The Beatitudes of Sir Arthur Bliss met an ignominious fate: scheduled for performance at the reopening of Coventry Cathedral in 1962, it was shoved aside when rehearsals for Britten's War Requiem spiraled out of control, relegated to a small local theater that could not hold the forces required, and performed with, of all things, a Hammond organ. Bliss was gracious about it but definitely received a raw deal: the work did not address the occasion in the immediate terms that Britten's did, but it's quite original, adapting ...
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The Beatitudes of Sir Arthur Bliss met an ignominious fate: scheduled for performance at the reopening of Coventry Cathedral in 1962, it was shoved aside when rehearsals for Britten's War Requiem spiraled out of control, relegated to a small local theater that could not hold the forces required, and performed with, of all things, a Hammond organ. Bliss was gracious about it but definitely received a raw deal: the work did not address the occasion in the immediate terms that Britten's did, but it's quite original, adapting the language of Elgar in novel ways. The nine biblical Beatitudes are actually almost interludes between poems by Henry Vaughan, George Herbert, Jeremy Taylor, and Dylan Thomas, with an adaptation of biblical text by the compiler, Christopher Hassall, in the "Voices of the Mob" section (sample track 11, where the Ninth Beatitude leads into this). That blood-and-guts music could have come out of one of Bliss' film scores, yet other poem settings are harmonically spiky and orchestrally...
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Add this copy of Sir Arthur Bliss: The Beatitudes to cart. $30.52, new condition, Sold by Importcds rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Sunrise, FL, UNITED STATES, published 2018 by Chandos.
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Arthur Bliss. New. New in new packaging. USA Orders only! Brand New product! please allow delivery times of 3-7 business days within the USA. US orders only please.
