Malcolm Archer, Katie Salomon, Winchester College Quiristers - A Ceremony of Carols (2017) [Hi-Res]

Tracklist

01. A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28: No. 1, Procession
02. A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28: No. 2, Wolcum Yole!
03. A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28: No. 3, There Is No. Rose
04. A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28: No. 4a, That yongë Child
05. A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28: No. 4b, Balulalow
06. A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28: No. 5, As Dew in Aprille
07. A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28: No. 6, This little Babe
08. A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28: No. 7, Interlude
09. A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28: No. 8, in Freezing Winter Night
10. A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28: No. 9, Spring Carol (After Cornysh)
11. A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28: No. 10, Deo gracias
12. A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28: No. 11, Recession
13. Harp Suite: I. Intrada
14. Harp Suite: II. Toccata
15. Harp Suite: III. Nocturne
16. Harp Suite: IV. Fugue
17. Harp Suite: V. Hymn
18. Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda, Op. 26, Group 3, H. 99: No. 1, Hymn to the Dawn
19. Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda, Op. 26, Group 3, H. 99: No. 2, Hymn to the Waters
20. Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda, Op. 26, Group 3, H. 99: No. 3, Hymn to Vena
21. Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda, Op. 26, Group 3, H. 99: No. 4, Hymn of the Travellers



The album features music for upper voices and harp by 20th century composers Benjamin Britten and Gustav Holst. A collaboration in 2017 between Winchester College Chapel Choir and British harpist Katie Salomon, the recording captures the trebles (boys) at their best under the masterful direction of Malcolm Archer.

Alongside A Ceremony of Carols and excerpts from Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda (sung in English) is a performance of Britten’s Suite for Harp by Katie Salomon.

Benjamin Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols Op.28 was composed in 1942 on board a Swedish cargo vessel – the Axel Johnson, as Britten and Pears returned to England after three very successful years in the United States. The journey took almost a month and must have been very tedious since conditions on board were hardly luxurious.

The work has eleven movements, one of which is for solo harp, and uses words from the English Galaxy of Shorter Poems. Several of the texts date from the 15th and 16th centuries and are in middle English, whilst others are by great poets such at Southwell and Cornish. Around the same time, Britten had made a start on Hymn to St.Cecilia and a piece for Benny Goodman, but customs officials confiscated the manuscripts thinking they might contain some sort of secret code. Fortunately for us, Britten managed to finish Hymn to St. Cecilia later.

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