Matériel : Partition
SKU: FG.55011-455-5
ISBN 9790550114555.
This cycle of carols, to the poetry of Christina Rossetti, was assembled piecemeal over a number of years, gradually acquiring a larger dramatic and harmonic arch shape as new settings were added. I was particularly attracted to Rossetti's conflation of the dark, fallow winter landscape with that of the soul waiting for salvation. The cycle traces the long nights of watchfulness before Christmas, with the great event constantly deferred, only glimpsed periodically in different visions before the music turns inward again to contemplation. The opening carol embodies this spirit, with passages of diffuse, roving harmony interspersed with meditative, lyrical pedals, calling out the night watch and dreaming of a far-off summer of the spirit. Earth Grown Old is a kind of double carol, setting two complete poems, their lines at first presented separately as a still, expectant chorale and a jubilant dance, then progressively interwoven toward a fervent climax before once again receding into quiet. In the bleak mid-winter, which sets a highly compressed version of Rossetti's original poem, presents an enfeebled landscape frozen in time, in dire need of deliverance. A gentle melody weaves its way through static drones, broken by an angels' chorus announcing the joy to come. Love Came Down at Christmas ends the waiting, with its gently falling, overlapping lines building to a final revelation, the mystery of Christmas at last made real.
SKU: JU.JMG1407
ISBN 9781959503217. UPC: 850055807808.
Howar d Helvey has created four exquisite settings of wonderful Advent selections for organ. Beautifully capturing the mystery and wonder of Advent, the book contains Intrada on Conditor alme siderum' (Creator of the Stars of Night); Prelude on Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland (Savior of the Nations, Come); Meditation on Es ist ein Ros'' (Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming) and Flourish on an English Carol (Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day). This will be a special treat for the player and all to experience during the holy season of Advent.
