Vaughan Williams: Dona Nobis Pacem / Sancta Civitas The Bach Choir

• 1 Agnus Dei 03:29
• 2 Beat! Beat! Drums! 03:31
• 3 Reconciliation 05:21
• 4 Dirge for 2 Veterans 10:07
• 5 The Angel of Death has been abroad 03:29
• 6 O Man Greatly Beloved 07:32
• 7 I was in the Spirit 05:32
• 8 And I saw Heaven opened 02:13
• 9 And I saw an Angel standing in the Sun 01:13
• 10 Babylon the great is fallen 04:41
• 11 Rejoice over her O Heavens 03:05
• 12 And I saw a new Heaven 04:33
• 13 Therefore are they before the throne of God 00:55
• 14 And I saw a pure river 02:23
• 15 Holy, Holy, Holy 00:53
• 16 Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory 05:42
• Total Runtime 01:04:39

Info for Vaughan Williams: Dona Nobis Pacem / Sancta Civitas

Although Vaughan Williams described himself as ‘a cheerful agnostic’, he was not only steeped in the traditions of the Anglican Church, but sensitive to the mystical significance ‘of what lies beyond sense and knowledge’. Written in 1936, his cantata Dona nobis pacem sets powerful Biblical texts alongside those by Walt Whitman and John Bright and is both a warning that mankind was sliding disastrously towards another war and a plea for a world without strife. The oratorio Sancta Civitas, one of his most original choral works, strikingly deploys vocal and orchestral forces to depict the battle between good and evil from the Book of Revelation.

„These performances under David Hill are fine, responsive to the beauty and the terror…[they] impress as more impassioned than Hickox’s and the recorded sound has a keener range and depth of perspective. (John Steane, Gramophone)

„The high-octane emotion Vaughan Williams injected is captured here with alacrity. Keen orchestral colours and pure diction from the chorus and choristers combine with Hill’s vivid reading of both scores to make this pairing a superb new addition to collectors’ shelves.“ (Matthew Power, Choir & Organ)

Christina Pier, soprano
Matthew Brook, baritone
Andrew Staples, tenor
The Bach Choir
Winchester Cathedral Choristers
Winchester College Quiristers
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
David Hill, conductor

Recorded in the Concert Hall, The Lighthouse, Poole, Dorset, UK, from 26th to 27th September, 2009
Engineered by Phil Rowlands
Edited Deborah Spanton
Produce by Andrew Walton

No biography found.

Booklet for Vaughan Williams: Dona Nobis Pacem / Sancta Civitas