Suzi Digby - Spem in alium. Vidi aquam (2020) [Official Digital Download 24/96]

Throughout 2020 ORA Singers was looking forward to celebrating the 450th anniversary of one of choral music’s most iconic works, Spem in alium, with a series of exciting live events. As with so much else, COVID-19 has forced us to rethink our plans, but we are delighted to say that it will not stop us in giving this extraordinary musical masterpiece the attention it deserves!

Composed by Thomas Tallis, favourite composer of Tudor monarchs from Henry VIII to Elizabeth I, Spem in alium has an extraordinary 40 separate voice-parts; a huge task that could only be achieved by a true master of his art.

To mark the anniversary, ORA Singers commissioned a modern master of choral music, Sir James MacMillan, to write a reflection to Spem in alium. The piece has been described as a "shattering experience" by Stephen Fry, a "tour de force" by ORA Director Suzi Digby, and composer John Rutter wrote that it is “an extraordinary piece, like a new-born free spirit rising from the body of Tallis's Spem.”

This programme brings together a true choral landmark from the sixteenth century, Spem in alium, with its present-day reflection, a commission by Sir James MacMillan. These two monumental, large-scale works bookend a ‘tasting menu’ of Renaissance works much smaller in scope. Their composers range from the recognised names of Byrd and Tallis to others that are currently less well-known but worthy of note, such as van Wilder, Gerarde and Ferrabosco, with some works recorded for the very first time. Common to them all is a link to Nonsuch Palace, arguably the location of the first performance of Spem in alium, and the centre of a rich vein of Tudor musical patronage. We hope you enjoy this musical banquet from a previous Golden Age and place: flavours in the shadow of Nonsuch.

TRACKLIST

1. Suzi Digby - Spem in alium (The Forty-Part Motet)
2. Suzi Digby - O Souverain Pasteur et Maistre
3. Suzi Digby - In Monte Oliveti
4. Suzi Digby - Domine, salva nos
5. Suzi Digby - Fructum salutiferum
6. Suzi Digby - Tua est potentia
7. Suzi Digby - Pater Noster
8. Suzi Digby - In jejunio et fletu
9. Suzi Digby - Decantabat populus Israel
10. Suzi Digby - Ex altari tuo, Domine
11. Suzi Digby - Judica me, Domine
12. Suzi Digby - Fac cum servo tuo
13. Suzi Digby - Derelinquit impius
14. Suzi Digby - Vidi civitatem
15. Suzi Digby - Vidi aquam (Forty-Part Motet)



Thanks to the Original customer.