Ascension - Choir of St Mary’s Cathedral, Edinburgh - M.Owens, organ

ID: DCD34017 (EAN: 801918340178)  | 1 CD | DDD - 24 b
Released in: 2003

LABEL:

DELPHIAN RECORDS

Collection:

Choral Collection

Subcollection:

Choral and Organ

Composers:

ALLAIN, Richard | GOWERS, Patrick | LEIGHTON, Kenneth | MacMILLAN, James | MESSIAEN, Olivier

Interprets:

OWENS, Matthew (organ)

Other info:

The powerful imagery of the Ascension has inspired generations of composers, from Peter Phillips and William Byrd to Gerald Finzi, Charles Villiers Stanford and Olivier Messiaen. The first part of this recording is in the form of an Anglican service of Choral Evensong; this is followed by Messiaen’s organ work L’Ascension, performed by Matthew Owens.

The choral works on the disc all have particular associations with the Cathedral, and some receive their premiere recording here. From James MacMillan’s meditative Tremunt videntes angeli to the rich fabric of Richard

Allain’s Exon Service, the Choir of St Mary’s weaves a complexly beautiful sonic tapestry in the cathedral’s generous acoustic.


Track listing

1 James MacMillan Tremunt videntes angeli
2 Kenneth Leighton Preces and Responses I (1964)
3 Office Hymn: Eternal Monarch, King Most High
4 Psalm XLVII
5 Psalm CVIII
6 Richard Allain Magnificat ‘The Exon Service’
7 Richard Allain Nunc Dimittis ‘The Exon Service’
8 Kenneth Leighton Preces and Responses II
9 Patrick Gowers Viri Galilaei
10 Recessional Hymn: Hail the Day that Sees Him Rise

Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992) L'Ascension
11 I Majesté du Christ demandant sa gloire à son Père
12 II Alléluias sereins d'une âme qui désire le ciel
13 III Transports de joie d'une âme
devant la gloire du Christ qui est la sienne
14 IV Prière du Christ montant vers son Père

“One of the UK’s finest cathedral choirs”
THE SUNDAY TIMES