes 24 seconds
 

Other recordings available for download

The Choir of Trinity College Cambridge, Stephen Layton (conductor), Florian Störtz (bass), Harrison Cole (organ)
Worcester Cathedral Choir, Donald Hunt (conductor), Adrian Partington (organ)
St Paul's Cathedral Choir, John Scott (conductor), Andrew Lucas (organ)
Westminster Cathedral Choir, Colin Campbell (bass), Andrew Reid (organ), James O'Donnell (conductor)

Reviews

‘The Abbey Choir … give an excellent account of themselves, the trebles especially singing with the confidence of professional musicianship and with voices in fine, generous bloom. In some of the short, quieter pieces, such as They are at rest and Ecce sacerdos magnus, they achieve a standard as near perfection as any. And Robert Quinney is a tremendous asset: an organist who puts his technical skill to imaginative use, sometimes … to vivid effect. Recorded sound is both clear and spacious, and the authoritative booklet contains some evocative period photographs’ (Gramophone)

‘The Westminster Abbey Choir delivers its organ-accompanied programme with beautiful tonal colour and blend’ (BBC Music Magazine)

‘The most impressive items are Great is the Lord and Give unto the Lord, two powerfully expressive large-scale anthems composed just before the First World War. Their texts allow Elgar to explore a wide range of choral and organ effects in the service of some vividly graphic word-painting, which Westminster Abbey Choir bring to life with obvious relish’ (The Daily Telegraph)

‘James O'Donnell never lets a detail pass or an effect count for nothing; likewise the Westminster Abbey Choir. Rarities, such as the Queen Alexandra Memorial Ode of 1932, receive equal care and attention … above all, this disc projects Elgarian grandeur and dignity’ (Classic FM Magazine)

‘Every work on the disc receives a convincing performance. James O'Donnell has chosen the tempi carefully, allowing the music enough space to breathe in the Abbey's generous acoustic whilst managing to avoid any sense of dragging. The choir sings well throughout and almost without fail produces a well-blended sound. Robert Quinney's accompaniments are colourful and exciting … highly recommended’ (Cathedral Music)

‘The Choir of Westminster Abbey, directed by James O'Donnell, does great service in a programme ranging from his naive early pieces for his local Catholic Church, to Coronation music and an Ode, written for the unveiling of Queen Alexandra's memorial in 1932, one of his last pieces. Beautiful singing and sound quality from Hyperion’ (Liverpool Daily Post)

‘These choral works can be judged as small masterpieces’ (Classics Today)
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
English Choral and Organ Music
CDH55009Download only
The English Anthem, Vol. 5
CDA66758Download only
The music of Westminster Cathedral Choir
WCC100Super-budget price sampler
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