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Advent and Christmas Concert 2004
An unusual feature of this year’s
Christmas Concert is the inclusion of a
Magnificat
and Nunc Dimittis.
It is surprising that this is unusual, since the texts of these songs
bracket, so to speak, the Christmas story, marking its beginning
and end. In the Magnificat
or Song of Mary, the Virgin expressing the joy and thanksgiving at the
Annunciation (the appearance the angel Gabriel to Mary). In the Nunc
Dimittis or Song of Simeon, the
aged Simeon expresses thanks for witnessing the fulfilment of God’s
promise of Salvation, having witnessed the presentation of the infant
Christ at the Temple. Although you will not normally hear a Magnificat
and Nunc Dimittis
at an English Christmas or carol concert, there are a extraordinarily
large number of settings of them by English composers,. This is
because their inclusion in Thomas Cranmer’s Office of Evensong or
Evening Prayer in the Book of
Common Prayer of 1549. The
form of Evensong
resulted in Cranmer’s fusing together of the Roman offices of Vespers
and Compline. Despite liturgical revisions and other upheavals,
Cranmer’s liturgy was reiterated in the definitive 1662 Prayer book,
which can still be heard daily in English cathedrals throughout the year
in Choral Evensong.
In addition, the texts lend themselves to dramatic development. For
tonight’s concert we have selected one of the most famous of the
English "Mag and Nuncs": that from Charles Villiers
Stanford’s Evening Service
in G. The Magnificat
has an a extended treble solo
(usually sung by a boy), with interjections from the choir,
and a lively moto perpetuo organ accompaniment, said by one
commentator to represent the Virgin’s spinning wheel, with which she
invariably painted in pictures of the Annunciation. As befits a mixed chorus, the solo will be sung by one of the Chorus
sopranos. There is a greater emphasis than usual on the English
repertoire with, in addition to the the Stanford work, the carol
“O Little Town of Bethlehem” to Ralph Vaughan-Williams’ setting of
the tune “Forest Green” and "The Shepherd's Pipe Carol" by
the popular contemporary English composer John Rutter.
The tercentenary of the French
Baroque composer Marc-Antoine Charpentier ( 1643-1704) is marked by the
Kyrie from his
"Messe de Minuit". The custom of including
poetry is continued with U A Fanthorpe's "BC:AD". A
group of works will be dedicated to the memory of the victims of
Beslan
including
Blazenni
by Petr Illyich Tchaikovsky and Peter
Warlock’s
Cradle Song.
As usual the concert will have its
traditional conclusion with candle-lit carols
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