Performer: Canty
Audio CD
Number of Discs: 1
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Linn
Size: 2.25 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
01. Salve splendor
02. James MacMillan: Os mutorum
03. Confessor Dei
04. Ivan Moody: O quam mirabilis
05. Green grow the rushes
06. Michael McGlynn: Lorica
07. Peter McGarr: Flower Garland
08. Five Lauds Antiphons
09. Inviolata, integra et casta es, Maria
10. Through the wood, laddie
11. Joanne Metcalf: Shining Light
12. Beatus Gallus
13. Rebecca Rowe: There is nothing brighter than the sun
14. A solis occasu
15. Gabriel Jackson: Ubi flumen praesulis
16. Sacrosanctam Kentegernus
17. James McCarthy: The Stars in their Courses
18. John Tavener: Two Hadiths
Canty:
Rebecca Tavener
Micaela Haslam
Anne Lewis
Joanne Wicks
William Taylor
World-premiere recordings of medieval and contemporary spritual songs including James MacMillan Os mutorum and John Tavener Two Hadiths.
Carmina Celtica features the world premiere of nine contemporary works commissioned over a decade by Canty, Scotland’s own Anonymous 4. The Ensemble blend contemporary works by Sir John Tavener and James MacMillan alongside haunting Medieval chant to create the unique and beautiful soundworld for which it is renowned. Described by The Times as “among the very best creative talents of his generation”, Sir John Tavener wrote Two Hadiths specially for Canty in 2007. Two Hadiths explores the sitar-like sonorities of the bray harp in meditative settings of the poetic sayings of the Prophet Mohammed.
James MacMillan is the pre-eminent Scottish composer of his generation. Commissioned for Canty in 2008, Os mutorum is both moving and expressive. Ivan Moody has set the words of Hildegard of Bingen in his contribution O quam mirabilis. The Telegraph calls his music “powerfully expressive” and this 2006 work showcases the emotive power of female choral singing.
Michael McGlynn, in addition to directing successful Irish choir Anúna, is a “most accomplished contemporary choral composer” (All Music Guide). He describes Lorica as accentuating “the sonic purity of Canty and harkens back to an age of delicate vocal timbre and set, but fluid musical constraints”.
Canty is billed as Scotland’s only professional medieval music group. They are a vocal quartet made up of the female singers from the Scottish choir Cappella Nova, and are accompanied by William Taylor, a specialist in historical harps. The impetus for the group’s formation was the 900th anniversary of the birth of Abbess Hildegard von Bingen. They have a handful of recordings out including one Hildegard’s music. Their newest disc is called Carmina Celtica. It’s a rarity in that it presents premiere recordings of pieces from both ends of the classical music timeline: the medieval period and the modern or contemporary era. What links these pieces together is their spiritual nature…whether it’s music from the Inchcolm Antiphoner or a piece by the modern composer James MacMillan.
The sound on the disc is amazing. It was recorded at Greyfriars Church in Edinburgh and the voices and various harps can best be described as crystalline. There are eighteen tracks including pieces by contemporary composers like Ivan Moody, John Tavener and Gabriel Jackson, examples of plainchant and pieces from the 17th and 18th centuries. All in all an incredible audio experience…very highly recommended.