25 Serious & Religious Chorales

Marienhymne is a piece on a smaller scale than Tavener’s dramatic cantatas and is written for unaccompanied choir and semiChorus. Tavener was drawn to writer and philosopher Frithjof Schuon’s vision of the Virgin Mary asuniversal and primordial Woman and has used an extract from his work Maria as the libretto in German for this piece. The composer calls for ‘radiance and ecstasy’ and also a ‘great distance’ between the main choir and the echochoir.John Tavener was that rare creature a composer of serious music and serious religious music who also achieved commercial success. He burst into the popular consciousness with the performance of his Song for Athene at thefuneral of Princess Diana but had been a highly respected and frequently-performed composer since the premiere of his dramatic cantata The Whale in 1968.

The Lamb one of composer John Tavener’s most beloved frequently-performed and often-recorded works was composed in a single afternoon in 1982 as a gift for the composer’s three-year-old nephew.While the original was an unaccompanied Choral piece that set William Blake’s poem The Lamb this adaptation is an extremely effective and moving work for String Orchestra. The arrangement may be performed aloneor in accompaniment to a Chorus. John Tavener was that rare creature a composer of serious music and serious religious music who also achieved commercial success. He burst into the popular consciousness with theperformance of his Song for Athene at the funeral of Princess Diana but had been a highly respected and frequently-performed composer since the premiere of his dramatic cantata The Whale in 1968. The Lamb hasappeared on nearly forty different recordings.

However often Bennett may have employed serial techniques or introduced jazz and modern elements into his work his Choral compositions are always tonal and melodic. In A Farewell To Arms he displays an exquisite sensitivity to the poetry of Ralph Knevet (17th century) and George Peele (16th century) and their mediations on the homely life after years spent soldiering. The Cello can be heard to serve as the ‘Voice’ of the old soldier. The music combines the jaggedly Romantic Cello line with Choral writing that suggests early music motifs and harmonies.Composer performer and arranger Richard Rodney Bennett was internationally respected for his serious music and manyaward-winning film scores (Murder on the Orient Express Nicholas and Alexandra) as well as his works for children and his religious pieces. In addition this markedly versatile musician frequently performed as a jazz pianist.

The playful side of versatile British composer conductor arranger and performer Richard Rodney Bennett comes to the fore with this delightful setting of seven nonsensical poems by Mervyn Peake. It was said of Peake during his lifetime that his serious work was full of humour while his nonsense verse was full of philosophy. This duality makes his lyrics a superb match for Bennett a composer who it is impossible to categorise. Composer performer and arranger Richard Rodney Bennett was internationally respected for his serious music and many award-winning film scores (Murder on the Orient Express Nicholas and Alexandra) as well as his works for children and his religiouspieces. In addition this markedly versatile musician frequently performed as a jazz pianist and arranger. Nonsense works equally well for students Choruses as well as for adult groups.