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Hear My Prayer / Edison, Choir Of St John's, Elora
Naxos

Hear My Prayer / Edison, Choir Of St John's, Elora

$19.99

Details

Composer
VARIOUS
Artist
Edison, Elora
Format
CD
Label
Naxos
Released
Apr 18, 2006
Catalog #
8557493
UPC
747313249329

About

You might accurately describe this program as a compilation of "great hits of Christian church music", including as it does Franck's Panis angelicus, Finzi's God is gone up, Mozart's Laudate Dominum, Fauré's Cantique de Jean Racine, Lotti's Crucifixus, Howells' Magnificat, and the overrated, overwrought, overlong (and usually excruciatingly-sung) Hear my prayer by Mendelssohn. We also get a couple of Purcell anthems, O God, Thou art my God and Remember not, O Lord, Stanford's glorious motet Justorum animae, Duruflé's tiny masterpiece Ubi caritas et amor, and the choral setting of Elgar's "Nimrod" orchestral variation (Lux aeterna).


In previous reviews, I've praised this excellent choir from Elora, Ontario, and its performances here are first-rate as well. The choir especially shines in the Stanford and Duruflé, singing these oft-recorded motets as well or better than anyone on disc, with every detail of phrasing, breathing, and dynamic change perfectly worked out and executed. The same goes for the Howells, a work we don't hear often enough. We also can appreciate the ensemble's extraordinary discipline in the Purcell pieces, successfully managing the difficult transitions and sustaining the momentum through vocal writing that usually just seems disjointed and cumbersome.


Top billing on the program goes to the ever-popular Mendelssohn, and it's here that the performance falters--not because of the choir or its top-notch organist, Matthew Larkin, but due to soprano soloist Karina Gauvin, who I've admired on several other recordings but who seems shaky, unsure, and less than convincing in this admittedly tedious and difficult solo part. That aside, this is a very satisfying program that choral enthusiasts will embrace, especially when they hear such highlights as Eleanor Daley's refreshingly traditional In Remembrance (from her Requiem), the aforementioned Stanford and Duruflé, and the spectacular rendition of the Elgar, the best version on disc by far. The sound, from the choir's home venue, is full-bodied yet well-balanced, detailed and cleanly articulated. (I'm still hoping that Naxos will include track listings/timings in the CD booklet, not just on the back of the CD box.) [4/7/2006]
--David Vernier, ClassicsToday.com

Tracklist 15 tracks

  1. 1 3 Motets, Op. 38: No. 1. Justorum animae 03:08
    Track
    1
    Title
    3 Motets, Op. 38: No. 1. Justorum animae
    Duration
    03:08
    Composer
    Charles Villiers Stanford
    Ensemble
    Elora Choir of St John's
    Conductor
    Noel Edison
  2. 2 Magnificat and Nunc dimittis (Collegium Regale): Magnificat 05:36
    Track
    2
    Title
    Magnificat and Nunc dimittis (Collegium Regale): Magnificat
    Duration
    05:36
    Composer
    Herbert Howells
    Performer
    Matthew Larkin
    Ensemble
    Elora Choir of St John's
    Conductor
    Noel Edison
  3. 3 O God, thou art my God, Z. 35 04:08
    Track
    3
    Title
    O God, thou art my God, Z. 35
    Duration
    04:08
    Composer
    Henry Purcell
    Performer
    Matthew Larkin
    Ensemble
    Elora Choir of St John's
    Conductor
    Noel Edison
  4. 4 Hear my prayer, MWV B49 (version for voice, choir and organ) 12:34
    Track
    4
    Title
    Hear my prayer, MWV B49 (version for voice, choir and organ)
    Duration
    12:34
    Composer
    Felix Mendelssohn
    Performer
    Karina Gauvin, Matthew Larkin
    Ensemble
    Elora Choir of St John's
    Conductor
    Noel Edison
  5. 5 Cantique de Jean Racine, Op. 11 05:54
    Track
    5
    Title
    Cantique de Jean Racine, Op. 11
    Duration
    05:54
    Composer
    Gabriel Fauré
    Performer
    Matthew Larkin
    Ensemble
    Elora Choir of St John's
    Conductor
    Noel Edison
  6. 6 4 Motets, Op. 10: No. 1: Ubi caritas et amor 02:35
    Track
    6
    Title
    4 Motets, Op. 10: No. 1: Ubi caritas et amor
    Duration
    02:35
    Composer
    Maurice Duruflé
    Ensemble
    Elora Choir of St John's
    Conductor
    Noel Edison
  7. 7 3 Anthems, Op. 27: No. 2. God is gone up 05:03
    Track
    7
    Title
    3 Anthems, Op. 27: No. 2. God is gone up
    Duration
    05:03
    Composer
    Gerald Finzi
    Performer
    Matthew Larkin
    Ensemble
    Elora Choir of St John's
    Conductor
    Noel Edison
  8. 8 And I saw a new Heaven 05:37
    Track
    8
    Title
    And I saw a new Heaven
    Duration
    05:37
    Composer
    Edgar Leslie Bainton
    Performer
    Matthew Larkin
    Ensemble
    Elora Choir of St John's
    Conductor
    Noel Edison
  9. 9 Remember not, O Lord, our offences, Z. 50 03:08
    Track
    9
    Title
    Remember not, O Lord, our offences, Z. 50
    Duration
    03:08
    Composer
    Henry Purcell
    Performer
    Matthew Larkin
    Ensemble
    Elora Choir of St John's
    Conductor
    Noel Edison
  10. 10 Vesperae solennes de Confessore, K. 339, "Solemn Vespers": V. Laudate Dominum 04:23
    Track
    10
    Title
    Vesperae solennes de Confessore, K. 339, "Solemn Vespers": V. Laudate Dominum
    Duration
    04:23
    Composer
    Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
    Performer
    Karina Gauvin, Matthew Larkin
    Ensemble
    Elora Choir of St John's
    Conductor
    Noel Edison
  11. 11 Crucifixus a 8 03:41
    Track
    11
    Title
    Crucifixus a 8
    Duration
    03:41
    Composer
    Antonio Lotti
    Ensemble
    Elora Choir of St John's
    Conductor
    Noel Edison
  12. 12 Requiem: In Remembrance 02:35
    Track
    12
    Title
    Requiem: In Remembrance
    Duration
    02:35
    Composer
    Eleanor Daley
    Ensemble
    Elora Choir of St John's
    Conductor
    Noel Edison
  13. 13 2 Rossetti Songs: No. 2. Remember 02:49
    Track
    13
    Title
    2 Rossetti Songs: No. 2. Remember
    Duration
    02:49
    Composer
    Stephen Chatman
    Ensemble
    Elora Choir of St John's
    Conductor
    Noel Edison
  14. 14 Lux aeterna (choral arr. of Elgar's Nimrod Variation) 03:51
    Track
    14
    Title
    Lux aeterna (choral arr. of Elgar's Nimrod Variation)
    Duration
    03:51
    Composer
    John Cameron
    Ensemble
    Elora Choir of St John's
    Conductor
    Noel Edison
  15. 15 Panis angelicus 04:14
    Track
    15
    Title
    Panis angelicus
    Duration
    04:14
    Composer
    César Franck
    Performer
    Matthew Larkin
    Ensemble
    Elora Choir of St John's
    Conductor
    Noel Edison