Blessed Spirit - Music Of The Soul's Journey

Clare College Choir Sopranos: Iona Coltart, Katy Cooper, Jennifer Davison, Vanessa Huntly, Nicola Ihnatowicz, Louise Kateck, Christina Sampson, Elin Manahan Thomas Altos: Alexandra Barrett, Matthew Orton, James Rivett, Emma Thompson Tenors: John Harte, Alexander Jupp, Matthew Moon, Paul Naish Basses: Sam Barrett, Maxwell Grender-Jones, Jan Lochmann, Jeremy Marwell, Jonathan Midgley, John Reid, Jonathan Saunders, Reuben Thomas, Christopher Weston ----------------------------------- ALBUM INTRODUCTION ----------------------------------- The theme of this album is the music of heaven and our journey to heaven. Both of these concepts, of course, can only be imagined, not objectively described. In medieval Christendom, there was a clear vision of heaven, as there was of hell, and the imagery used hen by poets and artists—and by churchmen looking for carrots and sticks to subdue their flock—is still familiar today: heaven (above us) is a place where the residents sit upon clouds in white robes, and angels endlessly sing and play their harps. Hell (below us) is a burning furnace stoked by devils with horns, tails, and pitchforks to prod the lost souls who howl in eternal torment. As scientific knowledge and rationalism have advanced, so this simple vision has become blurred: contemporary theologians within the mainstream Christian tradition have tended to define heaven and hell in increasingly abstract terms, or have decided that they are no longer meaningful concepts. Paradoxically, the music inspired by the old medieval visions has never been more popular: the great Requiem settings of Mozart, Verdi, Fauré and others pack concert halls and churches the world over. Behind this almost over-familiar repertoire of music expressive of the journey from death to life is a wealth of wonderful smaller-scale music which has, over the centuries, accompanied the church’s rites of passage and given believers a vision of the life to come. This album gathers together some of the best and most inspiring examples, intentionally drawn from different eras and traditions, some of which would not normally be found together on the same recording. Superficially, William Byrd who composed Justorum animae and the American slave who first sang Deep river have little in common: yet their longing for heaven was the same. The programme divides into three sections, each introduced by a Gregorian chant. The first section is devoted to music of mourning and remembrance, the second moves onto thoughts of the departed soul’s destination, and the final section moves to heaven itself. The almost celestial acoustic of the Lady Chapel of Ely Cathedral made a gloriously appropriate setting for this recording, which follows on from Illumina (COLCD 125) and marks the second appearance on the Collegium label by the Choir of Clare College, Cambridge. JOHN RUTTER