I will be taking a bit of a break after today’s post. If you want to listen to past music I’ve posted simply search on Sunday Morning Music and you’ll find a lot, or click on any Sunday on the calendar. That’ll do too.
It Is Well With My Soul, arr. Berent Wells
Voces Cordis, André van der Merwe, Conductor
Richard Convery, Composer
Phoenix Consort
From the YouTube page:
We hope you enjoy this recording of Robert Convery’s ‘Christmas Daybreak’, recorded at Castle Howard.
It’s set to Christina Rossetti’s beautiful text, copied below… her poetry is also the central theme to our upcoming Christmas concert, Midwinter (check out our website for all the details and get your tickets!)
Before the paling of the stars,
Before the winter morn,
Before the earliest cock-crow,
Jesus Christ was born:
Born in a stable,
Cradled in a manger,
In the world His hands had made
Born a stranger.
Priest and King lay fast asleep
In Jerusalem,
Young and old lay fast asleep
In crowded Bethlehem:
Saint and Angel, ox and ass,
Kept a watch together,
Before the Christmas daybreak
In the winter weather.
Jesus on His Mother’s breast
In the stable cold,
Spotless Lamb of God was He,
Shepherd of the fold:
Let us kneel with Mary Maid,
With Joseph bent and hoary,
With Saint and Angel, ox and ass,
To hail the King of Glory.
Eleanor Daley: Love came down at Christmas
The Gesualdo Six
Ralph Vaughan Williams: This is the Truth Sent From Above (final verse harmonized by Owain Park
The Gesualdo Six
Tamsin Jones: O Key of David
St. Martin’s Voices
Gabriel’s Message (Basque Christmas folk carol) Arr. Jim Clements
VOCES 8
From the YouTube page:
Tickets to watch VOCES8’s LIVE From London Christmas festival, online from 8 December to 6 January, are available here.
TEXT
The angel Gabriel from heaven came,
his wings as drifted snow, his eyes as flame;
“All hail,” said he, “thou lowly maiden, Mary,
most highly favored lady,”
Gloria!
“For know a blessed Mother thou shalt be,
all generations laud and honour thee,
thy Son shall be Emmanuel, by seers foretold,
“most highly favoured lady,”
Gloria!
Then gentle Mary meekly bowed her head,
“To me be as it pleaseth God,” she said.
“My soul shall laud and magnify His holy Name.”
“Most highly favoured lady,”
Gloria!
Of her, Emmanuel, the Christ was born in Bethlehem,
all on a Christmas morn,
and Christian folk throughout the world will ever say,
“most highly favoured lady.”
Gloria!
Josef Rheinberger: Kyrie
Stellenbosch University Choir; André van der Marwe, Conductor
John Taverner: O splendor gloriae
The Sixteen: Harry Christophers, COnductor
O splendor of glory and image of substance
God the Father almighty, Jesus Christ
Choose the only son of the same, live the spring of good
Redeemer of the world, savior and our God, hail
Glorious, Lord, is your majesty and wonderful works;
Thou hast made heaven and earth with all
What is in them creatures
By thy divine word thou hast made out of nothing;
Which most wisely disposed soon, for us
Whom thou didst form in thy image
That thou didst most graciously subdue all things
The disobedience of the protoplast had brought death
But how wouldst thou redeem the life of thy works
Of Mary the most humble virgin , Jesus, you took flesh:
From which you were conceived by the Holy Spirit
You were born God and man, your handmaid mother
She remained whole and a perpetual virgin
And when you endured a hard life for us, you ceased to be passionate
And torn by tortures, who did not sin
Bearing our crimes in your body
And washing the same with your most precious blood
Finally, the most infamous death, the most gentle lamb
You suffered and most cruel
From here to your father sweet sacrifice offered
You were afflicted for us poor sinners
Then on the third day
Raised from death to the heavenly father with glory
You were exalted to the highest, to sit at his right hand:
Then you gave us the holy paraclete
Who, as our heavenly doctrine, strengthens the breasts;
We beseech thee lowly, Amen
Zoltán Kodály: Jézus És A Kufárok (Jesus and the Traders)
USC Thornton Concert Choir; Cristian Grases, Conductor
(Mark 11: 15-18)
Thomas Tallis: O sacrum Convivium
The Mancunium Consort
O sacrum convivium
in quo Christus sumitur:
recolitur memoria passionis eius:
mens impletur gratia:
et futurae gloriae nobis pignus datur.
How holy this feast
in which Christ is our food;
his passion is recalled;
grace fills our hearts;
and we receive a pledge of the glory to come.
