Format : Sheet music
Par WHITBOURN JAMES. This glorious collection of beautiful choral music by composer James Whitbourn includes fifteen short works drawn from his oeuvre from the first few years of the 21st century. Many of his greatest compositions are included in The Choral Collection, with many of the pieces working perfectly for seasonal performances, while also reflecting the many fruitful collaborations of Whitbourn's distinguished career. All works are arranged for SATB Choir. James Whitbourn has become renowned throughout the world for his acclaimed compositions and settings of numerous texts. He has been described as truly original and an innovator of contemporary British choral music, collaborating with people like Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the Choir of King's College, Cambridge. The former appears here, as A Prayer Of Desmond Tutu, a setting of one of the Archbishop's prayers. His arrangements and compositions for the King's College Choir have been universally critically acclaimed, with A Great And Mighty Wonder, Nunc Dimittis and Were You There representing these hugely popular collaborations. Whitbourn has also had a very close relationship with the BBC since his beginnings as a composer, working with them on three pieces within The Choral Collection. Eternal Rest and Give Us The Wings Of Faith were both composed specifically for television broadcast, the former (in its orchestral form) was played for the funeral of the Queen Mother in 2002. His longest work, for which he is most famous, is a setting of text from'the Diary of Anne Frank'. There Is No Speech Or Language comes from this work, taking its text from other sources, but that still maintain the beauty and tragedy of the wider piece. The Choral Collection of fifteen compositions by James Whitbourn is full of beautiful, haunting, uplifting and inspiring melodies for SATB Choir and Organ Accompaniment from one of the most treasured British choral composers. The brilliant choice of texts throughout is matched only by the sheer compositional skill of Whitbourn in evoking the emotions of the words in the musical form. Also included are suggestions for seasonal song use, a list of recordings, and fascinating song notes written by Whitbourn himself. The joy of choral singing is nowhere more evident than in a work by James Whitbourn, and performances of any piece within this collection is sure to be remembered for a long time to come./ Recueil / Choeur Mixte (SATB) et Orgue
SKU: GI.G-CD-883
UPC: 747313273775.
James Whitbourn is known for his 'boundless breadth of choral imagination' (The Observer) resulting in compositions of brilliance and power. His extraordinary work for choir, saxophone and organ, Son of God Mass, receives a new recording from the young voices of one of the finest chamber choirs from Rider University's Westminster Choir College under one of the leading American choral conductors, James Jordan. It is heard alongside premiere recordings of other works associated with life and death, including the Requiem canticorum and Living Voices, a work to commemorate the date of 9/11 with a poem by Andrew Motion. The luminosity and sheer beauty of Whitbourn's composing style is brought to unusual heights by the skills of the Williamson Voices and their conductor, James Jordan. The entire album is a collection of choral music with a spiritual center. The composer's use of saxophone and organ, interweaving with those lovely young Westminster voices, attain a kind of choral glory unusual for any music, extraordinary for 'contemporary' music. The album soothes, stretches, pulls the listener to places of fascination and high emotion, captivates and can often amaze. It is an exalted achievement. — Roger Ames A truly stunning recording.
