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Track(s) taken from CDA68209

Maria, mater gratiae, Op 47 No 2

composer
1888
author of text
vv 2 & 3 from Memento rerum conditor, Hymn at the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Yale Schola Cantorum, David Hill (conductor), Robert Bennesh (organ)
Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available
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Recording details: February 2015
Christ Church, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
Produced by Malcolm Bruno
Engineered by Mateusz Zechowski
Release date: November 2017
Total duration: 2 minutes 22 seconds

Cover artwork: Angel Traveller. Gustave Moreau (1826-1898)
Musée Gustave Moreau, Paris / Bridgeman Images
 

Other recordings available for download

Westminster Cathedral Choir, James O'Donnell (conductor), Iain Simcock (organ)
The Cambridge Singers, John Rutter (conductor), John Scott (organ)

Reviews

‘A superb performance of the Cantique de Jean Racine … the real glories of the disc come with the handful of rarely heard choral miniatures which are, without exception, absolute gems’ (Gramophone)

‘The singing is splendid. The baritone soloist Edmund Milly has just the cantor-like voice Fauré specified, with no boom or bluster, and the top choral parts are clear and bell-like … Hill’s instrumentally expanded version of the Cantique de Jean Racine is equally effective’ (BBC Music Magazine)» More
PERFORMANCE
RECORDING

‘What makes this CD distinctive is the smaller pieces. Lovers of Fauré will welcome their inclusion … special praise also for the lovely Tantum ergo Op 65 No 2 for trio (Nola Richardson, Sarah Yanovitch, Mindy Ella Chu) and upper voices. It is a little gem, perhaps the highlight of the recording … notes are informative, performances committed, recording quality high, as we would expect from Hyperion’ (MusicWeb International)

‘Hyperion is to be congratulated on such a fine production, as is David Hill and his musicians’ (MusicWeb International)» More
It took some time for the music of Gabriel Fauré to achieve recognition outside his native France, even the now-familiar Requiem making no real headway abroad until well into the 1940s. Born at Pamiers, in the département of Ariège, he trained at the École Niedermeyer in Paris where he attended the piano classes of Saint-Saëns and studied modal harmony and plainsong. In time he was destined to become director of the Paris Conservatoire, but his interest in church music waned and he eventually gave up his choir training and organ playing. Faure’s Op 47 consists of an O salutaris for solo voice and the present Maria, mater gratiae for two voices. Both works are provided with an organ accompaniment. The latter was completed in March 1888, shortly after the first version of the Requiem had its premiere at the Church of the Madeleine, and was scored for tenor and baritone voices. An arrangement for soprano and mezzo followed later in the year.

from notes by Wadham Sutton © 1993

La musique de Gabriel Fauré mit du temps à se faire connaître hors de France; même son Requiem, aujourd’hui partout célèbre, ne commença à être exécuté à l’étranger que dans les années 1940. Né à Pamiers, dans l’Ariège, Fauré entra à l’école Niedermeyer, à Paris, où il suivit les classes de piano de Saint-Saëns et étudia l’harmonie modale et le plain-chant. Il devait devenir par la suite directeur du conservatoire de Paris, mais son intérêt pour la musique d’église décrut, si bien qu’il finit par renoncer à ses occupations de choriste et d’organiste. L’opus 47 de Fauré comprend un O salutaris pour voix soliste, et le présent Maria, mater gratiae pour deux voix; l’un et l’autre sont accompagnés d’une partie d’orgue. Le Maria, Mater gratiae pour ténor et baryton, fut terminé en mars 1888, peu de temps après la première du Requiem à l’église de la Madeleine, et fut suivi la même année d’un arrangement pour soprano et mezzo.

extrait des notes rédigées par Wadham Sutton © 1993
Français: Jean-Paul Metzger

Es dauerte einige Zeit, bis die Musik von Gabriel Fauré auch außerhalb seines französischen Vaterlands anerkannt wurde. Sogar das heute bekannte Requiem erreichte erst in den vierziger Jahren einen Durchbruch. Fauré, geboren in Pamiers im Bezirk von Ariège, studierte an der Niedermeyer-Schule in Paris wo er den Klavierstunden von Saint-Saëns beiwohnte und modale Harmonie und Gregorianischen Gesang studierte. Mit der Zeit schien er bestimmt, Direktor des Pariser Konservatoriums zu werden, doch sein Interesse an Kirchenmusik ließ nach und er gab seine Chorübungen und Orgelspiel schließlich auf. Faurés Op 47 besteht aus einem O salutaris für Solostimme und dem hier vorliegenden, zweistimmigen Maria, mater gratiae. Beide Arbeiten haben Orgelbegleitung. Letztere wurde im März 1888 vollendet, kurz nachdem die erste Version des Requiems in der Madeleine-Kirche Premiere hatte, mit einer Partitur für Tenor- und Baritonstimmen. Ein Arrangement für Sopran und Mezzosopran folgte später im gleichen Jahr.

aus dem Begleittext von Wadham Sutton © 1993
Deutsch: Heidi Kerschl

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