STANFORD: Sacred Choral Music (Volume I) Winchester Cathedral Choir/Stephen Farr and Christopher Monks, organists/David Hill, cond. Hyperion CDA 66964 (F) (DDD) TT: 77:01 BUY NOW FROM AMAZON
The name Sir Charles Villiers Stanford
(1852-1924) is known primarily by the army of Angelican choir directors
throughout the world along with their
individual congregations, but by few others. Listening to this recent CD
of motets and liturgial music composed during the composer's Cambridge
period (1870-1892), one is impressed by the Victorian grandness of his
music mirroring the sounds and dimensions of such 19th Century masters as
Mendelssohn and Brahms. Eight-part writing adds both richness and strength
to the texts. His style ranges from a capella 15th Century-like modality
to multi-choir works for large or small orchestral accompaniment. The
superb Winchester Cathedral Choir brings out the clarity of line in three
Latin motets (Stanford's most performed choral works) as well as the
necessary power and praise in the laudative B-flat Te Deum. K.S. (Sept. 1999) |