Missa Tiburtina / Tiger / Magnificat

On this CD:

1. Magnificat for chorus
Composed by Giles Swayne
Performed by BBC Singers, Robert Johnston, Jennifer Adams-Barbaro, Jacqueline Fox, Judith Harris, Andrew MacKenzie-Wicks

2. Nunc Dimittis
Composed by Giles Swayne
Performed by BBC Singers, David Goode

3. Missa Brevissima
Composed by Giles Swayne
Performed by BBC Singers, Ian Kennedy, Jennifer Adams-Barbaro

4. Hark! hark! the lark
Composed by Giles Swayne
Performed by BBC Singers, Stuart MacIntyre, Kim Porter, David Roy, Alison Smart, Micaela Haslam

5. Where the bee sucks, there suck I
Composed by Giles Swayne
Performed by BBC Singers, Stuart MacIntyre, Kim Porter, David Roy, Alison Smart, Micaela Haslam

6. Full fathom five thy father lies
Composed by Giles Swayne
Performed by BBC Singers, Stuart MacIntyre, Kim Porter, David Roy, Alison Smart, Micaela Haslam

7. The Tiger
Composed by Giles Swayne
Performed by Lynette Alcantara, BBC Singers, Andrew Murgatroyd, Alison Smart, Graham Titus, Margaret Feavoiur, Micaela Haslam

8. Veni creator II
Composed by Giles Swayne
Performed by BBC Singers, David Goode

9. O magnum mysterium
Composed by Giles Swayne
Performed by BBC Singers, David Goode, Pamela Priestley-Smith

10. Ophelia Drowning
Composed by Giles Swayne
Performed by BBC Singers, Philippa Davies

11. Missa Tiburtina
Composed by Giles Swayne
Performed by BBC Singers, Neil MacKenzie, Brindley Sherratt, Penny Vickers, Carolyn Foulkes

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
You'll be forgiven if you think the name Giles Swayne belongs to some unheralded Elizabethan-era composer. And indeed, the first piece on this recording, a four-minute-long Magnificat, has the rhythmic swing and harmonic context of a Renaissance dance. But Swayne is a British composer very much of our own time, whose compositional style is intriguingly original, with its dynamic use of language and imaginative rhythmic, coloristic, and textural effects. Listening to these 11 pieces isn't always easy. Not only are the sounds often dissonant and the melodic passages jumpy and disjointed, but the music demands virtuosic vocal and ensemble technique. Most fascinating is an alternately playful, scary, percussive, and magical setting of Blake's poem "The Tiger," which includes additional lines and a stanza rejected by its author. Swayne employs many striking effects, including cries, shouts, clapping, and other nonsung sounds. Most accessible are the two mass settings--the appropriately titled Missa brevissima, which lasts about six minutes, and the more traditional sounding Missa Tiburtina. The BBC Singers demonstrate amazingly confident control and impressive command of these very challenging modern works. --David Vernier

Missa Tiburtina / Tiger / Magnificat, Music, Giles Swayne, Davies, Goode, Cleobury, Classical

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