Four Instrumental Motets

SKU: HL.49043942

ISBN 9790220134562. 8.25x11.75x0.396 inches. English.

The Anglo-Saxon poem The Dream of the Rood was probably written in the 8th Century and is the earliest dream-vision poem in Old English. A fragment of the poem from the section that describes the crucifixion can be found carved on the Ruthwell Cross in Dumfriesshire, and set in stone at a time when Ruthwell was part of the ancient kingdom of Northumbria. In responding to a commission for the Hilliard Ensemble, I was keen to find a dramatic text, but one that would also invite a musical response appropriate to the very nature of this kind of vocal quartet. Writing for the Hilliards together with a mixed instrumental ensemble, and for a generous cathedral acoustic, has had a strong influence on the types of textures and sonorities I have used. The structure of the work is dictated by the form of the poem, but the music could also be seen as consisting of a sequence of motets with both vocal and instrumental interludes.John Casken.

SKU: CA.5136119

ISBN 9790007145712. Key: E flat major. Language: Latin.

Motet of an unknown arranger (ca. 1820), based on th Adagio of the Serenade KV 361 (Gran Partita). The motet Quis te comprehendat, K-Anhang 110, is based on the Adagio in Mozart's Wind Serenade K. 361, the Gran Partita. The arrangement of this instrumental movement with the addition of a four-part choir deserves to be regarded as a successful example of the practice of parody, on a higher level than many less accomplished arrangements of the period. As in most of those cases the identity of the arranger is unknown, but his sensitive treatment of the original points to a gifted musician. Characteristic accompanying figures are given to the strings, while the solo violin and the organ appear melodically. The homophonic choral setting, whose Latin words are a religious song of praise with no specific liturgical connection, is based on the works harmonic substance. The vocal parts follow the framework and compactly fill out the accompanying instrumental writing. Score and parts available separately - see item CA.5136100.

SKU: CA.5136114

ISBN 9790007225025. Key: E flat major. Language: Latin.

Motet of an unknown arranger (ca. 1820), based on th Adagio of the Serenade KV 361 (Gran Partita). The motet Quis te comprehendat, K-Anhang 110, is based on the Adagio in Mozart's Wind Serenade K. 361, the Gran Partita. The arrangement of this instrumental movement with the addition of a four-part choir deserves to be regarded as a successful example of the practice of parody, on a higher level than many less accomplished arrangements of the period. As in most of those cases the identity of the arranger is unknown, but his sensitive treatment of the original points to a gifted musician. Characteristic accompanying figures are given to the strings, while the solo violin and the organ appear melodically. The homophonic choral setting, whose Latin words are a religious song of praise with no specific liturgical connection, is based on the works harmonic substance. The vocal parts follow the framework and compactly fill out the accompanying instrumental writing. Score and part available separately - see item CA.5136100.

SKU: CA.5136109

ISBN 9790007224981. Key: E flat major. Language: Latin.

Motet of an unknown arranger (ca. 1820), based on th Adagio of the Serenade KV 361 (Gran Partita). The motet Quis te comprehendat, K-Anhang 110, is based on the Adagio in Mozart's Wind Serenade K. 361, the Gran Partita. The arrangement of this instrumental movement with the addition of a four-part choir deserves to be regarded as a successful example of the practice of parody, on a higher level than many less accomplished arrangements of the period. As in most of those cases the identity of the arranger is unknown, but his sensitive treatment of the original points to a gifted musician. Characteristic accompanying figures are given to the strings, while the solo violin and the organ appear melodically. The homophonic choral setting, whose Latin words are a religious song of praise with no specific liturgical connection, is based on the works harmonic substance. The vocal parts follow the framework and compactly fill out the accompanying instrumental writing. Score and parts available separately - see item CA.5136100.

SKU: CA.2780400

ISBN 9790007167790.

Today Monteverdi's Selva morale et spirituale (1641) stands entirely in the shadow of his famous Vespers 1610. The editions from 1610 and 1641 both include music for the Mass and Vespers, but each of these collections was composed under much different circumstances during Monteverdi's lifetime. If the works of 1610 are a bold combination of traditional compositional techniques and avant garde music, which were intended by this weary Court Composer at Mantua as an application portfolio for a new job, the 1641 collection is the only church music by the mature Monteverdi which was published after almost thirty years in his position as Music Director of St. Mark's Cathedral: the latter, a kind of best of collection from his many years of experience as a church musician. In Venice the composer had not only a fabulous, but a large ensemble at his disposal (finally, about 35 singers, alone)! The combination of soloistic and weighty tutti sections makes a big effect in this music, it makes the music, with its clearly defined sections and, for the most part homophonic choral passages more easily performable than the Vespers for today's choirs. The new edition, comprised initially of three volumes, also includes those works from the Selva Morale (a Mass and two Magnificats) which have already been published by Carus, as well as all further liturgical compositions for use in the church. Volume III, Motetti, Salve Regina, Himini, contains compositions for 1 to 3 voices and basso continuo, some with two violins (the psalms are included in both the Salmi I and Salmi II volumes). The edition is based on the methods employed in the much acclaimed Carus edition of the Vespers: * It contains a detailed foreword with suggestions for notation, scoring and for the liturgical use of individual compositions. * For the present edition four of the five surviving printed copies, as well as contemporary manuscript were consulted. Facsimiles illustrate special characteristics of the edtion of 1641. A Critical Report makes clear all of the editorial decisions made in the edition. * All of the pieces are printed untransposed and using the original note values. * All of the pieces are available in single editions with complete performance material. * Vocal scores of all works with obbligato instruments facilitate rehearsal. * Instrumental parts for collaparte accompaniment of tutti-sections (including text underlay).

SKU: HH.HH434-FSP

ISBN 9781910359419.

Giuseppe Torelli (1658–1709) was the reputed father of the instrumental concerto, yet he also composed sacred vocal music. Discovered in 2001, when the Berlin Sing-Akademie’s archive was returned from Kiev (where it had been hidden away since the Second World War), his five-movement motet O fideles, modicum sustinete tempus (‘O ye faithful, pause a short while’), for alto (contralto), two violins and continuo, is a splendid example of its genre. Torelli probably wrote it at Ansbach during a brief interregnum around 1700 when his employer, the Basilica di San Petronio in Bologna, temporarily suspended its orchestra, leaving its members to seek their fortune elsewhere. Like the four-movement Ite, procul abite, maestitiae (Edition HH, December 2016), this is a vibrant, technically challenging work full of exquisite touches that reaches the level of similar motets by Alessandro Scarlatti and looks forward to Vivaldi.