Recording
Title: Anthems by Orlando Gibbons
Performer: The Choir Of Winchester
Director: David Hill
Year: 1989
Length: 1 hour 12 minutes
Review
Gibbons presents us with an interesting collection of Anthems, firstly, reflecting the reformation they are all in English, popish Latin is gone also he shows an extreme control of the anthemic form. There are artists which distinguish themselves due to originality and others through refinement. Gibbons is definitely of the latter category, he is not particularly innovative but he has great command of the musical form.
These anthems are beautiful and the Winchester Choir does contribute to it especially, the voices are as always beautiful and both their diction and interplay is great.
Gibbons is one of the few authors of his era to have stood the test of time, in such a way that some of the anthems in this collection are still regularly used in church. Truly beautiful music even if not particularly innovative... I am about ready for some instrumentals.
Final Grade
8/10
Trivia
From Wikipedia:
His choral music is distinguished by his complete mastery of counterpoint, combined with his wonderful gift for melody. Perhaps his most well-known verse anthem is 'This is the record of John', which sets an Advent text for solo countertenor or tenor, alternating with full chorus. The soloist is required to demonstrate considerable technical facility at points, and the work at once expresses the rhetorical force of the text, whilst never being demonstrative or bombastic. He also produced two major settings of Evensong, the Second, and the 'Short' service. The former is an extended composition, combining verse and full sections, and the latter possesses a beautifully expressive Nunc Dimittis. Gibbons' full anthems include the expressive 'O Lord in thy wrath', and the Palm Sunday setting of 'O clap your hands together' for 8 voices. He contributed six pieces to the first printed collection of music in England, Parthenia (of which he was by far the youngest of the three contributors), published circa 1611.
O clap your hands:
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