Par SAINT-SAENS CAMILLE. Psalm 137 'Super flumina Babylonis' also known as 'By the rivers of Babylon' was an inspiration for many composers including Camille Saint-Saëns. He repeatedly occupied himself with his psalm motet for solo soprano, mixed choir, saxophone quartet, string orchestra and organ, originally composed in 1854. Two of the four versions ? the first version in Latin and a much later…

Par CURNOW JAMES. Explore different settings of the Medieval Latin carol 'In Dulci Jubilo' via this solid arrangement by James Curnow. Opening with an exquisite 'Brass Choir' section a la Michael Praetorius (1571-1621) and progressing through a 'Woodwind Choir' section in the later J. S. Bach style, WITH SWEET JUBILATION is wonderful 'style study' material. The grace of the early masters and the c…

Par L'ESTRANGE ALEXANDER (Arr.). When Cecil Sharp transcribed O Waly Waly in 1908, it bore this title but did not contain the title words (beginning instead with ‘Down in the meadows’). It has been suggested since that the version we know now may be a composite of three songs: the Scottish ‘Waly waly’ (meaning ‘a cry of woe or grief’), the Cecil Sharp transcript and an American song, The water is …

Par BUXTEHUDE DIETRICH. This work has survived in an autograph, unfortunately undated, preserved in the Düben Collection. The cantata is a setting of Ecclesiasticus 50, verses 24–26. This composition is one of the most richly scored vocal compositions of Buxtehude. A ritornello, which includes a fanfare of trumpets, and a longer vocal section based on “Nun danket alle Gott” create the work’s struc…

Par BENJAMIN GEORGE. A beguiling 20-minute work for countertenor, women's voices and orchestra, Dream of the Song, George Benjamin's first work since his ground-breaking opera Written on Skin, was premiered in 2015 by the countertenor Bejun Mehta, the Netherlands Chamber Choir and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra conducted by the composer. Employing a reduced orchestra (two oboes, four horns, two…

Par FORBES L'ESTRANGE JOANNA (Arr.). Wade in the Water is a lively and infectious spiritual. Its features include a call-and-response texture, jazz ‘scat’ vocalization and finger clicks on beats 2 and 4 of the measure. This arrangement by Joanna Forbes L’Estrange remains true to the spirit of Eva Cassidy’s well-loved version, adapting the instrumental improvisation on the recording to create a fun…

Par HARVEY JONATHAN. This motet for unaccompanied SATB choir was written for the choir of Winchester Cathedral. An intimate work, full of rhythmic and harmonic subtlety, entirely shaped by the meaning of the words./ Répertoire / Voix Mixtes

Par L'ESTRANGE ALEXANDER (Arr.). The Skye Boat Song is perhaps one of the best-known Scottish melodies of all. It refers to the story of Bonnie Prince Charlie who, still only a boy, was smuggled out of Scotland to France after the Scots’ defeat by the English at the Battle of Culloden in 1745. Despite there being a huge reward on his head, not one of his faithful Highlanders would betray him to th…

1. Choir, 2. Choir, Organ. Par BACH JOHANN SEBASTIAN. Version of 1736 (final version) Bach ’s St. Matthew Passion passed through several stages in its progress towards its final form, stages that today cannot be completely reconstructed. It may be taken as certain that the work was performed on Good Friday 1729 in St. Thomas’s Church, Leipzig, in a version of which the copy made by Bach ’s son-in-…

for SATB choir / mixed choir (SATB)