Benjamin Britten: Hymn to St. Cecilia / Paul McCreesh and Gabrieli Consort & Players
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- Опубліковано 29 тра 2018
- Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)
Hymn to St Cecilia
Paul McCreesh, Conductor
Gabrieli Consort & Players (London)
Recorded on 16 July 2016 in the Church in Saanen
Watch the entire concert on www.gstaaddigitalfestival.ch/... for free!
Oooo the clarity 😌 just lovely. I’ve loved this piece ever since my sisters sang it in their college choir. This performance brought tears to my eyes.
Beautiful performance of one of my most favorite Britten pieces.
Beautiful performance of an extremely difficult score by Britten! Kudos to all the solo parts!
Wow! My first encounter with this wonderful composition. Thanks for a wonderful experience!
I've been a McCreesh fan since hearing his stunning 'Solomon' recording. Glad to see he's still hitting it!
An absolutely stunning performance. I had the tenor solo in University (years ago), but I didn't hold a candle to this tenor.
Amazing blend 😩
Absolutely wonderful performance. Beautiful job by the sop. and THAT ALTO!!! Bravo! The tenor... perfectly done. So perfectly delivered. That part is so hard. FF to PP and high to boot. Delivered beautifully. Thanks for making my night.
Britten had worked with WH Auden on an opera and with the GPO information department ('Night Mail') then in the USA when he and Peter Pears were establishing their careers and lifelong partnership as well as making important musical contacts.
Britten was 27 when he asked Auden to write a poem about the St Cecilia tradition in Britain and he had been born on her feast day too.
The opera with Auden on an American folk hero was rather lightweight and the composer withdrew it with his publisher when he an Pears traveled back to England near the height of the Battle of the Atlantic.
Britten was intensely homesick when WW2 was being fought in earnest and was already sketching 'Peter Grimes'. He also resented Auden's overbearing and critical behaviour and some writers have said that the very demanding and complex piece, setting selected parts of the Auden poem, marked a breaking free from Auden's coterie.
Also while steaming home across the ocean Britten composed 'A Ceremony of Carols' and two of Sea Interludes for 'Peter Grimes'.
This flurry of creative activity in his own matured style shows no corner cutting in the works he composed.
The 'Hymn to St Cecilia' demands a lot from performers and very precise direction. Here we have the chance to witness a masterly live performance with McCreesh and his ensemble on top form. The soaring alto and staccato bass singer make this well nigh perfect.
I can't follow this director's conducting style. I love this piece and sang it under John Rutter. Alas, wonderful performance. 👏