A Triple Tribute #2046
. . . to Cecilia, the Patron Saint of Music, to composer Benjamin Britten, and to the memory of Stephen Cleobury.
Hour One
BENJAMIN BRITTEN: Prelude & Fugue on a Theme of Vittoria –Stephen Cleobury (1968 Harrison/King’s College Chapel, Cambridge, England) Priory 005
GEORGE BAKER: Procession Royale (premiere) –Stephen Cleobury (2016 Harrison/King’s College Chapel) KGS 020
OLIVIER LATRY: St. Cecilia Improvisations –Cathedral Schola/Marie Rubis Bauer; Olivier Latry (2003 Pasi/St. Cecilia Cathedral, Omaha, NE) PD Archive (r. 3/24/04)
BRITTEN: Antiphon (Praised be the God of love) –King’s College Choir/Stephen Cleobury; Henry Websdale (Skinner & Aeolian-Skinner/Cathedral of St. Paul, St. Paul, MN) PD Archive (r. 3/28/19)
ANTON BRUCKNER: Ecce sacerdos magnus –Choir of King’s College Chapel/Stephen Cleobury; Becky Smith, Andrew Cole & Joe Arnold, trombones; Henry Websdale (2016 Harrison/King’s College Chapel) KGS 035
STEPHEN PAULUS: The Road Home –Marcus McDevitt, treble; Choir of King’s College/Stephen Cleobury. KGS 034
Filler – LATRY: Sortie #7 (see above)
Hour Two
SIMON PRESTON: Alleluyas –Stephen Cleobury (King’s College Chapel) KGS 020
ROBERT PRIZEMAN: Toccata –Stephen Cleobury (1968 Harrison/King’s College Chapel) Collins 14012
BRITTEN: Village Organist’s Piece (1940) –Eric Plutz (1968 Aeolian-Skinner/Church of the Epiphany, Washington, DC) Raven 945
BRITTEN: Rejoice in the Lamb –Dale Warland Singers/Dale Warland; Dean Billmeyer (1987 Kney/St. Thomas Aquinas Chapel, University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN) American Choral Catalog 123
HERBERT HOWELLS: A Hymn to St. Cecilia –Wells Cathedral Choir/Malcolm Archer; Rupert Gough (1974 Harrison/Wells Cathedral, England) Hyperion 67494
WILLIAMS HARRIS: O what their joy and their glory must be –King’s College Choir/Stephen Cleobury; Benjamin Bayl (1968 Harrison/King’s College Chapel) EMI 57026
BRUCKNER: Tota pulchra es –Choir of King’s College Chapel/Stephen Cleobury; Donal McCann (2016 Harrison/King’s College Chapel) KGS 035
Filler – BRITTEN: Prelude and Fugue (see above)
November 22 turns out to have much musical significance. First, it is the Feast of Saint Cecilia, patron of music and musicians. It also was the birthday of composer Benjamin Britten (b. 1913),and the day on which conductor and organist Stephen Cleobury died last year (d. 2019). And, though not a complete list, it’s also the birthday of composers Jacob Obrecht (1458), Frantisek Benda (1709), Wilhelm Friedemann Bach (1710), Conradin Kreutzer (1780), Cecil Sharp (1859), Hoagy Carmichael (1899), Joaquin Rodrigo (b. 1901), Bernard Naylor (1907). Fikret Amirov (1922), Dika Newlin (1923), Gunther Schuller (1925), Hans Zender (1936), conductor Kent Nagano (1951), cellist Emmanuel Feuermann (1902), pianist Stephen Hough (1961) and soprano Sumi Jo (1962). It must have been something in the water!
Continuing support of PIPEDREAMS is provided in loving memory of Wesley and Lucinda Dudley by their family, with additional support from Walter McCarthy, Clara Ueland, and the Greystone Foundation, by Jan Kirchner on behalf of her family foundation, by the Art and Martha Kaemmer Fund of the HRK Foundation, in celebration of the life of Martha Hulings Kaemmer, and by listener-contributors to this public radio station. Additional support comes from Dobson Pipe Organ Builders of Lake City, IA, and Randall Dyer & Associates, Inc. of Jefferson City, TN, members of APOBA, the Associated Pipe Organ Builders of America, a collaborative of designers, creators, and maintainers of pipe organs found in religious and educational institutions, concert halls, and residences throughout the United States and beyond. An APOBA resource guide and member prospectus is available at APOBA.COM.
