Emma Kirkby, Daniel Taylor, Theatre Of Early Music – Vivaldi, Pergolesi, Bach: Stabat Mater (2009)
SACD Rip | SACD ISO | DST64 2.0 & 5.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 74:50 minutes | Scans included | 3,4 GB
or DSD64 2.0 Stereo (from SACD-ISO to Tracks.dsf) > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | Full Scans included | 2,95 GB
or FLAC Stereo (carefully converted & encoded to tracks) 24bit/44,1 kHz | Full Scans included | 675 MB
DSD Recording | Features Stereo and Multichannel Surround Sound | Label: BIS Records AB # BIS-1546
With a disc entitled Stabat Mater and featuring Pergolesi among the composers, it would be natural to expect his setting of this heartfelt meditation on the grief of the Virgin Mary to be included in the programme. Well, it isn’t – and it is! Only a few years after Pergolesi in 1736 had composed his Stabat Mater, JS Bach made an adaptation of it using a contemporary German version of the biblical Psalm 51. To suit the requirements of the new text Bach made certain alterations to Pergolesi’s vocal parts, but retained the scheme of solo arias and duets between a soprano and an alto voice. He also added a new, independent viola part to the score and rewrote the basso continuo, giving the work a new harmonic vitality.
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Daniel Taylor – The Tree of Life (2016)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 55:59 minutes | 925 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Sony Classical
This album The Tree of Life follows Daniel Taylor’s successful 2015 album Four Thousand Winter.
Within this beautiful sequence of Christmas music ancient and modern we find a stillness that is central to the experience – an awakening. The Tree of Life takes the listener on a new journey drawing each of us through the notes and through the moments of silence between them. Here we remember and reflect, hope and give thanks.
These compositions span over two thousand years, from a sixth-century chant to the miraculous works of Parsons and Mouton to the remarkable compositions from today by Pärt, Britten and Tavener. Among the pieces we find the “Seven Antiphons” by Arvo Pärt, disarmingly impassioned, otherworldly; the extraordinary “Hymn to the Mother of God” by John Tavener, and Benjamin Britten’s transformative “Hymn to the Virgin”. In close kinship with these profound offerings, the restrained ecstasy of “Nesciens Mater” by Jean Mouton, the “Ave Maria” of Robert Parsons and the moving “Jesus Christ the Apple Tree” by Elizabeth Poston, bring forth a sense of serene wonder.
Recorded in London, England with esteemed producer Nicholas Parker and bathed in the acoustics of Saint Augustine, The Tree of Life features the Trinity Choir including choristers from across Canada and members of the Tallis Scholars, the Gabrieli Consort and the Monteverdi Choir. These are magnificent interpretations that Daniel Taylor directs with passion and dedication.
The pure voices of The Trinity Choir include the best of today’s soloists from England’s choral and vocal stars: Jeremy Budd, tenor; Ellen McAteer, soprano; David Clegg, alto; Nicholas Pritchard, tenor; Alexander Dobson, bass; Charles Daniels, tenor. The album was recorded in London, England with esteemed producer Nick Parker and engineer Andrew Mellor.
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Ottawa Bach Choir, Daniel Taylor & Lisette Canton – Handel: Dixit Dominus, HWV 232 – Schütz & Bach: Motets (2019)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 51:59 minutes | 919 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © ATMA Classique
The Ottawa Bach Choir presents works by three of the most important composers of the German Baroque period — Handel (Dixit Dominus with the participation of countertenor Daniel Taylor), along with motets by Schütz and Bach. While the three composers remained faithful to their German roots, the works presented here also feature influences from the Italian Baroque, including the use of drama, expression, intensity, rhythmic fervor, harmonic invention and word painting, as well as polychoral techniques. Founded in 2002 by Lisette Canton, the Ottawa Bach Choir performs music from all historical periods while keeping Bach’s choral oeuvre as the focus of its repertoire. Joining some of Canada’s most accomplished artists and top choristers from the National Capital region and beyond, the choir has received national and international recognition.
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