Finzi: Lo, the Full, Final Sacrifice & Other Choral Works The Choir of Trinity College Cambridge & Stephen Layton

• Gerald Finzi (1901 - 1956): Magnificat, Op. 36:
• 1 Finzi: Magnificat, Op. 36 09:53
• Welcome Sweet and Sacred Feast, Op. 27 No. 3:
• 2 Finzi: Welcome Sweet and Sacred Feast, Op. 27 No. 3 07:36
• My Lovely One, Op. 27 No. 1:
• 3 Finzi: My Lovely One, Op. 27 No. 1 02:47
• God Is Gone Up, Op. 27 No. 2:
• 4 Finzi: God Is Gone Up, Op. 27 No. 2 04:42
• David Bednall (b. 1979): Nunc dimittis:
• 5 Bednall: Nunc dimittis 08:22
• Gerald Finzi: White-Flowering Days, Op. 37:
• 6 Finzi: White-Flowering Days, Op. 37 03:57
• All This Night, Op. 33:
• 7 Finzi: All This Night, Op. 33 02:35
• 7 Poems of Robert Bridges (Partsongs), Op. 17:
• 8 Finzi: 7 Poems of Robert Bridges (Partsongs), Op. 17: I. I Praise the Tender Flower 02:13
• 9 Finzi: 7 Poems of Robert Bridges (Partsongs), Op. 17: II. I Have Loved Flowers That Fade 02:52
• 10 Finzi: 7 Poems of Robert Bridges (Partsongs), Op. 17: III. My Spirit Sang All Day 01:42
• 11 Finzi: 7 Poems of Robert Bridges (Partsongs), Op. 17: IV. Clear and Gentle Stream 04:01
• 12 Finzi: 7 Poems of Robert Bridges (Partsongs), Op. 17: V. Nightingales 02:55
• 13 Finzi: 7 Poems of Robert Bridges (Partsongs), Op. 17: VI. Haste On, My Joys! 01:57
• 14 Finzi: 7 Poems of Robert Bridges (Partsongs), Op. 17: VII. Wherefore Tonight So Full of Care 03:26
• Lo, the Full, Final Sacrifice, Op. 26:
• 15 Finzi: Lo, the Full, Final Sacrifice, Op. 26 15:18
• Total Runtime 01:14:16

Info for Finzi: Lo, the Full, Final Sacrifice & Other Choral Works

In noting how far Lo, the full, final sacrifice sits from the choral sound and manner of Vaughan Williams, Banfield observes also its distance from Finzi’s other metaphysical settings, commenting on its ‘intense, almost necromantic atmosphere, laden with incense’. This, indeed, was fairly specifically requested when the work was commissioned by the Revd Walter Hussey for the patronal festival of St Matthew’s Church, Northampton. Finzi’s sensitive conflation of two poems by Richard Crashaw (1612/3–1649), both free translations from Latin hymns by St Thomas Aquinas, resulted in a musical conception that grew and grew from the sombre contemplation of its opening. Focus on the Eucharist (suggested by Hussey) is maintained through the recurrent imagery of manna, bread, wine and redemption. The central exhortation ‘Rise, Royal Sion!’ calls forth one of Finzi’s most radiantly majestic passages, but elsewhere the music is punctuated by exquisitely introspective solo material or the highlighting of individual vocal lines. What could have degenerated into an unworkably discursive series of episodes is unified by Finzi’s skill in the use of ‘head motifs’, much like the ‘corymbus’ notion of Edmund Rubbra, cited earlier, whereby ideas heading in fresh and unexpected directions spring initially from a common source, in apparent illustration of Crashaw: ‘Nor let my days / Grow, but in new powers to thy name and praise.’ Ultimately the subdued opening music returns (‘When this dry soul those eyes shall see’), followed by a recurrence of the text’s opening couplet. The E major Amen that follows is beautiful not only for itself, but also for its ‘healing’ restoration of F sharp to what had previously been a modal scale ‘disfigured’ by a dissonant F natural; yet both these competing entities are then held in unresolved balance within the very final bars, like the two inseparable wings of an eternal truth.

"What a beautifully crafted disc this is—not just in its quality (and it really is Trinity at their absolute best) but also in its shape and programming … [an] outstanding release" (Gramophone)

"Trinity’s mixed young adults are effortless in the ease with which they respond to Layton’s exacting demands … Layton’s idiomatically fine-tuned direction lovingly sculpts the rolling contours with the imprimatur of a true connoisseur" (BBC Music Magazine)

"The recording, I think, is as fine as the performances … the singing of Trinity College Choir under Stephen Layton [is] beautifully focused—superbly controlled, the climaxes soaring heavenwards with an ease and power [in the Magnificat] that's emblematic of the whole album. This is the highest quality choral Finzi" (BBC Record Review)

"It’s been a while since a recording devoted to Gerald Finzi’s shorter choral works has appeared, so this superb Hyperion is more than welcome … I cannot imagine performances better than these. This excellently produced release comes with texts and a comprehensive booklet note" (Classical Source)

The Choir of Trinity College Cambridge
Stephen Layton, conductor
Alexander Hamilton, organ

No biography found.

This album contains no booklet.