Barcelata / Brahms / Chopin / Murray / Davenet - Meditation: Zither & Piano - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Richard Hickox - Violin Concerto / Prelude Op 25 / Romance Op 11 [COMPACT DISCS] date 02/27/2001

The five new choral works on this album - by James MacMillan, Will Todd, Anna Semple, Eoghan Desmond and Lisa Robertson - all grew from a meditation by St John Henry Newman. Newman was a theologian of towering stature and broad influence and his meditation resonates with great clarity in our present age of the re-evaluation of what we can and cannot do without, and of the profound human need for a sense of meaning and purpose. Canonized in October 2019, Newman's writings represent a rich and thought-provoking legacy and, alongside the new works presented, are immortalized in three well-known hymns and Sir Edward Elgar's exquisite elegy 'They are at rest'. Also included are two of Elgar's psalm settings - Great is the Lord and Give unto the Lord. These are monumental works for choir and organ, full of grandeur and drama, but also inherently simple. The album ends with a 'Bonus' track by Bob Chilcott - also a Genesis Foundation commission - based on Psalm 139.

Budapest Failoni Chamber Orchestra along with various performers perform works by great classical composers Bach, Debussy and Mozart.