ALLAIN MESSIAEN
MACMILLAN GOWERS
LEIGHTON
A S C E N S I O N C H O I R O F S T M A RY ’ S C AT H E D R A L , E D I N BU R G H M AT T H E W OW E N S c o n d u c t o r / s o l o o r ga n
A S C E N S I O N C H O I R O F S T M A RY ’ S C AT H E D R A L , E D I N BU R G H S U SAN HA M I LTO N soprano RE VD P HI L I P B LAC K LE D G E cantor SI M O N NI E M I Ń S K I organ M AT THEW OW E N S conductor/solo organ†
1
Tremunt videntes angeli
James MacMillan (b.1959)
[8:51]
2
Preces and Responses I
Kenneth Leighton (1929–1988)
[1:20]
3
Office Hymn: Eternal monarch, King most high
‘Gonfalon Royal’ 4
Psalm 47
Tone vii
[2:40]
5
Psalm 108
Tone viii
[3:34]
The Exon Service Richard Allain (b. 1965) 6 Magnificat Susan Hamilton soprano
Nunc dimittis
8
Preces and Responses II
Kenneth Leighton
[7:19]
9
Viri Galilaei
Patrick Gowers (1936–2014)
[7:58]
Ashley Turnell tenor, Jamieson Sutherland bass, Simon Niemiński, Adam Binks organ duet 10
Recessional Hymn: Hail the day that sees him rise
‘Llanfair’
Recorded in February and June 2003 in St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral, Edinburgh by kind permission of the Provost Producer: Paul Baxter Engineer: Tony Kime 24-bit digital editing: Paul Baxter 24-bit digital mastering: Paul Baxter Photography: Peter Backhouse
Back cover: Colin Dickson Cover photography and images of the Millennium Window by Sir Eduardo Paolozzi © 2003 Crown Copyright (RCAHMS) Design: Drew Padrutt Booklet editor: Henry Howard Delphian Records Ltd – Edinburgh – UK www.delphianrecords.co.uk
[6:01]
7
Susan Hamilton soprano, Ashley Turnell tenor
To the memory of Richard Hunt (1953–2003), Lay Clerk of St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral, Edinburgh
[2:15]
Percy C. Buck (1871–1947)
Robert Williams (1781–1821)
L’Ascension† Olivier Messiaen (1908–1992) 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 Total playing time Tracks 1 and 6–7 are premiere recordings
[3:13]
[4:28]
[7:45] [7:10] [4:43] [9:00] [76:22]
Notes on the music As they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold two men stood by them in white robes and said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.’ Acts of the Apostles 1: 10–11
The feast of the Ascension is, after Christmas and Easter, one of the principal holy days in the Church’s liturgical year, and celebrates the elevation of Christ into heaven after the Resurrection; it is commemorated on the fortieth day after Easter. The powerful imagery of the Ascension has been a potent inspiration to generations of composers, from Peter Phillips and William Byrd to Gerald Finzi, Charles Villiers Stanford and Olivier Messiaen. The music on this recording is presented in two parts: the first takes the form of the Anglican service of Choral Evensong, presented here without the spoken element from the clergy; the second is a performance of Messiaen’s organ work L’Ascension, which, following Evensong, fulfils the role of a rather extended organ voluntary. In addition, the music performed has all been written by composers active in the twentieth century, and much of the choral music has particular associations with the Choir of St Mary’s Cathedral, Edinburgh.
The office of Evensong as we know it today has a standard liturgical plan, alternating hymns, psalms, canticles and an anthem; there is usually no sermon, and on feast days and other special occasions, an introit often precedes the service. The introit on this recording was commissioned from the Scottish composer James MacMillan by Sir Lewis Robertson in memory of his wife, and was later sung for the dedication service of the Millennium Window by Sir Eduardo Paolozzi in the Resurrection Chapel of St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral. Tremunt videntes angeli is a motet based on words from the ancient Latin hymn Aeterne rex altissime, and the ‘trembling’ of the title informs the principal textures in this music. The first of these is a series of canonic melismas over a drone (on the note D): this is heard twice, sung first by the tenors and basses, and then by the trebles and altos. These almost improvisatory elements turn into actual improvisation in the second half where the composer directs the altos, tenors and basses to make their own, individual ways to the final alleluia, providing a murmuring soundscape over which the trebles carry the rest of the text (‘tibi sit gloria’ ). A chordal refrain for full choir on the words ‘culpat caro, purgat caro’ punctuates the music at various salient points, providing short periods of repose. The Preces and Responses sung here are by Kenneth Leighton, who was Reid Professor of Music at Edinburgh University from 1970 until his death in 1988; they were composed in
1964 for the Choir of St Mary’s Cathedral and the then Director of Music, Dennis Townhill, and have become part of the staple diet of Anglican cathedral music all over the world. This music is typical of Leighton’s choral style: full of harmonic interest, especially in the use of the intervals of the second, fourth and tritone; unexpected shifts of key, especially at cadences; and rhythmic vitality, often employing irregular metres. The Responses are in two parts: the first set comes before the Office Hymn; the second set precedes the anthem. The Office Hymn sung here is a nineteenth-century English translation by John Mason Neale of the Latin Aeterne rex altissime, part of which was used in MacMillan’s Introit; it is sung to the familiar tune ‘Gonfalon Royal’ by Percy Carter Buck. The psalms which follow are not sung to the usual Anglican chant, but instead to plainsong (men’s voices only): Psalm 47 to a chant on the seventh tone, and Psalm 108 on the eighth tone. The two canticles associated with Evensong are the Magnificat (the joyful song of Mary having been told by the archangel Gabriel that she is to be the mother of Jesus) and the Nunc dimittis (the priest Simeon’s prayer of fulfilment at having seen the Messiah). The setting offered here, The Exon Service, was written by the British composer Richard Allain for Matthew Owens and the Exon Singers, who gave the premiere on 1 August 1997 in Exeter Cathedral.
The most striking feature of the Magnificat is its use of a central continuum of sound, rather like a tape-loop. The trebles and altos are divided into four parts, each of which is assigned one of the plainsong Magnificats; these are repeated simultaneously, to create, in the words of the composer, ‘a soft halo of sound suggesting the angel’s presence’, and continue throughout the movement until the beginning of the Gloria. Over this, the soprano solo sings Mary’s song with quiet organ accompaniment. Another feature of both canticles is the use of bitonal, Messiaenesque flourishes in the organ writing. These appear in the introduction to the Magnificat, and return halfway through, to usher in the tenors and basses (‘He hath shewed strength with his arm’); after this, the soprano solo takes over the song again (‘He remembering his mercy’), before the organ introduces the Gloria, where the full choir sings together for the first time. The gestural fragments previously heard from the organ are here extended to form an exciting, toccata-like figuration under the homophonic choral writing. The Nunc dimittis starts with the choir divided into two almost antiphonal choirs, over which soprano and tenor soloists soar in quasi-operatic lines. Underneath the climax of this canticle (‘To be a light to lighten the gentiles’) the organ quotes the plainsong Lumen ad revelationem gentium three times, rising a fourth each time; the Gloria follows as before.
Notes on the music The anthem that follows the second set of Kenneth Leighton’s Responses is Viri Galilaei by Patrick Gowers. He makes use of two texts: the first is from the Proper for Ascension Day, and the second from Bishop Christopher Wordsworth’s hymn See the Conqueror mounts in triumph. The music is centred around a chorale melody that has its climax towards the end of the work, sung to Wordsworth’s hymn; however, the shape of the chorale melody permeates the rest of the musical material, so that the long crescendo to the final chorale seems inevitable. The anthem starts mysteriously with a glittering organ texture on high-pitched stops: this ostinato figuration is present for much of the work, sometimes audible, sometimes not. Trumpet fanfares emerge from this, followed by long, arching alleluias in rich harmony from an eight-part choir. The alleluias continue, but now alternate with phrases from the text of the Proper until all erupts with the words ‘God is gone up with a merry noise’. At this change of musical gear, the organ accompaniment becomes syncopated and dance-like and underpins the descending alleluias from the choir; a huge organ glissando heralds the chorale sung by the full choir. A series of fanfares return, but the music soon fades away over a final alleluia and the glittering organ ostinato. The service concludes with a Recessional Hymn, one of the great Ascension hymns, Hail the day that sees him rise, sung to the
strong and uplifting tune ‘Llanfair’ by the blind Welsh singer Robert Williams. Olivier Messiaen was arguably the most significant composer in France after Debussy and Ravel, and stands alongside such figures as Stravinsky, Schoenberg, Webern and Boulez as one of the most important musical figures of the twentieth century. His unique qualities as a composer are exemplified in his technical innovation (the use of modes, nonWestern rhythmic structures and serialism), utter musicianship (he was a virtuoso organist, pianist and improviser) and his profound Catholic faith. He held the post of organiste titulaire at the Parisian church of La Trinité from 1931 until his death in 1992, and taught at the Paris Conservatoire from 1941 to 1978. His output for organ is regarded by many to be as significant as that of J S Bach. During the 1920s and 30s, he began developing his own modal system, with a strong emphasis on tritones, diminished sevenths and augmented triads; he also cultivated a taste for rhythmic irregularity and the use of arithmetical systems. L’Ascension was composed in 1932 as a set of four symphonic meditations for orchestra; a year later Messiaen made a version for organ, substituting a new third movement, and it was through this organ version that the work first became well known. Although not demonstrative of the rhythmic complexity of his later works, L’Ascension bears some of Messiaen’s characteristic fingerprints: the
very slow and sustained tempi of the first and last movements, the supple rhythms of the second meditation, the highly chromatic, colourful harmony employed throughout, and the intuitive use of the organ at all times. The first movement, ‘Majesté du Christ demandant sa gloire à son Père’ (Majesty of Christ praying that his Father should glorify him) meditates on a passage from St John’s Gospel: ‘Father, the hour is come: glorify thy Son, that thy Son may also glorify thee.’ The music is solemn and ritualistic and evokes the slow swaying of censers. In the orchestral version, Messiaen scores this for winds alone. In ‘Alleluias séreins d'une âme qui désire le ciel’ (Serene alleluias from a soul longing for heaven), Messiaen uses plainsong as his source material: in this case, two phrases from the Collect of the Mass for Ascension Day. Two musical phrases are heard: a melisma reiterated three times, and a tender caressing melody. The third movement, ‘Transports de joie d’une âme devant la gloire du Christ qui est la sienne’ (Outburst of joy from a soul before the glory of Christ which is its own glory) is a toccata for full organ based on the verses from St Paul’s Epistle to the Colossians: ‘Let us give thanks to God the Father which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light … and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.’
The predominant key of F sharp major gives the music its dazzling radiance. The final meditation, ‘Prière du Christ montant vers son Père’ (Prayer of Christ ascending towards his Father) is inspired by the words from St John’s Gospel: ‘I have manifested Thy name unto men … and now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to Thee.’ In the orchestral version, Messiaen scores this music just for the strings: a sensuous, gliding melody, harmonised in parallel motion, ascends slowly and prayerfully towards heaven. For the organ, Messiaen specifies that all the soft flute and string stops of the organ be used. © 2003 Jeremy Cull
Texts and translations 1
2
3 Eternal monarch, King most high Eternal monarch, King most high, Whose blood hath brought redemption nigh, By whom the death of Death was wrought And conquering grace’s battle fought:
Tremunt videntes angeli Tremunt videntes angeli versam vicem mortalium: culpat caro, purgat caro, regnat caro Verbum Dei.
Angels tremble at the sight of mortal man’s lot overturned; flesh condemns, flesh purifies, the Word of God made flesh now reigns.
Tu, Christe, nostrum gaudium manens perenne praemium, mundi regis qui fabricam, mundana vincens gaudia.
You, Christ, are our joy, enduring, everlasting prize, you rule the fabric of the world, surpassing worldly joys.
Ascending to the throne of might, And seated at the Father’s right, All power in heaven is Jesu’s own, That here his manhood had not known.
Jesu, tibi sit gloria, qui scandis ad caelestia, cum Patre et almo Spiritu, in sempiterna saecula. Amen.
Jesus, unto you be glory, who to the heavens now ascend, with the Father and the kindly Spirit, for eternal ages. Amen.
Yea, angels tremble when they see How changed is our humanity; That flesh hath purged what flesh had stained, And God, the flesh of God, hath reigned.
from the hymn Aeterne rex altissime: Latin, 9th century or earlier
Translation © Allan Hood
O risen Christ, ascended Lord, All praise to thee let earth accord, Who art, while endless ages run, With Father and with Spirit One. Amen.
Preces and Responses I O Lord, open thou our lips. And our mouth shall shew forth thy praise. O God, make speed to save us. O Lord, make haste to help us. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost; As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end, Amen. Praise ye the Lord. The Lord’s Name be praised.
Aeterne rex altissime: Latin, 9th century or earlier tr. John Mason Neale (1818–1866)
4
Psalm 47 O clap your hands together, all ye people: O sing unto God with the voice of melody. For the Lord is high, and to be feared: he is the great King upon all the earth. He shall subdue the people under us: and the nations under our feet. He shall choose out an heritage for us: even the worship of Jacob, whom he loved. God is gone up with a merry noise: and the Lord with the sound of the trump. O sing praises, sing praises unto our God: O sing praises, sing praises unto our King. For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding. God reigneth over the heathen: God sitteth upon his holy seat. The princes of the people are joined unto the people of the God of Abraham: for God, which is very high exalted, doth defend the earth, as it were with a shield. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be: world without end. Amen.
Texts and translations 5
Psalm 108 O God, my heart is ready, my heart is ready: I will sing and give praise with the best member that I have. Awake, thou lute, and harp: I myself will awake right early. I will give thanks unto thee, O Lord, among the people: I will sing praises unto thee among the nations. For thy mercy is greater than the heavens: 6 and thy truth reacheth unto the clouds. Set up thyself, O God, above the heavens: and thy glory above all the earth. That thy beloved may be delivered: let thy right hand save them, and hear thou me. God hath spoken in his holiness: I will rejoice therefore, and divide Sichem, and mete out the valley of Succoth. Gilead is mine, and Manasses is mine: Ephraim also is the strength of my head. Judah is my law-giver, Moab is my wash-pot: over Edom will I cast out my shoe, upon Philistia will I triumph. Who will lead me into the strong city: and who will bring me into Edom? Hast not thou forsaken us, O God: and wilt not thou, O God, go forth with our hosts? O help us against the enemy: for vain is the help of man. Through God we shall do great acts:
and it is he that shall tread down our enemies. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be: world without end. Amen. Magnificat (The Exon Service) Choir
Magnificat anima mea Dominum: et exultavit spiritus meus in Deo salutari meo. Quia respexit humilitatem ancillae suae: ecce enim ex hoc beatam me dicent omnes generationes. Quia fecit mihi magna qui potens est: et sanctum nomen eius. Et misericordia eius a progenie in progenies: timentibus eum. Fecit potentiam in brachio suo: dispersit superbos mente cordis sui. Deposuit potentes de sede: et exaltavit humiles. Esurientes implevit bonis: et divites dimisit inanes. Suscepit Israel puerum suum recordatus misericordiae suae: sicut locutus est ad patres nostros, Abraham et semini eius in saecula.
Solo soprano
My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For he hath regarded the lowliness of his handmaiden. For behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath magnified me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is on them that fear him throughout all generations. Choir
He hath shewed strength with his arm, he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble and meek. He hath filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he hath sent empty away. Solo soprano
He remembering his mercy hath holpen his servant Israel, as he promised to our forefathers, Abraham and his seed for ever.
Choir
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, and is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
7
Nunc dimittis (The Exon Service) Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word. For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all people: to be a light to lighten the gentiles, and to be the glory of thy people Israel. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, and is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Texts and translations 8
Preces and Responses II The Lord be with you. And with thy spirit. Let us pray. Lord, have mercy upon us. Christ, have mercy upon us. Lord, have mercy upon us. Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen. O Lord, shew thy mercy upon us. And grant us thy salvation. O Lord, save the Queen. And mercifully hear us when we call upon thee. Endue thy ministers with righteousness. And make thy chosen people joyful. O Lord, save thy people. And bless thine inheritance. Give peace in our time, O Lord. Because there is none other that fighteth for us, but only thou, O God.
O God, make clean our hearts within us. And take not thy Holy Spirit from us. Grant, we beseech thee, Almighty God, that like as we do believe thy only-begotten Son our Lord Jesus Christ to have ascended into the heavens; so we may also in heart and mind thither ascend and with him continually dwell; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen. O Lord, from whom all good things do come, grant to us thy humble servants that, by thy holy inspiration, we may think those things that be good, and by thy merciful guiding may perform the same, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. O God, from whom all holy desires, all good counsels and all just works do proceed: Give unto thy servants that peace which the world cannot give; that both our hearts may be set to obey thy commandments, and also that by thee we being defended from the fear of our enemies may pass our time in rest and quietness; through the merits of Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen. Lighten our darkness, we beseech thee, O Lord; and by thy great mercy defend us from all perils and dangers of this night; for the love of thy only Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
9
Viri Galilaei Alleluia. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which said unto them: Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up to heaven? In like manner as ye have seen him going up into heaven, so shall he come again. God is gone up with a merry noise, and the Lord with the sound of the trumpet. Christ to highest heaven ascending, led captivity captive. Sing ye to the Lord who ascended to the heaven of heavens to the sun rising. Adapted from the Proper at Mass on Ascension Day
See the Conqueror mounts in triumph, See the King in royal state, Riding on the clouds his chariot To his heavenly palace gate; Hark! The choirs of angel voices Joyful Alleluias sing, And the portals high are lifted To receive their heav’nly King. Christopher Wordsworth (1807–1885)
10 Hail the day that sees him rise Hail the day that sees him rise, Alleluia! Glorious to his native skies, Alleluia! Christ, awhile to mortals given, Alleluia! Enters now the highest heaven, Alleluia!
There the glorious triumph waits, Alleluia! Lift your heads, eternal gates, Alleluia! Christ hath vanquished death and sin, Alleluia! Take the King of glory in, Alleluia! See! The heaven its Lord receives, Alleluia! Yet he loves the earth he leaves, Alleluia! Though returning to his throne, Alleluia! Still he calls mankind his own, Alleluia! See! He lifts his hands above, Alleluia! See! He shows the prints of love, Alleluia! Hark! His gracious lips bestow, Alleluia! Blessings on his church below, Alleluia! Lord, though parted from our sight, Alleluia! Far above yon azure height, Alleluia! Grant our hearts may thither rise, Alleluia! Seeking thee beyond the skies, Alleluia! There we shall with thee remain, Alleluia! Partners of thine endless reign, Alleluia! There thy face unclouded see, Alleluia! Find our heaven of heavens in thee, Alleluia! Charles Wesley (1707–1788)
The central lancet and rose of the Millennium Window at St Mary’s Cathedral, Edinburgh, by Sir Eduardo Paolozzi. Photography © Peter Backhouse
The Millennium Window The Millennium Window at St Mary’s Cathedral, Edinburgh, by Sir Eduardo Paolozzi. Dedicated to the memory of Mary Carmichael by HRH the Princess Royal, 4 October 2002.
The Millennium Window is Sir Eduardo Paolozzi’s first venture into stained glass. During his career, spanning more than half a century, he has worked in many disciplines: sculpture, drawing, print, tapestry, both private and public art. The latter includes collages for a postage stamp, the towering Vulcan at the Dean Gallery in Edinburgh, the monumental bronze sculpture of Newton at the British Library, and the mosaics in Tottenham Court Road Tube station. As one of the originators of Pop Art, he has been a major influence in the late twentieth century – promoting the adoption of science, technology, philosophy, literature, the cinema – both high and low art. In the window, Paolozzi opens our minds to impassioned questioning, contemplation and worship of the Ascended Christ of our time. The colourful abstract images, typical of Paolozzi’s visual language, allow the eye to follow the rhythms and verticals through the lancets, up to the deep reds of the Rose. The Provost of the Cathedral asked for ‘something visionary’ in his brief; Paolozzi promised ‘something quite extraordinary’ in his acceptance. It was both.
Music and visual art are both languages suited for experiences beyond the words, forms through which we can explore the wonder and mystery of God – particularly suited to the theme of Ascension. In 1999, in explanation of his design, Paolozzi wrote: ‘It is known that as a Theosophist, Mondrian attributed certain energies to the vertical and horizontal lines of his paintings. The relationships of the spaces between the lines were changed frequently during composition and can be detected by X-rays. To many art historians this period signalled a new landmark in the history of Modernism. ‘Deep emotions on the picture plane could be induced by venturing into the New Vision using the tools of the Moderns. The proposal for the stained-glass windows at St Mary’s Cathedral follow this tradition. The eye moves, the eye follows the waves of movement upwards towards the Heavens, interrupted unpredictably by various phenomena. The colours are those of the Skies and the Seas. The symmetry acts as counterpoint to the movement of the Creation. Small geometries indicate the presence of Man, Other Inventions, Fire and Water.’ © 2003 Fiona Mathison
Biographies The Choir of St Mary’s Cathedral, Edinburgh has been described by The Sunday Times as ‘one of the UK’s finest cathedral choirs’. It is unique in Scotland in maintaining a daily choral tradition and singing over 250 services every year. The choristers are educated at St Mary’s Music School, which acts as the choir school for the cathedral, again unique in Scotland. St Mary’s Cathedral became the first in the UK to offer girls scholarships to sing with the boys as trebles in 1978. The lay clerks of the choir consist of undergraduate choral scholars reading a diverse range of subjects at the University of Edinburgh, alongside more experienced singers. The choir broadcasts frequently on BBC Radios 3 and 4, and on television, and has a made a number of highly acclaimed recordings. It has a busy schedule of concerts and in recent years has worked with the King’s Consort, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, the Scottish Concert Orchestra and the BT Scottish Ensemble. The choir regularly works with the Orchestra, performing Fauré’s Requiem each Remembrance Sunday, regular performances of Bach cantatas and orchestral masses by Mozart and Haydn. The choir has toured extensively within recent years, visiting France, Germany, Holland, the US and Switzerland, as well as undertaking a tour of English cathedrals and abbeys in 1996.
Many leading composers have written for the choir, including Kenneth Leighton (three works), Francis Jackson and Francis Grier. Under Matthew Owens it has premiered a further piece by Francis Jackson as well as works by Richard Allain, Dave Heath, Gabriel Jackson, James MacMillan, Arvo Pärt, Howard Skempton, Philip Wilby and Hungarian composer János Vajda, and music by younger-generation composers. Forthcoming commissions include works by Gavin Bryars, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies and Howard Skempton. During the Edinburgh International Festival the choir is in residence, singing the daily services and broadcasting Choral Evensong on BBC Radio 3, as well as giving a number of concerts in the Festival Fringe.
Matthew Owens is Organist and Master of the Music at St Mary’s Cathedral, Edinburgh. He is also Visiting Tutor in Organ Studies at the Royal Northern College of Music, Tutor in Organ Studies at St Mary’s Music School and Director of the Exon Singers. Born in Manchester, he studied at Chetham’s School of Music and was subsequently Organ Scholar at The Queen’s College, Oxford. He then studied at the Royal Northern College of Music, and in 1994 he received the highest award for performance, the Professional
Performance Diploma, with distinction, as well as winning the college Bach prize. He also gained a Master’s degree from the University of Manchester. In the same year he took the Associateship and Fellowship diplomas of the Royal College of Organists, winning the major prizes in both, and was awarded the Silver Medal of the Worshipful Company of Musicians. A Countess of Munster scholarship then enabled Matthew to study with Jacques van Oortmerssen at the Sweelinck Conservatorium in Amsterdam, and in 1996 he was appointed Sub Organist of Manchester Cathedral. Matthew has given recitals in France and Switzerland and throughout the UK, including festival appearances at Lichfield, Newbury, Oxford and Peterborough and at venues such as St Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster Cathedral and St John’s Smith Square. As a conductor and solo organist he has premiered many works by leading composers including Richard Allain, Dave Heath, Francis Jackson, Gabriel Jackson, Naji Hakim, Kenneth Leighton, George Lloyd, James MacMillan, Michael Nyman, Arvo Pärt, Howard Skempton, Giles Swayne and Philip Wilby. Matthew was Assistant Conductor of the National Youth Choir of Great Britain from 1993 to 2000; he has also conducted the BT Scottish Ensemble and the Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra, as well
as regularly directing the Orchestra of St Mary’s Music School. With the Choir of St Mary’s Cathedral, Edinburgh, he has made a number of highly acclaimed recordings. He is increasingly active as a composer and some of his works have been recorded for commercial release.
Simon Niemiński is currently Assistant Organist at St Mary’s Cathedral and organist at Fettes College, Edinburgh. A London native, he studied with Nicholas Danby at the Royal College of Music and was then awarded the Organ Scholarship of Pembroke College, Cambridge. After graduating with honours in music from Cambridge University, he was appointed Organ Scholar of York Minster for two years, during which time he became Fellow of the Royal College of Organists. He has held the posts of Assistant Organist of Dundee Episcopal Cathedral, Director of the choirs at the University of Dundee, Assistant Director of Music at the Priory Church of St Bartholomew the Great in the City of London, and Organ Tutor at Kingston University. His playing engagements have taken him around the UK, Europe and the USA. He has recorded works by Eugène Reuchsel and Edward Shippen Barnes in the USA and by Francis Jackson on the organ of St Mary’s Cathedral, Edinburgh.
Choir of St Mary’s Cathedral, Edinburgh Treble Seumas Begg Oliver Boyd Daisy Chute Deputy Head Chorister Rosha Fitzhowle Andrew Fyfe Zara Fyfe Thomas Henderson Head Chorister, Decani
Sally Horsey Head Chorister, Cantoris Peter Innes Adam Lagha Hanna Lagha Lewis Main Ruaraidh Maxwell Gordon Robertson Caitlin Spencer Thomas Spencer Jennifer Sterling Katy Thomson
Alto Robert Colquhoun Henry Deacon Simon Rendell Andrew Stones Tenor Sam Burkey Alex Cadden David Goodenough Dominic Peckham Ashley Turnell
Bass Adam Binks Thomas Brimelow William Dawes Colin Heggie Peter Smith Jamieson Sutherland
Also available on Delphian Stravinsky: Choral Works Choir of St Mary’s Cathedral, Edinburgh / Duncan Ferguson; Scottish Chamber Orchestra Soloists; Ruby Hughes soprano; Nicholas Mulroy tenor DCD34164
In Duncan Ferguson’s most ambitious recording project to date, the St Mary’s choir is joined by instrumentalists and soloists in major works by the twentieth century’s most influential composer. The choir rarely get to perform Stravinsky’s Mass in its full version with wind instruments, while a performance of the Cantata with cathedral choristers rather than an adult choir is rare indeed. Also included are Stravinsky’s ‘completions’ of three cantiones sacrae by Gesualdo; their weird contrapuntal twists and turns are relished by this intelligent, committed choir, and provide a stark contrast to the austere simplicity of Stravinsky’s own short sacred choruses. Gabriel Jackson provides the illuminating accompanying essay. ‘Beautifully sung and blessed with outstandingly vivid recorded sound’ — Gramophone, October 2016
William Mundy: Sacred Choral Music Choir of St Mary’s Cathedral, Edinburgh / Duncan Ferguson DCD34204
The Choir of St Mary’s Cathedral, Edinburgh showcases the overlooked music of William Mundy, which was at the heart of the Marian Catholic revival and then, just a few years later, made a vital contribution to the development of the Elizabethan motet. Their programme centres on two extended festal compositions, the celebrated Vox patris caelestis and, newly reconstructed, the little-known Maria virgo sanctissima. Two further premiere recordings feature alongside the remarkable collaboration of Mundy, Sheppard and a young William Byrd, In exitu Israel. This recording conveys the choir’s sheer joy in their now firmly established role as ambassadors of sixteenth-century polyphony. ‘Performances are of a uniformly high level. Short of being there in Edinburgh, this is the next best alternative … Credit to all concerned: for choosing such a rewarding composer as Mundy, for selecting a varied and interesting repertory; and for performing it in an accessible and engaging way.’ — Early Music Review, May 2018, *****
Sir Peter Maxwell Davies: Sacred Choral Works Choir of St Mary’s Cathedral, Edinburgh / Matthew Owens; Michael Bonaventure organ
A Gaelic Blessing Choir of St Mary’s Cathedral, Edinburgh / Matthew Owens
DCD34037
Through its daily choral services, St Mary’s Cathedral, Edinburgh is unique in sustaining the rich and diverse Anglican cathedral music tradition in Scotland. Here, in the first in a significant series of recordings made by the Choir of St Mary’s on Delphian, the singers under their Director Matthew Owens offer a selection of music that reflects the enormous changes that have shaped the church as we know it at the dawn of the new millennium, amply demonstrating the choral tradition’s richness and variety.
In the 1960s few would have predicted that Peter Maxwell Davies would eventually write a set of Evening Canticles; yet religious texts have always been of fundamental importance to the composer, as this disc vividly demonstrates by bringing together sacred masterworks from both ends of his career. Tough, uncompromising and of surpassing beauty, Davies’ major contributions to the Anglican repertoire are given thrilling voice by these fearless champions of contemporary liturgical music. ‘the Edinburgh choristers respond with superlative performances, full of spirit but always secure and sensitive … the sound can only be described as luxurious.’ — Gramophone, December 2005
DCD34007
‘This recording is a real gem … the performance is always delicate but nonetheless abounding in richness’ — Choir & Organ, April 2003
DCD34017