music of Heinrich Isaac, Josquin des Prez, and Orlando di Lasso
Heinrich Isaac (ca. 1450-1517):
Missa Carminum
A1
Kyrie
2:47
A2
Gloria
5:15
A3
Credo
6:13
A4
Sanctus
3:33
B5
Benedictus
2:02
B6
Agnus Dei
3:54
Josquin des Prez (ca. 1450-1521):
Ave Christe, Immolate
B7
4:49
Orlando di Lasso (ca. 1532-1594):
Factus Est Dominus
B8
1:48
Cum Essem Parvulus
B9
2:28
Nunc Cognosco
B10
2:13
Overture
ACT ONE, Scene 3
3. Chorus (“Awake the Trumpet’s Lofty Sound”)
ACT THREE, Scene 3
84. Solo and Chorus (“Glorious hero”)
Israelites
Glorious hero, may thy grave
Peace and honour ever have,
After all thy pains and woes,
Rest etemal, sweet repose!
ACT ONE, Scene 2
12. Air (“Total eclipse!”)
Samson
Total eclipse! No sun, no moon!
All dark amidst the blaze of noon!
Oh, glorious light! No cheering ray
To glad my eyes with welcome day!
Why thus depriv’d Thy prime decree?
Sun, moon, and stars are dark to me!
For the complete oratorio, see
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I have been listening to some music today, mostly Handel, including a bit of “Samson,” an oratorio.
Handel composed “Samson” right after “Messiah.” He wrote “Messiah” in 24 days! He wrote “Samson” in about a month!
The libretto of “Samson” was based on John Milton’s “Samson Agonistes.”
It is my opinion – perhaps a minority one – that “Samson” is just about equal to “Messiah,” if not in fact equal.
It evokes such an emotional response. Raises goose bumps.
Listen to “Glorious Hero,” for example.
My mother majored in Fine Arts at Radcliffe College. She had quite a few art books from her college days that my siblings and I used to peruse.
There was a reproduction of a painting in one of her art books: “Samson and the Philistines” by Carl Heinrich Bloch, which was painted in Rome in 1863. It made such an impression on me. The painting shows Samson, in captivity, grinding grain on a treadmill. I couldn’t stop looking at it.
So did the Biblical story of Samson itself, which I knew from Sunday school.
— Roger W. Smith
May 4, 2016
Samson in the Treadmill (1863) by Carl Bloch
George Crumb, “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d”
based on Whitman’s poem
— posted by Roger W. Smith
March 2016
Haydn, “Theresienmesse” (mass in B flat major)
–– posted by Roger W. Smith
This recording of Mozart’s Masonic music, conducted by Swiss conductor Peter Maag, was on an LP that I purchased in the 1970’s.
For me, it was a revelation. About Mozart. As music.
— Roger W. Smith
May 2019
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TRACK ONE
A1
Psalm 129: ”De Profundis Clamavi”, K. 93
A2
Lied: ”O Heiliges Band Der Freundschaft”, K. 148
A3
Graduale: ”Sancta Maria, Mater Dei”, K. 273
A4
Canonic Adagio In F Major For 2 Bassett Horns And Bassoon, K. 4.10
A5
Adagio In B-Flat For 2 Clarinets And 3 Bassett Horns, K. 411
TRACK TWO
B1
Cantata: ”Dir, Seele Des Weltalls”, K. 429
B2
Gesellenreise Freimaurerlied: ”Die Ihr Einem Neuen Grade”, K. 468
B3
Cantata: ”Die Maurerfreude”, K. 471
B4
Maurerische Trauermusik (Masonic Funeral Music), K. 477
TRACK THREE
C1
Lied: “Zerfliesset Heut’, Geliebte Brüder”. K. 483
C2
Lied: “Ihr Unsre Neuen Leiter”, K. 484
C3
Adagio And Fugue In C MInor For String Quartet, K. 546
C4
Adagio & Rondo In C Minor/Major For Flute, Oboe, Cello And Celesta, K. 617
C5
Motet: “Ave Verum Corpus”, K. 618
TRACK FOUR
D1
Cantata: “Die Ihr Des Unermesslicher Weltalls Schöpfer Ehrt”, K. 619
D2
Eine Kleine Freimaurer-Kantate, “Laut Verkünde Unsre Freude”, K. 623
D3
Anhang Zum Schluss Der Freimaurerloge, “Lasst Uns Mit Geschlungnen Händen”, K. 623a
Alan Hovhaness, choral works (Ave Maria, Christmas Ode, Easter Cantata)
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This LP contains three splendid, haunting choral pieces composed by Alan Hovhaness (1911-2000):
Ave Maria
boys’ (or women’s) voices, 2 oboes (or trumpets or clarinets), 2 horns (or trombones) & harp (or piano)
1955
Christmas Ode (As on the Night)
soprano, celesta & strings
1952
Easter Cantata
soprano, chorus, 2 oboes, 2 horns, 3 trumpets, tamtam, harp, celesta & strings
1953
Alan Hovhaness (then named Alan Vaness Chakmakjian) and my father, Alan W. Smith, both grew up in Arlington, Massachusetts. They both attended Arlington High School; Alan Chakmakjian (Hovhaness) had already graduated by the time my father began high school.
Alan Chakmakjian (Hovhaness) and my father both studied under the same piano teacher in Arlington and had a nodding acquaintance.
— Roger W. Smith
January 2016
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from Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Hovhaness
Alan Hovhaness was an American composer of Armenian and Scottish descent. He was one of the most prolific 20th-century composers, with his official catalog comprising 67 numbered symphonies (surviving manuscripts indicate over 70) and 434 opus numbers. The true tally is well over 500 surviving works since many opus numbers comprise two or more distinct works.
Boston Globe music critic Richard Buell wrote: “Although [Hovhaness] has been stereotyped as a self-consciously Armenian composer … his output assimilates the music of many cultures. What may be most American about all of it is the way it turns its materials into a kind of exoticism. The atmosphere is hushed, reverential, mystical, nostalgic.”
Gregorian chant, Volume 1
– posted by Roger W. Smith
