The Short Service
Orlando Gibbons 1583-1625, with additional sacred works
Sunday 17 February 2002, 8pm
Pre-concert talk 7.45pm
Sacred Heart Cathedral
Hill Street
Wellington
Directed by Alastair Carey
Gibbons was Organist at the Chapel Royal and Westminster Abbey. He was recognised as the leading choral composer and organist of his generation at a time when England dominated the musical landscape of Europe.
The celebration of faith evolved significantly in England after Henry VIII split from the Catholic Church in the 16th century. The services of mattins and evensong took pride of place over the mass. The music for these services became the compositional focal point of a generation of English sacred musicians. Gibbons' Short Service is a set of interlocking movements that provide polyphony for the main texts of the mattins and evensong services. The Short Service is a fine example of English choral writing of the early 17th century.
Programme
Anthem: Almighty and everlasting God
Te Deum, Benedictus, Magnificat, Nunc Dimittis: The Short Service
with hymns ("Songs of the Church") as set by Gibbons
Anthem: O Lord, in Thy Wrath rebuke me not
Interval
Verse anthem: Almighty God, who by Thy son
Verse anthem: This is the Record of John
Verse anthem: If ye be risen again with Christ
Anthem: Out of the deep have I called unto thee, O Lord
Madrigal: The Silver Swan
Solo performers
Organ: Douglas Mews
Douglas Mews plays the Drake Chamber Organ, part of the keyboard collection of the School of Music of Victoria University of Wellington.
Verse anthem soloists: Rebecca Murphy (S1), Janine Dyne (S2), Megan Hurnard (A1), Christopher Warwick (A2), Alastair Carey (T1), Ewen Griffiths (T2), Brian Hesketh (B1), Robert Easting (B2)
This concert was part of the 2002 Performance Series.