"The Little Church Around the Corner"
One East 29th Street, New York
MUSIC NOTES:
Easter IV - April 21, 2002
Today's service music pairs an important work of Herbert Howells (1892-1983), his service setting Collegium Regale, with a late motet of Benjamin Britten (1913-1976). Although these composers were contemporaries, their outlook, lives and careers were entirely different. Howells was born in the late Victorian era, and his music, and to some extent his life, reflects the grand and expansive aspirations of that age, even though the sun had already set upon it by the time Collegium Regale was written in 1945. Indeed Collegium Regale is often seen as the last significant service setting in the Victorian style.
Britten, by contrast, was born into Georgian England. The history of his anthem Jubilate Deo provides a narrative of the changing artistic patterns of the time. In 1934, Britten wrote a Te Deum in C Major for choir and organ, dedicated to Maurice Vinden and the Choir of St. Mark's Church, North Audley Street, London. Three weeks after its completion, he composed a companion setting of the Jubilate Deo, scored in E flat major, and dedicated to the same choir. This composition was withdrawn, and remained unpublished until after Britten's death. Stylistically, it is similar to a work of Stanford or Ireland (the latter of whom had been one of Britten's teachers.)
Following in the path of his friend and soulmate the poet W.H. Auden (1907-1973), Britten left England in 1939 and emigrated to the USA, together with his companion the tenor Peter Pears, whose individual artistry was to inspire many of Britten's greatest operatic roles and song cycles. Having thus uprooted himself, Britten rediscovered his heritage and in 1942 he and Pears firmly resolved to return to England, despite the fact that World War II was in full progress. The Ceremony of Carols was largely composed on his homeward journey. An intensive study of the music of Henry Purcell (1659-1695) inspired his remarkable composition of 1943, Rejoice in the Lamb. While most of Britten's output is secular, both choral and instrumental, he also turned his attention to sacred music, with such works as the Missa Brevis for the choir of Westminster Cathedral (1959), the War Requiem for Coventry Cathedral of 1962, and numerous smaller-scale pieces such as Psalm 150 for the children of Northgate School (1963) and the Hymn of St. Columba for four-part choir (1962).
In 1961, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, commissioned Britten to write the long-awaited Jubilate Deo sequel to his Te Deum of 1935, replacing the earlier composition that the composer had withdrawn. Britten accepted the commission, and the new piece was dedicated to the Chapel of St. George's, Windsor, where it was first performed. Scored in C Major (as is the Te Deum), Jubilate Deo is a short, but challenging work, built upon two contrasting musical ideas. Following the contours of the text, the piece opens with a joyful, angular melody and a lively bell-like organ accompaniment, then moves into a more conjunct and settled passage introduced at "be thankful unto Him," and concludes with a return to the original idea. The piece is a testament to the ongoing vitality of Christian texts in an age that often seems inimical to them.
Britten, by contrast, was born into Georgian England. The history of his anthem Jubilate Deo provides a narrative of the changing artistic patterns of the time. In 1934, Britten wrote a Te Deum in C Major for choir and organ, dedicated to Maurice Vinden and the Choir of St. Mark's Church, North Audley Street, London. Three weeks after its completion, he composed a companion setting of the Jubilate Deo, scored in E flat major, and dedicated to the same choir. This composition was withdrawn, and remained unpublished until after Britten's death. Stylistically, it is similar to a work of Stanford or Ireland (the latter of whom had been one of Britten's teachers.)
Following in the path of his friend and soulmate the poet W.H. Auden (1907-1973), Britten left England in 1939 and emigrated to the USA, together with his companion the tenor Peter Pears, whose individual artistry was to inspire many of Britten's greatest operatic roles and song cycles. Having thus uprooted himself, Britten rediscovered his heritage and in 1942 he and Pears firmly resolved to return to England, despite the fact that World War II was in full progress. The Ceremony of Carols was largely composed on his homeward journey. An intensive study of the music of Henry Purcell (1659-1695) inspired his remarkable composition of 1943, Rejoice in the Lamb. While most of Britten's output is secular, both choral and instrumental, he also turned his attention to sacred music, with such works as the Missa Brevis for the choir of Westminster Cathedral (1959), the War Requiem for Coventry Cathedral of 1962, and numerous smaller-scale pieces such as Psalm 150 for the children of Northgate School (1963) and the Hymn of St. Columba for four-part choir (1962).
In 1961, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, commissioned Britten to write the long-awaited Jubilate Deo sequel to his Te Deum of 1935, replacing the earlier composition that the composer had withdrawn. Britten accepted the commission, and the new piece was dedicated to the Chapel of St. George's, Windsor, where it was first performed. Scored in C Major (as is the Te Deum), Jubilate Deo is a short, but challenging work, built upon two contrasting musical ideas. Following the contours of the text, the piece opens with a joyful, angular melody and a lively bell-like organ accompaniment, then moves into a more conjunct and settled passage introduced at "be thankful unto Him," and concludes with a return to the original idea. The piece is a testament to the ongoing vitality of Christian texts in an age that often seems inimical to them.
