Rubbra Symphony No 9 & The Morning Watch
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: (Charles) Edmund Rubbra
Genre:
Orchestral
Label: Chandos
Magazine Review Date: 6/1996
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 57
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: CHAN9441
Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
Symphony No. 9, 'Sinfonia sacra' |
(Charles) Edmund Rubbra, Composer
(Charles) Edmund Rubbra, Composer BBC National Chorus of Wales BBC National Orchestra of Wales Della Jones, Mezzo soprano Lynne Dawson, Soprano Richard Hickox, Conductor Stephen Roberts, Baritone |
(The) Morning Watch |
(Charles) Edmund Rubbra, Composer
(Charles) Edmund Rubbra, Composer BBC National Chorus of Wales BBC National Orchestra of Wales Richard Hickox, Conductor |
Author: Robert Layton
At long last Rubbra’s Ninth Symphony has reached the record catalogues! And although we have had to wait a long time for it, it is certainly worth the wait. No one listening to the Canto movement of Rubbra’s Sixth Symphony or the Missa in honorem Sancti Dominici could fail to recognize the deeply religious nature that shines through it. (I mention the latter since it was Richard Hickox who first recorded it, for RCA, 5/76 – nla, and whose earlier recording of the Fourth, Tenth and Eleventh Symphonies made so strong an impression earlier this year – 1/96.) As I have said elsewhere, the Ninth is Rubbra’s most visionary utterance and its stature has so far gone unrecognized. After its first performance in Liverpool in 1973 it remained on the shelf, apart from a BBC broadcast in the early 1980s, which Richard Hickox also conducted.
Its subtitle, Sinfonia sacra, gives a good idea of its character. It tells the story of the Resurrection very much as do the Bach Passions. There are three soloists: the contralto narrates from the New Testament while the soprano takes the part of Mary Magdalen and the baritone that of Jesus. Other parts – those of disciples and angels – are taken by the chorus who also function outside the action, in four settings of meditative Latin texts from the Roman liturgy or in Lutheran chorales to which Rubbra has put verses by Bernard de Nevers. The symphonic dimension is reinforced by the opening motive, which pretty well dominates the work or, as the composer puts it, casts its shadow over everything. Its argument unfolds with a seeming inevitability and naturalness that is the hallmark of a great symphony. Its depth and beauty call to mind only the most exalted of comparisons and it should be heard as often as Gerontius or the War Requiem. This is music of an inspired breadth and serenity and everyone connected with this magnificent performance conveys a sense of profound conviction.
I must not forget The Morning Watch, one of Rubbra’s most eloquent choral pieces. It dates from 1946, and so comes roughly half-way between the Fourth and Fifth Symphonies. A setting of the seventeenth-century metaphysical poet, Henry Vaughan, it too is music of substance and its long and moving orchestral introduction is of the highest order of inspiration. Richard Hickox and his fine team of singers and players deserve thanks and congratulations, as indeed do Chandos for giving it such excellent sound. I cannot recommend this strongly enough.'
Its subtitle, Sinfonia sacra, gives a good idea of its character. It tells the story of the Resurrection very much as do the Bach Passions. There are three soloists: the contralto narrates from the New Testament while the soprano takes the part of Mary Magdalen and the baritone that of Jesus. Other parts – those of disciples and angels – are taken by the chorus who also function outside the action, in four settings of meditative Latin texts from the Roman liturgy or in Lutheran chorales to which Rubbra has put verses by Bernard de Nevers. The symphonic dimension is reinforced by the opening motive, which pretty well dominates the work or, as the composer puts it, casts its shadow over everything. Its argument unfolds with a seeming inevitability and naturalness that is the hallmark of a great symphony. Its depth and beauty call to mind only the most exalted of comparisons and it should be heard as often as Gerontius or the War Requiem. This is music of an inspired breadth and serenity and everyone connected with this magnificent performance conveys a sense of profound conviction.
I must not forget The Morning Watch, one of Rubbra’s most eloquent choral pieces. It dates from 1946, and so comes roughly half-way between the Fourth and Fifth Symphonies. A setting of the seventeenth-century metaphysical poet, Henry Vaughan, it too is music of substance and its long and moving orchestral introduction is of the highest order of inspiration. Richard Hickox and his fine team of singers and players deserve thanks and congratulations, as indeed do Chandos for giving it such excellent sound. I cannot recommend this strongly enough.'
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