Wordless Songs

Song was Thomas Pasatieri's primary interest - he wrote an amazing 400 between the ages of 14 and 18. This collection of songs for Soprano voice includes settings of poetry by Theodore Ramsey a wordless Vocalise 'ThreeCalifornia Songs' and the substantial Windsong which gives this collection its name and also contains Viola (part included).

This title is taken from the compilation French Songs And Choruses For Mixed-Voice Choir (NOV165198) These songs for unaccompanied chorus were written between December 1914 and February 1915 while Ravel was waiting to be enlisted in the army. The songs were published in 1916 but did not receive their first performance until October 1917 with a chorus assembled by Jane Bathori and her husband.The songs mark a rare foray into choral writing for Ravel the first since his ill-fated entries for the Prix de Rome (apart from the wordless choruses in Daphnis et Chloé). Part of the special interest of Trois chansons is that Ravel himselfwrote the texts for them. The first and last of the poems have an ironic humour and he clearly revelled in the use of language; the second makes repeated reference to going away to war as its dedicatee Painlevé had already done and as Ravel was then preoccupied with doing. The only other work in which Ravel set his own text to music was Noël des jouets (1905).

There is no rose of such virtue is an anonymous mediaeval text, already well known through beautiful settings by Britten (in his Ceremony of Carols), John Joubert and others. The poem is 'macaronic' (it presents a verse in English, followed by a varying Latin refrain). This new version follows the illustrious examples above by remaining strophic and presenting broadly the same music in a succession of slightly different guises. The first verse is a straightforward four-part setting, the second gives the melody to the tenors and surrounds them with hushed, wordless writing for the other parts, and the third explores a freely canonic relationship between the tenor and soprano lines before carrying the previous verse-endings to a higher, more exalted pitch and mood. The fourth verse then expands its texture in a free climactic passage evoking the songs of praise sung by the angels. This subsides towards the final verse, where the texture of the music attenuates again to four parts, and canonic writing (based on the first four notes of the original melody) permeates all of them. This slightly extended statement leads to a hushed final cadence. Francis Pott (b. 1957) began musical life as a chorister at New College, Oxford. He held open music scholarships at Winchester College and at Magdalene College, Cambridge, where he studied composition with Robin Holloway and Hugh Wood while pursuing piano studies privately in London with the distinguished British artist, Hamish Milne. Throughout the 1990s Francis was John Bennett Lecturer in Music at St Hilda's College, Oxford, and a lay clerk in the Choir of Winchester Cathedral. In 2001 he became Head of London College of Music, University of West London, later leading research across the University's Faculty of Arts and acceding in 2007 to its first Chair in Composition. Francis Pott has become recognised particularly for his sacred choral and organ music. This has been performed in concert and on radio in over three dozen countries worldwide, published by four major UK houses and released extensively on CD. Winner of four national composition awards, in 1997 he received first prize in the piano solo section of the S. S. Prokofiev Composing Competition, Moscow. In 2006 and 2011 he was a nominated finalist in the BASCA/BBC Annual Composer Awards. In summer 2012 he was winner of the international composing competition of the Cheltenham Festival, which sought new piano variations on the arioso song Bist du bei mir, well known in the arrangement by J. S. Bach. Francis lives with his wife and two children on the outskirts of Winchester. An inspiring selection of new works from a range of contemporary composers, the Novello New Choral Series offers pieces for all types of choirs, including sacred and secular works from simple, four-part settings to more expansive, yet accessible, repertoire in an exciting variety of styles. / Choeur Mixte (SATB)

Carl Nielsen (1865-1931) was a Danish musician often seen as his country’s greatest composer. While his operas and songs have become embedded within the cultural heritage in his native Denmark internationally he is better known for his symphonies and concertos distinguished by his prominent use of Brass instruments and dramatic changes in tonality.His Symphony No.3 (Op. 27 FS. 60) was composed in 1911 and is often subtitled Sinfonia Espansiva after the tempo designation of the first movement. Somewhat unusually the second movement includes vocal parts: wordless solos for Soprano and Baritone. Throughout Nielsenexpertly contrasts sections of blissful calm with passages of incredible angst creating a wonderfully moving masterpiece.

This joyful celebration of the human voice is wordless except for Imba wimbo wakona which is Swahili for sing songs forever. A great showcase for jazz and pop groups! Performance Time: Approx. 2:25