I thought I’d finish this sequence with a 20th century arrangement by a woman composer, Elizabeth Maconchy. Maconchy was born in 1907 in Hertfordshire, England, and seems to have written mostly for string quartets and chamber orchestras, though she wrote…
Tag: advent calendar
Advent Calendar Day 14: There is No Rose of Such Virtue – Chanticleer
I bet you thought that Jesus was the only rose in this story. Surprise! Mary also gets to be a rose. Obviously, this horticultural affinity runs in the family. There is no rose of such virtue is a medieval text…
Advent Calendar Day 13: Den yndigste rose er funden – Klug / Faurschou
Just in case you thought that the only people in the Medieval era comparing Jesus to a rose were the English, and the Germans, and anyone who spoke Latin, here’s a Danish carol dating back to 1542 on a similar…
Advent Calendar Day 12: Virga Jesse – Bruckner
Basically, I’ll take any excuse to listen to (or sing) Bruckner. I am not always a huge fan of Romantic music, but I love the richness and lushness of Bruckner’s choral harmonies, and his tendency to set the sopranos soaring…
Advent Calendar Day 11: Det är en ros utsprungen – Praetorius / Sandström
So now that we’ve prepared the highway, and made it nice and straight with the rough places plain and so forth, it it’s time to plant some flowers by the side of the road. Theme number three is all things…
Advent Calendar Day 10: The Record of John – Gibbons
I really had intended to leave The Record of John out of my Advent calendar this year, especially as I have more Gibbons planned for you later in December, but then I made the mistake of listening to it again,…
Advent Calendar Day 9: Prepare ye the way of the Lord – Godspell
In vain I have struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. I cannot possibly end this sequence without earworming you all with Godspell. I was going to apologise, but unfortunately any apology would completely lack sincerity,…
Advent Calendar Day 8: Vox Clamantis in Deserto
I won’t lie to you – I don’t actually hold an entire library of Advent-appropriate music in my head. I mean, yes, I’ve certainly sung my fair share and more in this genre, but still. What I’m saying here is…
Advent Calendar Day 7: Comfort Ye / Ev’ry Valley – Handel
Well, now, I could hardly have a ‘prepare ye the way of the Lord / make His path straight’ theme and not include Handel, now could I? I’m pretty sure there is a law about that sort of thing. The…
Advent Calendar Day 6: Prepare ye the way of the Lord – Wise
I think we’ve milked the Rorate theme as far as we possibly can, so it’s time to move on to our next Advent theme (which probably should have been my first theme, only I got my Advent texts mixed up…),…