Te Deum Laudamus - Second Service (Orlando Gibbons)

(born 1583, Oxford, Oxfordshire, Eng. - died June 5, 1625, Canterbury, Kent) English composer and organist. Son of a musician, he became organist of the Chapel Royal c. 1605 and remained there the rest of his life, serving also as organist at Westminster Abbey for his last two years. A versatile composer, he wrote several Anglican services, some 40 anthems, about 50 secular keyboard pieces, about 35 fantasias for chamber ensembles, and some 15 madrigals.
He died at age 41 in Canterbury of apoplexy, and a monument to him was built in Canterbury Cathedral. A suspicion immediately arose that Gibbons had died of the plague, which was rife in England that year. Two physicians who had been present at his death were ordered to make a report, and performed an autopsy, the account of which survives in The National Archives:
We whose names are here underwritten: having been called to give our counsels to Mr Orlando Gibbons; in the time of his late and sudden sickness, which we found in the beginning lethargical, or a profound sleep; out of which, we could never recover him, neither by inward nor outward medicines, & then instantly he fell in most strong, & sharp convulsions; which did wring his mouth up to his ears, & his eyes were distorted , as though they would have been thrust out of his head & then suddenly he lost both speech, sight and hearing, & so grew apoplectical & lost the whole motion of every part of his body, & so died. Then here upon (his death being so sudden) rumours were cast out that he did die of the plague, whereupon we . . . caused his body to be searched by certain women that were sworn to deliver the truth, who did affirm that they never saw a fairer corpse. Yet notwithstanding we to give full satisfaction to all did cause the skull to be opened in our presence & we carefully viewed the body, which we found also to be very clean without any show or spot of any contagious matter. In the brain we found the whole & sole cause of his sickness namely a great admirable blackness & syderation in the outside of the brain. Within the brain (being opened) there did issue out abundance of water intermixed with blood & this we affirm to be the only cause of his sudden death.[2]
His death was a shock to peers and the suddenness of his passing drew comment more for the haste of his burial - and of its location at Canterbury rather than the body being returned to London. His wife, Elizabeth, died a little over a year later, aged in her mid-30s, leaving Orlando's eldest brother, Edward, to care for the children left orphans by this event. Of these children only the eldest son, Christopher Gibbons, went on to become a musician.
One of the most versatile English composers of his time, Gibbons wrote a quantity of keyboard works, around thirty fantasias for viols, a number of madrigals (the best-known being The Silver Swan), and many popular verse anthems. His choral music is distinguished by his complete mastery of counterpoint, combined with his wonderful gift for melody. Perhaps his most well known verse anthem is This is the record of John, which sets an Advent text for solo countertenor or tenor, alternating with full chorus. The soloist is required to demonstrate considerable technical facility at points, and the work at once expresses the rhetorical force of the text, whilst never being demonstrative or bombastic. He also produced two major settings of Evensong, the Short Service and the Second Service. The former includes a beautifully expressive Nunc dimittis, while the latter is an extended composition, combining verse and full sections. Gibbons' full anthems include the expressive O Lord, in thy wrath, and the Ascension Day anthem O clap your hands together for eight voices. He contributed six pieces to the first printed collection of keyboard music in England, Parthenia (to which he was by far the youngest of the three contributors), published in about 1611.

[@arcadiacorydon547]

A superb performance from, I think. the fifties.Most affecting solo singing, and every word so clear. The recording, too, is remarkable, capturing as it does so well , that difficult acoustic. Not to be equalled. Many thanks.

[@handyman109]

A lovely piece evoking traditional English atmosphere.

[@mottledbrain]

I grew up as an Anglican. I have since come home to the Catholic Church, but I miss a lot of the grand music.
One thing I have been unable to locate is the Te Deum the way we sang it in three different churches in two different cities in Canada. I believe we used the Merbecke setting. (That name was on the 'order of service' almost every week.)
Has anyone seen that anywhere on the Internet?

[@AnglicanXn]

I do not know - but I am hunting the same thing. I really miss some of the chants I sang when I first became Anglican.

[@loupblanc26]

Wonderful!