Regina caeli by Tomás Luís de Victoria
I write in some haste, as we are beginning our production week for Never to Forget, with rehearsals daily and concerts on Friday night and Saturday afternoon. Lots of prep to do. I hope fervently that many of you will attend one of the concerts. The show is conceived in memory of those we have lost during the pandemic--sadly, there have been many people precious to our community who have passed away since early 2020--and it includes a lot of stunning and beautiful music which we'll be playing and singing in their honor.
You can find out more and purchase tickets via this link.
In the meantime, as a sort of hint of what you might hear if you come, I'd like to introduce you to one of the pieces on the program. It's a five-voice setting of the Marian antiphon 'Regina caeli', by none other than the great Spanish composer Tomás Luís de Victoria. The piece finds its way into our program because our second half is built around the Compline liturgy. Compline is the last of the daily round of monastic services, and bids a good night with prayers and thanksgiving. The service closes with a Marian antiphon, and we've chosen to use the one for Eastertide.
The 'Regina caeli' is based upon a brief and joyful text, to wit:
Regina caeli laetare: Alleluia, (Queen of Heaven, rejoice: Praise the Lord,)
Quia quem meruisti portare: Alleluia, (For he whom you did merit to bear: Praise the Lord,)
Resurrexit sicut dixit: Alleluia. (Has risen, as he foretold: Praise the Lord.)
Ora pro nobis Deum: Alleluia. (Pray for us to God: Praise the Lord.)
The triumphant nature of the text and the repeated 'Alleluias' invite festive musical treatment, and dang, are there ever been some festive 'Regina caeli' settings in the repertoire!
Victoria himself was no slouch in this regard. His eight-voice setting is a standard in the repertoire, and deservedly so. Here it is in a great performance by Voces8. You can find an excellent score here.
But not far behind on the vim-and-vigour scale is Victoria's five-part setting, the one we'll be performing later this week. It's quite compact. For each of the four lines of text, Victoria uses the relevant chant melody, developing this polyphonically through the ensemble. Then follows a series of Alleluias, these becoming more and more irrepressible as the piece progresses.
What a romp!
Need to have a lift? Need to take your mind off the world and its problems for a brief respite? Listen to music! Listen to this music!
Here are links to two versions, very different from each other, both well worth checking out:
Musica Ficta's very clean one-on-a-part recording;
The Sixteen's recording--larger group, faster tempo, more festive.
As usual, I am attaching a score herewith.
I write in some haste, as we are beginning our production week for Never to Forget, with rehearsals daily and concerts on Friday night and Saturday afternoon. Lots of prep to do. I hope fervently that many of you will attend one of the concerts. The show is conceived in memory of those we have lost during the pandemic--sadly, there have been many people precious to our community who have passed away since early 2020--and it includes a lot of stunning and beautiful music which we'll be playing and singing in their honor.
You can find out more and purchase tickets via this link.
In the meantime, as a sort of hint of what you might hear if you come, I'd like to introduce you to one of the pieces on the program. It's a five-voice setting of the Marian antiphon 'Regina caeli', by none other than the great Spanish composer Tomás Luís de Victoria. The piece finds its way into our program because our second half is built around the Compline liturgy. Compline is the last of the daily round of monastic services, and bids a good night with prayers and thanksgiving. The service closes with a Marian antiphon, and we've chosen to use the one for Eastertide.
The 'Regina caeli' is based upon a brief and joyful text, to wit:
Regina caeli laetare: Alleluia, (Queen of Heaven, rejoice: Praise the Lord,)
Quia quem meruisti portare: Alleluia, (For he whom you did merit to bear: Praise the Lord,)
Resurrexit sicut dixit: Alleluia. (Has risen, as he foretold: Praise the Lord.)
Ora pro nobis Deum: Alleluia. (Pray for us to God: Praise the Lord.)
The triumphant nature of the text and the repeated 'Alleluias' invite festive musical treatment, and dang, are there ever been some festive 'Regina caeli' settings in the repertoire!
Victoria himself was no slouch in this regard. His eight-voice setting is a standard in the repertoire, and deservedly so. Here it is in a great performance by Voces8. You can find an excellent score here.
But not far behind on the vim-and-vigour scale is Victoria's five-part setting, the one we'll be performing later this week. It's quite compact. For each of the four lines of text, Victoria uses the relevant chant melody, developing this polyphonically through the ensemble. Then follows a series of Alleluias, these becoming more and more irrepressible as the piece progresses.
What a romp!
Need to have a lift? Need to take your mind off the world and its problems for a brief respite? Listen to music! Listen to this music!
Here are links to two versions, very different from each other, both well worth checking out:
Musica Ficta's very clean one-on-a-part recording;
The Sixteen's recording--larger group, faster tempo, more festive.
As usual, I am attaching a score herewith.