Dear Mikael, Thank you for posting this absolutely splendid performance by your choir and soloists (one of which, of course, is yourself!) of John Stainer's great Victorian work. The sound quality is excellent, which gives the listener a perfect opportunity to enjoy the beautifully crafted harmonies and the delightful overall precision of the choir. My only regret when listening to you all is that there is no video. Best wishes.
I am happy anytime this lovely work is performed. In my opinion the 1961 recording by the Leeds Philharmonic Choir directed by Herbert Bardgett is the best ever recorded. Generally slower tempos, a large, robust choir, and superb soloists (Alexander Young and Donald Bell), it's the most full-blooded version I've heard. It was recorded at St. Bartholomew's Church in Armley, using the famous Schulze organ, which is a beast. Eric Chadwick plays the organ very expressively, with lots of volume contrast. And the choir is not top-heavy as many of the British choirs tend to be. Check it out here on You Tube.
A beautiful, well-crafted work using rather square harmonies and little or no counterpoint, but it carries the undeniable power of sincerity. I started my musical life as a paid chorister in an Episcopal Church boy choir, loved it so much I became proficient at the piano early on performing Bach two-part inventions, two Chopin nocturnes, and the Mozart F-Major sonata by age ten. I then worked to become an organist and played my first service at age twelve. For some odd reason we avoided Stainer when I was growing up, except for the very moving "God so loved the world ..." We sang the St. Matthew Passion, Messiah, the Mozart Requiem, Mendelssohns' Elijah, the Fauré and Duruflé requiems, the Verdi requiem, the Bach Christmas Oratorio, Britten's Rejoice in the Lamb, and a memorably splendid amalgam of Christmas Carols by Gustav Holst, numerous anthems of high quality by lesser composers, but hard though it may be to believe after having enjoyed a forty-odd year career as a parish organist and choirmaster who composed numerous works for organ, chorus, descants for hymn tunes, settings of the mass, and special harmonizations of many familiar hymns, I had never heard The Crucifixion until today. It's not up to the standards set by Bach and Mozart, of course, but it deserves to be heard more often. Some really one choral singing here.
I think your autobiography is irrelevant here. I used to sing The Crucifixion as a boy chorister in Margate, Kent, but as comments should refer to this performance of the work, I see no reason to bore readers with the details of my life, musical or otherwise.
Dear Mikael, Thank you for posting this absolutely splendid performance by your choir and soloists (one of which, of course, is yourself!) of John Stainer's great Victorian work. The sound quality is excellent, which gives the listener a perfect opportunity to enjoy the beautifully crafted harmonies and the delightful overall precision of the choir. My only regret when listening to you all is that there is no video. Best wishes.
Thank you for your kind remarks!
I am happy anytime this lovely work is performed. In my opinion the 1961 recording by the Leeds Philharmonic Choir directed by Herbert Bardgett is the best ever recorded. Generally slower tempos, a large, robust choir, and superb soloists (Alexander Young and Donald Bell), it's the most full-blooded version I've heard. It was recorded at St. Bartholomew's Church in Armley, using the famous Schulze organ, which is a beast. Eric Chadwick plays the organ very expressively, with lots of volume contrast. And the choir is not top-heavy as many of the British choirs tend to be. Check it out here on You Tube.
Yes, it's a wonderful work! Thank you for listening and commenting.
A beautiful, well-crafted work using rather square harmonies and little or no counterpoint, but it carries the undeniable power of sincerity. I started my musical life as a paid chorister in an Episcopal Church boy choir, loved it so much I became proficient at the piano early on performing Bach two-part inventions, two Chopin nocturnes, and the Mozart F-Major sonata by age ten. I then worked to become an organist and played my first service at age twelve. For some odd reason we avoided Stainer when I was growing up, except for the very moving "God so loved the world ..." We sang the St. Matthew Passion, Messiah, the Mozart Requiem, Mendelssohns' Elijah, the Fauré and Duruflé requiems, the Verdi requiem, the Bach Christmas Oratorio, Britten's Rejoice in the Lamb, and a memorably splendid amalgam of Christmas Carols by Gustav Holst, numerous anthems of high quality by lesser composers, but hard though it may be to believe after having enjoyed a forty-odd year career as a parish organist and choirmaster who composed numerous works for organ, chorus, descants for hymn tunes, settings of the mass, and special harmonizations of many familiar hymns, I had never heard The Crucifixion until today. It's not up to the standards set by Bach and Mozart, of course, but it deserves to be heard more often. Some really one choral singing here.
I think your autobiography is irrelevant here. I used to sing The Crucifixion as a boy chorister in Margate, Kent, but as comments should refer to this performance of the work, I see no reason to bore readers with the details of my life, musical or otherwise.
Hyramess Hiramess i
Thanks for this - my benchmark is Guildford Cathedral.
Lovely. Such a shame about the persistent coughing.