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Elgar: The Reeds by Severn Side / Vann, Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital Chelsea
SOMM Recordings

Elgar: The Reeds by Severn Side / Vann, Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital Chelsea

$20.99

Details

Composer
Edward Elgar
Artist
Joshua Ryan, William Vann
Format
CD
Label
SOMM Recordings
Released
Apr 29, 2022
Catalog #
SOMMCD 278
UPC
748871327825

About

SOMM Recordings announces the release of The Reeds by Severn Side, a ravishing collection of choral works by Edward Elgar, sung by the Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital Chelsea, led by director William Vann, accompanied by organist Joshua Ryan. Of the 18 featured works, six are first recordings. They traverse Elgar’s remarkable ascension from lowly lawyer’s clerk to self-taught composer to Master of the King’s Musick. And chart the impeccable fusing of his Roman Catholic heritage with the Anglican church tradition to which he contributed several masterpieces. They also reveal what Vaughan Williams described as the “mystery and [the] miracle” of Elgar’s flowering into the music laureate of Edwardian England, as Andrew Neill, former Chairman of the Elgar Society, observes in his authoritative booklet notes.

Alongside juvenilia such as the 16-year-old Elgar’s Credo on Themes from Symphonies 5, 7 and 9 by Beethoven (in James Olsen’s completion) and Drake’s Broughton, to which the 73-year-old composer would return in his Nursery Suite, are diverse works that reveal growing confidence, including early settings of the Mass and first recordings (in English) of the Op.2 trilogy: Jesu, word of God Incarnate; Jesu, Lord of Life and Glory; Jesu, Meek and Lowly. The masterpiece bitonal setting of Tennyson, There is Sweet Music, one of Elgar’s self-described “choral songs”, is a highlight, alongside twin peaks of his anthem writing: O Hearken Thou (heard as the Latin motet, Intende voci orationis meae) and substantial Give Unto the Lord. William Vann and the Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital Chelsea’s previous SOMM releases include In Remembrance, described by Gramophone as “almost unbearably moving”, and as “an album that will have enduring value into the future” by MusicWeb International. Carols from Chelsea was a Best Classical Christmas Release, praised for its “model singing”, in The Guardian.

Tracklist 18 tracks

  1. 1 Gloria 05:07
    Track
    1
    Title
    Gloria
    Duration
    05:07
    Composer
    Edward Elgar
    Performer
    Joshua Ryan
    Ensemble
    Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital Chelsea
    Conductor
    William Vann
  2. 2 Credo (after L. van Beethoven's symphonies) 11:09
    Track
    2
    Title
    Credo (after L. van Beethoven's symphonies)
    Duration
    11:09
    Composer
    Edward Elgar
    Performer
    Joshua Ryan
    Ensemble
    Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital Chelsea
    Conductor
    William Vann
  3. 3 Hear Thy Children, Gentle Jesus 01:53
    Track
    3
    Title
    Hear Thy Children, Gentle Jesus
    Duration
    01:53
    Composer
    Edward Elgar
    Performer
    Joshua Ryan
    Ensemble
    Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital Chelsea
    Conductor
    William Vann
  4. 4 O salutaris hostia No. 3 03:21
    Track
    4
    Title
    O salutaris hostia No. 3
    Duration
    03:21
    Composer
    Edward Elgar
    Performer
    Joshua Ryan
    Ensemble
    Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital Chelsea
    Conductor
    William Vann
  5. 5 Ave verum corpus, Op. 2, No. 1 02:52
    Track
    5
    Title
    Ave verum corpus, Op. 2, No. 1
    Duration
    02:52
    Composer
    Edward Elgar
    Performer
    Joshua Ryan
    Ensemble
    Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital Chelsea
    Conductor
    William Vann
  6. 6 Ave Maria, Op. 2, No. 2 02:44
    Track
    6
    Title
    Ave Maria, Op. 2, No. 2
    Duration
    02:44
    Composer
    Edward Elgar
    Performer
    Joshua Ryan
    Ensemble
    Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital Chelsea
    Conductor
    William Vann
  7. 7 Ave maris stella, Op. 2, No. 3 03:39
    Track
    7
    Title
    Ave maris stella, Op. 2, No. 3
    Duration
    03:39
    Composer
    Edward Elgar
    Performer
    Joshua Ryan
    Ensemble
    Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital Chelsea
    Conductor
    William Vann
  8. 8 Scenes from the Saga of King Olaf, Op. 30: As Torrents in Summer 02:23
    Track
    8
    Title
    Scenes from the Saga of King Olaf, Op. 30: As Torrents in Summer
    Duration
    02:23
    Composer
    Edward Elgar
    Ensemble
    Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital Chelsea
    Conductor
    William Vann
  9. 9 4 Choral Songs, Op. 53: No. 1. There is Sweet Music 04:45
    Track
    9
    Title
    4 Choral Songs, Op. 53: No. 1. There is Sweet Music
    Duration
    04:45
    Composer
    Edward Elgar
    Ensemble
    Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital Chelsea
    Conductor
    William Vann
  10. 10 Psalm 68, "Let God Arise and Let His Enemies Be Scattered" 04:23
    Track
    10
    Title
    Psalm 68, "Let God Arise and Let His Enemies Be Scattered"
    Duration
    04:23
    Composer
    Henry Lawes, Edward Elgar, Charles Hylton Stewart, Henry Thomas Smart
    Performer
    Joshua Ryan
    Ensemble
    Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital Chelsea
    Conductor
    William Vann
  11. 11 Angelus, Op. 56 03:30
    Track
    11
    Title
    Angelus, Op. 56
    Duration
    03:30
    Composer
    Edward Elgar
    Ensemble
    Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital Chelsea
    Conductor
    William Vann
  12. 12 They are at rest 03:27
    Track
    12
    Title
    They are at rest
    Duration
    03:27
    Composer
    Edward Elgar
    Performer
    Joshua Ryan
    Ensemble
    Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital Chelsea
    Conductor
    William Vann
  13. 13 O hearken Thou, Op. 64 02:44
    Track
    13
    Title
    O hearken Thou, Op. 64
    Duration
    02:44
    Composer
    Edward Elgar
    Performer
    Joshua Ryan
    Ensemble
    Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital Chelsea
    Conductor
    William Vann
  14. 14 Give unto the Lord, Op. 74, "Psalm 29" (version for choir and organ) 08:30
    Track
    14
    Title
    Give unto the Lord, Op. 74, "Psalm 29" (version for choir and organ)
    Duration
    08:30
    Composer
    Edward Elgar
    Performer
    Joshua Ryan
    Ensemble
    Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital Chelsea
    Conductor
    William Vann
  15. 15 Fear not, O Land 03:46
    Track
    15
    Title
    Fear not, O Land
    Duration
    03:46
    Composer
    Edward Elgar
    Performer
    Joshua Ryan
    Ensemble
    Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital Chelsea
    Conductor
    William Vann
  16. 16 I Sing the Birth 04:10
    Track
    16
    Title
    I Sing the Birth
    Duration
    04:10
    Composer
    Edward Elgar
    Ensemble
    Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital Chelsea
    Conductor
    William Vann
  17. 17 Goodmorrow 04:32
    Track
    17
    Title
    Goodmorrow
    Duration
    04:32
    Composer
    Edward Elgar
    Ensemble
    Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital Chelsea
    Conductor
    William Vann
  18. 18 Queen Alexandra Memorial Ode, "So many true princesses who have gone" 06:41
    Track
    18
    Title
    Queen Alexandra Memorial Ode, "So many true princesses who have gone"
    Duration
    06:41
    Composer
    Edward Elgar
    Performer
    Joshua Ryan
    Ensemble
    Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital Chelsea
    Conductor
    William Vann