Amazon.co.uk allows you to pay for your items in your local currency. Restrictions apply. Learn More. |
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
Track Listings
| 1. Hosanna To the Son Of David |
| 2. Sing Unto the Lord - Stephen Varcoe |
| 3. This Is the Record Of John - Robin Blaze |
| 4. If Ye Be Risen Again With Christ |
| 5. Medley: O Lord, In My Wrath Rebuke Me Not/Second Service |
| 6. Magnificat |
| 7. Nunc Dimittis |
| 8. Behold, Thou Hast Made My Days - Robin Blaze |
| 9. O God, The King Of Glory |
| 10. Glorious And Powerful God - Stephen Varcoe |
| 11. Fantasia In A Minor - Steven Farr |
| 12. O Clap Your Hands |
| 13. Thou God Of Wisdom |
| 14. Blessed Are All They That Fear The Lord - Stephen Varcoe |
| 15. Great King Of Gods |
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Good music, well sung and a pleasure to listen to.
Cathedral music by Orlando Gibbons, performed by a very good cathedral choir.
In spite of its "ancient" character almost easy listening.
Stephen Varcoe and Robin Blaze and the treble soloists are very good.
The organ is played by Stephen Farr and Sarah Baldock.
And all that at budget price!
Cathedral music by Orlando Gibbons, performed by a very good cathedral choir.
In spite of its "ancient" character almost easy listening.
Stephen Varcoe and Robin Blaze and the treble soloists are very good.
The organ is played by Stephen Farr and Sarah Baldock.
And all that at budget price!
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
2 reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
a voice teacher and early music fan
11 July 2009
Format:Audio CD
ORLANDO Gibbons (1583-1651)THOUGH HE DIED AT A YOUNG AGE CHARLES BUTLER, A WRITER, ENTHUSED ON GIBBON'S VERSE STYLE SAID OF HIM IN HIS BOOK 'PRINCIPLES OF MUSIC': "A SOLEMN ANTHEM, WHEREIN A SWEET MELODIOUS TREBLE, OR A COUNTERTENOR, SINGETH SINGLE, AND THE FULL QUIRE ANSWERETH (MUCH MORE WHEN TWO SUCH SINGLE VOICES, AND TWO QUIRES INTERCHANGEABLY REPLY ONE TO ANOTHER, AND AT THE LAST CLOSE ALL TOGETHER)...MAKETH SUCH A HEAVENLY HARMONY, AS IS PLEASING UNTO GOD."
Gibbon's church music covers two broad fields. On the one hand there are settings of texts for 'ordinary' offices-the canticles for morning and evening prayer-and some festal pieces and psalms. In contrast there are the anthems themselves which divide (as do the services) into 'full' and 'verse' types. The full anthems, of course, are sung by a full choir, whereas the verse anthem intersperses solos for one or more voices, usuallly from the start of the work, with short choral passages which repeat or reinforce the preceding solo material. Both types are included on this recording.
Only three of Gibbon's verse anthems are scored for a single soloist. Two of them included here (This is the record of John and Behold, thou has made my days)have the solo in the alto part, the voice most commonly written for among all the voice parts. The alto voice is also the one most frequently divided in the five-part textures of the choruses.
The opening full anthem 'Hosanna, Son of God' is zesty and energetic. The choir is polished and well-practised, shows good balance between the voice parts, and excellent solo work on the part of Robin Blaze (countertenor) and Stephen Varcoe (baritone). Why not five stars? Because an important part of choral singing is precise and clear diction, and I don't hear it from this choir. I had to watch the liner notes most of the time to understand the works that were new to me. I am accustomed to hearing almost perfect diction from British Choirs, so this was somewhat of a surprise to me. Having said that, I must say that the sound from the all-male choir was absolutely splendid, rich and lush and resonant. Could the recording venue be the problem? I'm no sound engineeer, so I don't know.
The information on the accompanying booklet is in English, French and German. The words to the songs, only in English. It's a lovely sounding recording, so now that I am more familiar with the words, I find myself listening to it quite often!!!
Gibbon's church music covers two broad fields. On the one hand there are settings of texts for 'ordinary' offices-the canticles for morning and evening prayer-and some festal pieces and psalms. In contrast there are the anthems themselves which divide (as do the services) into 'full' and 'verse' types. The full anthems, of course, are sung by a full choir, whereas the verse anthem intersperses solos for one or more voices, usuallly from the start of the work, with short choral passages which repeat or reinforce the preceding solo material. Both types are included on this recording.
Only three of Gibbon's verse anthems are scored for a single soloist. Two of them included here (This is the record of John and Behold, thou has made my days)have the solo in the alto part, the voice most commonly written for among all the voice parts. The alto voice is also the one most frequently divided in the five-part textures of the choruses.
The opening full anthem 'Hosanna, Son of God' is zesty and energetic. The choir is polished and well-practised, shows good balance between the voice parts, and excellent solo work on the part of Robin Blaze (countertenor) and Stephen Varcoe (baritone). Why not five stars? Because an important part of choral singing is precise and clear diction, and I don't hear it from this choir. I had to watch the liner notes most of the time to understand the works that were new to me. I am accustomed to hearing almost perfect diction from British Choirs, so this was somewhat of a surprise to me. Having said that, I must say that the sound from the all-male choir was absolutely splendid, rich and lush and resonant. Could the recording venue be the problem? I'm no sound engineeer, so I don't know.
The information on the accompanying booklet is in English, French and German. The words to the songs, only in English. It's a lovely sounding recording, so now that I am more familiar with the words, I find myself listening to it quite often!!!
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Good - in parts
1 Sep 2009
Format:Audio CD
No one has recorded a complete set of Gibbons so devotees of this composer are forced to hunt down various examples of his work across time, labels and varing degrees of quality. On the surface this CD should be good: recognised choir, 'name' soloists and a reputable label. But this is a 'curate's egg' recording: only good in parts. Varcoe as bass soloist is fine (as long as you can cope with the breathy timbre) and the alto, Robin Blaze, takes some solos gloriously (though his 'Record of John' suffers from flatness in some exposed passages). One must buy it if only to complete the collection of Gibbons' recorded works but this is not a disc of unalloyed joy. Recommended with reservations.
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Listmania!
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
