E. Johnson, Dove: Songs of Celebration / Partington, Lenehan, Choir of Gloucester Cathedral

$15.99
Label
Nimbus
Release Date
September 2, 2022
Format
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    Featuring ⌄
    • COMPOSER
      Emma Johnson, Jonathan Dove, Johann Sebastian Bach
    • ORCHESTRA / ENSEMBLE
      The Choir Of Gloucester Cathedral
    • PERFORMER
      Emma Johnson, Adrian Partington, John Lenehan, Recorder Consort
    Product Details ⌄
    • RELEASE DATE
      September 02, 2022
    • UPC
      0710357643125
    • CATALOG NUMBER
      NI6431
    • LABEL
      Nimbus
    • NUMBER OF DISCS
      1
    • GENRE
      Classical
    Works ⌄

    1. I. Sing of a Maiden

      Composer: Emma Johnson

      Ensemble: Gloucester Cathedral Choir

      Performer: Emma Johnson

      Conductor: Adrian Partington

    2. II. He is Born the Divine Infant King

      Composer: Emma Johnson

      Ensemble: Gloucester Cathedral Choir

      Performer: Emma Johnson

      Conductor: Adrian Partington

    3. III. Precious Gift

      Composer: Emma Johnson

      Ensemble: Gloucester Cathedral Choir

      Performer: Emma Johnson

      Conductor: Adrian Partington

    4. IV. There Is No Rose

      Composer: Emma Johnson

      Ensemble: Gloucester Cathedral Choir

      Performer: Emma Johnson

      Conductor: Adrian Partington

    5. I. Opening

      Composer: Jonathan Dove

      Performer: Emma Johnson, John Lenehan

    6. II. Into the Street the Piper Stepped

      Composer: Jonathan Dove

      Ensemble: Gloucester Cathedral Choir, Recorder Consort

      Performer: Emma Johnson, John Lenehan

      Conductor: Adrian Partington

    7. III. Once More He Stepped Into the Street

      Composer: Jonathan Dove

      Ensemble: Gloucester Cathedral Choir, Recorder Consort

      Performer: Emma Johnson, John Lenehan

      Conductor: Adrian Partington

    8. Carol of the Bells (arr. E. Johnson for choir and clarinet)

      Composer: Mykola Dmytrovych Leontovych

      Ensemble: Gloucester Cathedral Choir

      Performer: Emma Johnson

      Conductor: Adrian Partington

    9. Coventry Carol (arr. E. Johnson for choir and clarinet)

      Composer: Traditional

      Ensemble: Gloucester Cathedral Choir

      Performer: Emma Johnson

      Conductor: Adrian Partington

    10. Silent Night (arr. E. Johnson for choir and clarinet)

      Composer: Franz Xaver Gruber

      Ensemble: Gloucester Cathedral Choir

      Performer: Emma Johnson

      Conductor: Adrian Partington

    11. Variations on We Wish You A Merry Christmas

      Composer: Emma Johnson

      Performer: Emma Johnson, John Lenehan

    12. Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben, BWV 147: Chorale: Jesus bleibet meine Freude (Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring) (arr. E. Johnson for choir, clarinet and piano)

      Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach

      Ensemble: Gloucester Cathedral Choir

      Performer: Emma Johnson, John Lenehan

      Conductor: Adrian Partington


In 2018 I was delighted to accept the challenge of writing a Christmas song for clarinet and higher voices and decided to set one of my favorite medieval poems, I Sing of a Maiden that is Makeless. The poem tells of the miracle of the divine birth and is a paean to the mother of Christ. I became so fascinated with composing for clarinet and upper voices that I found myself writing three more songs, all celebrating the Christmas story. All four songs are grouped under the title, Songs of Celebration and they can be performed separately or as a suite. Oddly, the lyrics for Precious Gift, came to me whilst waiting in an NHS hospital waiting room. Perhaps influenced by my surroundings, I focus on the pain inherent in baby Jesus’ story! An epilogue from the clarinet expressing grief completes the story and turns the mood around in readiness for the final carol. There is No Rose of Such Virtue is another early 15th century poem equating Mary with a vigorously growing rose, a popular metaphor of the time. It was very gratifying to see the children in Gloucester cathedral choir singing this carol with gusto, relishing its beat boxing and glissandi which felt at once incongruously modern and yet perfectly apposite in the cathedral surroundings. (Emma Johnson)