The part song is a largely British form consisting of a four-part choral setting of a secular poem, generally with the melody in the top line. It grew out of semi-professional genres such as the glee, and over time, in the hands of major composers, it took on contrapuntal trappings and greater expressive ambitions, but it never lost its basic orientation toward clear, homophonic text settings. This collection by the fine English choir Tenebrae under director Nigel Short would make a good introduction to the genre, but will ...
Read More
The part song is a largely British form consisting of a four-part choral setting of a secular poem, generally with the melody in the top line. It grew out of semi-professional genres such as the glee, and over time, in the hands of major composers, it took on contrapuntal trappings and greater expressive ambitions, but it never lost its basic orientation toward clear, homophonic text settings. This collection by the fine English choir Tenebrae under director Nigel Short would make a good introduction to the genre, but will also attract those who have a few albums' worth of part songs in their collections, with some standard works interspersed with real finds from Short. Shakespeare's song texts have an ongoing association with the part song, and there are familiar (Vaughan Williams) and novel (Herbert Murrill) settings here. Other works draw on the lyric poetry of Tennyson, Shelley, and the other 19th century lyric poets who populate the genre, with the contemporary composer Bob Chilcott, whose...
Read Less
Add this copy of Music of the Spheres: Part Songs of the British Isles to cart. $32.13, new condition, Sold by Revaluation Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Exeter, DEVON, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2016 by Signum Classics.
Portions of content provided by Rovi Corporation. © 2024 Rovi Corporation.