King's Consort

With the huge period instrument orchestra of The King's Consort, the Choir of The King's Consort and soloists including Carolyn Sampson and David Wilson-Johnson, this CD will present a glorious collection of English ceremonial music by Charles Villiers Stanford and C Hubert H Parry.

The recording comprises two works written for the Coronation of King George V in 1911, Parry's I was glad and the Coronation Te Deum, four magnificent settings of the Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis by Charles Villiers Stanford (performed on CD for the first time on period instruments in the composer's original orchestrations), Parry's sumptuous double-choir setting of Blest pair of Sirens and his famous Jerusalem in Edward Elgar's colourful orchestration of 1922. The programme represents a double celebration: The King's Consort's hundredth disc and the launch of its new label, Vivat.

The recording uses period instruments, gathering together players from fifteen nations. Great attention has been paid even to the smallest details of instrumental set-up: all the string players use gut strings, and much care has been applied to the large woodwind section, even down to sourcing an original bass clarinet from 1900. For the brass, Crispian Steele-Perkins has located six English trumpets from the end of the nineteenth century, and the horn, trombone and tuba players also play instruments of the period. For the final, vital colour in the orchestral palette, the 'Father Willis' organ in Hereford Cathedral, perfect in sound and period, will be transported for three days, thanks to state-of-the-art digital technology, into this London recording!

The disc will be recorded on 20, 21 and 22 September 2012 at St Jude's Church, London. A video 'short' film will also be recorded at the sessions.

Further Vivat releases will include Couperin's Trois Leçons de Tenebres with Carolyn Sampson, Marianne Beate Kielland, Susanne Heinrich, Lynda Sayce and Robert King (March 2013), Monteverdi's Heaven and Earth (May 2013) and Beethoven's Quartets Op 18 Nos 3-5 with the Allegri Quartet (June 2013).

Vivat's high production values include comprehensive sleeve notes in English, French and German, and 96kHz recordings (with hi-res 192kHz/24 for the Allegri Quartet series).

Information: www.tkcworld.org

Posted: 25 August 2012

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