The Gospel According to Mark (24/96 FLAC)

Composer: Christopher Tyler Nickel
Performer: Christopher Tyler Nickel
Orchestra: Vancouver Contemporary Orchestra
Conductor: Clyde Mitchell
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Avie
Catalogue: AV2562
Release: 2023
Size: 6.93 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes

The Gospel According to Mark
CD 01
01. 1. Sinfonia
02. 1;1–8. John The Baptist
03. 1;9–13. The Baptism and Temptation of Jesus
04. 1;14–20. Jesus Calls Peter and the Fishermen
05. 1;21–28. Jesus Heals Many – Part 1
06. 1;29–34. Jesus Heals Many – Part 2
07. 1;35–39. Jesus Preaches in Galilee
08. 1;40–45. Jesus Heals a Man
09. 2;1–12. Jesus Heals a Paralysed Man
10. 2;13–17. Jesus Calls Levi
11. 2;18–22. The Question about Fasting
12. 2;23–27. The Question about the Sabbath

CD 02
01. 3;1–6. The Man with a Paralysed Hand
02. 3;7–12. The Crowd by the Lake
03. 3;13–19. Jesus Ordained Twelve
04. 3;20–30. Jesus Speaks of Satan
05. 3;31–35. Jesus’ Mother and Brothers
06. 4;1–9. The Parable of the Sower
07. 4;10–12. The Purpose of the Parables
08. 4;13–25. Jesus Explains the Parable of the Sower
09. 4;26–29. The Parable of the Growing Seed
10. 4;30–34. The Parable of the Mustard Seed
11. 4;35–41. Jesus Calms a Storm
12. 5;1–20. Jesus Heals a Man with Evil Spirits
13. 5;21–43. The Woman Who Touched Jesus’ Cloak and Jairus’ Daughter (Recitative)

CD 03
01. 6;1–5. Jesus Is Rejected at Nazareth
02. 6;6–13. Jesus Sends Out the Disciples [Recitative]
03. 6;14–29. The Death of John the Baptist
04. 6;30–44. Jesus Feeds Five Thousand
05. 6;45–56. Jesus Walks On Water and Heals the Sick in Gennesaret
06. 7;1–13. The Teaching of the Ancestors
07. 7;14–23. The Things That Make a Person Unclean
08. 7;24–30. A Woman’s Faith (Recitative)
09. 7;31–37. Jesus Heals a Deaf-Mute

CD 04
01. 8;1–10. Jesus Feeds Four Thousand People (Recitative)
02. 8;11–13. The Pharisees Ask Jesus For a Miracle
03. 8;14–21. The Yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod (Recitative)
04. 8;22–26. Jesus Heals a Blind Man
05. 8;27–30. Peter’s Declaration about Jesus
06. 8;31–38. Jesus Speaks of His Death
07. 9;1. Introduction
08. 9;2–13. The Transfiguration
09. 9;14–29. Jesus Heals a Boy (Recitative)
10. 9;30–32. Jesus Speaks Again of His Death
11. 9;33–41. Capernaum
12. 9;42–50. Temptations to Sin
13. 10;1–12. Jesus Teaches of Divorcement
14. 10;13–16. Jesus Blesses Children
15. 10;17–31. The Rich Man (Recitative)
16. 10;32–34. Jesus Speaks Again of His Death
17. 10;35–45. The Request (Recitative)
18. 10;46–52. Blind Bartimaeus

CD 05
01. 11;1–11. The Entry into Jerusalem
02. 11;12–14. Jesus Curses a Fig Tree
03. 11;15–19. The Temple in Jerusalem
04. 11;20–26. The Lesson of the Fig Tree (Recitative)
05. 11;27–33. The Question of Jesus’ Authority
06. 12;1–17. The Parable of the Vineyard
07. 12;18–27. The Question about Rising from Death
08. 12;28–34. The Greatest Commandment
09. 12;35–37. The Question about the Messiah
10. 12;38–40. Jesus Warns about Teachers of the Law
11. 12;41–44. The Widow’s Offering

CD 06
01. 13;1–2. Jesus Foretells the Destruction of the Temple
02. 13;3–13. Persecutions
03. 13;14–23. The Abomination
04. 13;24–27. The Coming
05. 13;28–31. The Lesson of the Fig Tree (Recitative)
06. 13;32–37. No One Knows the Hour
07. 14;1–2. The Conspiracy Against Christ
08. 14;3–9. Jesus Anointed
09. 14;10–11. Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus
10. 14;12–16. The Passover Meal (Recitative)
11. 14;17–21. Foretells of the Betrayal
12. 14;22–26. The Lord’s Supper
13. 14;27–31. Foretells of Peter’s Denial
14. 14;32–42. Gethsemane
15. 14;43–52. Jesus’ Arrest
16. 14;53–65. Jesus Before the Council
17. 14;66–72. Peter Denies Jesus

CD 07
01. 15;1–5. Jesus Brought Before Pilate
02. 15;6–15. Jesus Sentanced to Death
03. 15;16–20. The Soldiers Scorn Jesus
04. 15;21–32. The Crucifixion
05. 15;33–41. The Death of Jesus
06. 15;42–47. The Burial of Jesus
07. 16;1–8. The Resurrection
08. 16;9–18. Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene and to the Disciples
09. 16;19–20. The Ascension and Amen

Multi-award-winning Canadian composer Christopher Tyler Nickel has created a truly unique magnum opus: The Gospel According to Mark, a seven-hour oratorio setting the disciple’s text from the King James bible in its entirety.

What originated as an idea to distil the text, as most passion music does, Chris quickly became more interested in setting the complete prose. He chose to compose a work employing an English Protestant text, rather than the more traditional Latin or German, envisioning The Gospel According to Mark as a seven-hour-long prayer With the text as Chris’ starting point, the musical motifs and melodies followed, setting concepts including the themes of teaching, healing, miracles, forgiveness, death and resurrection.

The scope of the text is illuminated by scaled-down forces – chamber-sized string orchestra plus two horns, oboe (doubling oboe d’amore) and cor anglais (doubling bass oboe), with soprano, alto, tenor and bass solo voices. Unlike other oratorios, the singers do not represent any particular person but rather act as a chorus of storytellers. Chris explains, “This nebulous use of the voices, which sidesteps role assignment, keeps the vocal parts more abstract and hence the listener focused on the text.” With Chris’ faith as his guide, The Gospel According to Mark takes the listener a journey through the contrasts of peacefulness and agitation, darkness and light.