Blest Cecilia - Britten Choral Works I / The Sixteen

$18.99
Label
Coro
Release Date
April 1, 2002
Format
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    Featuring ⌄
    • COMPOSER
      BRITTEN, BENJAMIN
    • PERFORMER
      V1: Britten Choral Works
    Product Details ⌄
    • RELEASE DATE
      April 01, 2002
    • UPC
      828021600623
    • CATALOG NUMBER
      COR16006
    • LABEL
      Coro
    • NUMBER OF DISCS
      1
    • GENRE
      Choral - Sacred
    Works ⌄

    1. Hymn to the Virgin

      Composer: Benjamin Britten

      Ensemble: The Sixteen

      Conductor: Harry Christophers

    2. Hymn of St Columba

      Composer: Benjamin Britten

      Ensemble: The Sixteen

      Performer: Margaret Philips (Organ)

      Conductor: Harry Christophers

    3. Hymn to St Peter, Op. 56a

      Composer: Benjamin Britten

      Ensemble: The Sixteen

      Performer: Ruth Dean (Soprano), Carys-Anne Lane (Soprano), Margaret Philips (Organ)

      Conductor: Harry Christophers

    4. Antiphon, Op. 56b

      Composer: Benjamin Britten

      Ensemble: The Sixteen

      Performer: Libby Crabtree (Soprano), Ruth Dean (Soprano), Carys-Anne Lane (Soprano), Margaret Philips (Organ)

      Conductor: Harry Christophers

    5. Te Deum in C major

      Composer: Benjamin Britten

      Ensemble: The Sixteen

      Performer: Libby Crabtree (Soprano), Margaret Philips (Organ)

      Conductor: Harry Christophers

    6. Jubilate Deo

      Composer: Benjamin Britten

      Ensemble: The Sixteen

      Performer: Margaret Philips (Organ)

      Conductor: Harry Christophers

    7. Hymn to St Cecilia, Op. 27

      Composer: Benjamin Britten

      Ensemble: The Sixteen

      Performer: Simon Birchall (Bass), Philip Daggett (Tenor), Ruth Dean (Soprano), Nicola Jenkin (Soprano), Caroline Trevor (Alto)

      Conductor: Harry Christophers

    8. Rejoice in the Lamb, Op. 30

      Composer: Benjamin Britten

      Ensemble: The Sixteen

      Performer: Simon Berridge (Tenor), Simon Birchall (Bass), Carys-Anne Lane (Soprano), Deborah Miles-Johnson (Alto), Margaret Philips (Organ)

      Conductor: Harry Christophers

    9. Festival Te Deum in E major, Op. 32

      Composer: Benjamin Britten

      Ensemble: The Sixteen

      Performer: Ruth Dean (Soprano), Margaret Philips (Organ)

      Conductor: Harry Christophers



Fans of Benjamin Britten and of The Sixteen will rejoice at this reissue of material from the choir's acclaimed three-volume Britten series originally recorded for the now-defunct Collins label. (Presumably all of the music from the complete set eventually will appear under the Sixteen's new Coro emblem.) If you know the earlier recordings, you'll quickly notice that the program here is different from the original configurations: there are five selections from Collins' Vol. 3--Hymn to the Virgin, A Hymn of Saint Columba, Hymn to Saint Peter, Jubilate Deo, Festival Te Deum; three from Vol. 2--Rejoice in the Lamb; Antiphon; Te Deum in C; and the Hymn to Saint Cecilia from Vol. 1.

Recorded performances of Britten's choral music don't get any better than this. No one will argue that this choir was/is capable of singing anything, and singing it as well as or better than anyone--and these Britten pieces are made for exuberant, exultant, exacting singing that the Sixteen can do without a blip, a glitch, or the slightest faltering step. From the fawning, devotional A Hymn to the Virgin to the wild and glorious Rejoice in the Lamb, this is music most perfectly created and most grandly and emphatically presented. A first-class effort; a classic.

--David Vernier

Works:
Hymn to the Virgin
A Hymn of Saint Columba
Hymn to Saint Peter
Antiphon
Te Deum in C
Jubilate Deo
Hymn to Saint Cecilia
Festival Te Deum
Rejoice in the Lamb