Ave Maria (Robert Parsons)

Siglo de Oro is a London-based Vocal ensemble "bringing unusual and neglected music to life." On this Marian feast day (The Assumption of Mary), I found their video of Robert Parsons' "Ave Maria."

 

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Song of the Wander (Dan Forrest)

A beautiful piece by the contemporary choral composer, Dan Forrest

 

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Matines de Pentecôte - Venite 8

Matines de Pentecôte - Venite 8, Lecture, Repons
Artist Moines de la Grande Chartreuse
Album Le Grand Silence

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Evening Prayer (Ola Gjeilo)

I love the music of contemporary Norweigan choral composer Ola Gjeilo. This one is a soulful blend of choral, piano, and saxophone.

 

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God of the Sparrow (Craig Courtney)

God of the Sparrow is a beautiful new choral anthem. Published in 2019, the text is by Jonathan Cook, music by Craig Courtney.

 

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It Is Well with My Soul

During our time of sheltering in place, here is a beautiful smooth jazz virtual collaboration of the Gospel hymn, "It Is Well with My Soul." Thanks to my friend, David Brazzeal for bringing this to my attention.

From the YouTube site:

With friend musicians Johnaye Kendrick (vocals), Dawn Clement (fender rhodes), Evan Flory-Barnes (bass), Rogerio Boccato (drums) and myself (guitar, arrangements, and production) we used our cell phones during the stay at home order to record this timeless hymn, "It is Well", for the Jazz Vespers of Lake Forest Park.

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Babylon (Psalm 137)

"Babylon." is from Don McLean's American Pie album. From Wikipedia:

The American Pie album features a version of Psalm 137, titled "Babylon". The song is based on a canon by Philip Hayes and was arranged by McLean and Lee Hays (of The Weavers).

 



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This Befell Us (Pslam 44) John Michael Talbot

Sometimes bad things happen, even when we "do everything right." I heard the song "This Befell Us" several years ago on John Michael Talbot's CD recording, Simple Heart. I found it to be a moving and honest cry that comes from all of us at some point in our life if we dare to be honest. Here the psalmist teaches us that it is alright to question God and to bring our case before him.

This Befell Us (Psalm 44)

By John Michael Talbot

Chorus:

This befell us though we had not forgotten 
Though we never had been false to Your word 
Though our hearts had not withdrawn their longing 
Though our minds had not strayed from Your word 

 You have crushed us to the place of sorrow 
Covered up with the shadow of death 
You make us like the sheep for the slaughter 
And scattered us among the nations of the earth 

(Repeat Chorus) 

You continue to reject and disgrace us 
No longer seen to dwell with us 
You make us now the taunt of our neighbors 
The laughingstock of all who draw near 

(Repeat Chorus) 

All day long my disgrace is before me 
My face is now covered with shame 
This befell us though we had not forsaken 
We had not been false to Your name 

Awake O Lord, why do You sleep and slumber 
Arise O Lord, do not reject us again A
wake O Lord, hide not Your face

Stand up O Lord and come to our aid

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Amsterdam's Choir of the Great Synagogue 1935

From the YouTube site: "November 1935, on the occasion of the 300th anniversary of the NIHS Jewish Community of Amsterdam (orthodox Ashkenazi congregation started 1635) the dutch film factory Polygoon brought this unique cinema sound newsreel of the Amsterdam Choir of the Great Synagogue..."

Many of these people would die in the Holocaust.

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Miserere Mei Deus

From the Anglican Deist YouTube site:

This piece is Psalm 51, but first set to music by Allegri around 1630. It is one of the finest and most popular examples of renaissance polyphony. It is often heard in Churches of the apostolic Christian tradition on Ash Wednesday, immediately following Shrove (or pancake) Tuesday, marking Christ's return to Jerusalem. Beautifully performed here by The Sixteen, listen out for the simplicity, humility and reverence.

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The Sacred Harp Quarantine Chorus

A Ka Dua - A sacred chant in ancient Egyptian

Here is a sacred chant that is quite old. A Ka Dua - A sacred chant in ancient Egyptian

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‘Ne Irascaris Domine’ and ‘Civitas Sancti Tui’ (William Byrd)

VOCES8 performs William Byrd’s double motet ‘Ne Irascaris Domine’ and ‘Civitas Sancti Tui’ in the Gresham Centre in London.

Text

Ne irascaris, Domine, satis

et ne ultra memineris iniquitatis nostrae.

Ecce, respice, populus tuus omnes nos.

Civitas sancti tui facta est deserta.

Sion deserta facta est, Jerusalem desolata est.

(Isaiah 64 v. 9)

Translation

Be not angry, O Lord, still,

neither remember our iniquity for ever.

Behold, see, we beseech thee, we are all thy people.

The holy cities are a wilderness.

Sion is a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation.

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Forty Days (Dave Brubeck)

Dave Brubeck wrote a sacred oratorio The Light in the Wilderness. "40 Days" is a movement from that work, a meditation upon Jesus' time in the wilderness. Jesus' temptations in the wilderness are traditionally reflected upon by the church as we enter the Lenten season.

   

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Be Thou My Vision

The ancient Celtic Hymn, “Be Thou My Vision.” The text is a translation of a medieval text attributed to St Fallan, a 6th-century Celtic monk, poet, and follower of St Columba. The tune, “Slane,” is a traditional Irish melody, first transcribed in the early 20th century but likely much older. The text and the tune were combined in the Irish Church Hymnal in 1919, and it has spread around the world since.

   

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For All that Is Our Life

"For All that Is Our Life," one of my favorite hymns from the Unitarian Universalist hymnal (# 128 in Singing the Living Tradition). A beautiful song of gratitude. I love the tune, I love the words, and I love the lilting piano accompaniment. It is a beautiful affirmation to make our own days glad.

 

For all that is our life we sing our thanks and praise;

for all life is a gift which we are called to use

to build the common good and make our own days glad.

For needs which others serve, for services we give,

for work and its rewards, for hours of rest and love;

we come with praise and thanks for all that is our life.

For sorrow we must bear, for failures, pain, and loss,

for each new thing we learn, for fearful hours that pass:

we come with praise and thanks for all that is our life.

For all that is our life we sing our thanks and praise;

for all life is a gift which we are called to use

to build the common good and make our own days glad.

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Even When He is Silent

I heard this beautiful anthem today at the Birmingham Unitarian Universalist Church. The church bulletin told us that the words were found on the walls of a concentration camp after World War II. The music was composed by Kim André Arnesen. The anthem is performed here by the St. Olaf Choir at Nidaros Cathedral, Trondheim, Norway.

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A Tribute to the Notre Dame Cathedral

From the YouTube site:

"...Notre-Dame de Paris (meaning "Our Lady of Paris"), often referred to simply as Notre-Dame, was a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité in the 4th arrondissement of Paris, France. The cathedral was considered to be one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture. Its innovative use of the rib vault and flying buttress, its enormous and colorful rose windows, and the naturalism and abundance of its sculptural decoration set it apart from the earlier Romanesque style...

"Track List:
00:00 - 06:10 | Pange Ligua Gloriosi
06:11 - 12:37 | Ave Maria (Franz Biebl) - Riga Chamber Choir Ave Sol
12:38 - 18:34 | Introit Antiphons
18:35 - 21:04 | Adoremus in Aeternum
21:05 - 22:27 | O Salutaris Hostia
22:28 - 25:51 |Ave Verum Corpus
25:52 - 33:20 | Hymn of the Cherubim, Tchaikovsky"

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Ave Maria (Bruckner) From the Notre Dame Cathedral

From the YouTube site posted on April 16, 2019:

The Georgia Boy Choir offers this video as a tribute to the iconic monument to Beauty, Goodness, and Truth that has stood in Paris for centuries. We pray that it may one day be restored.




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Sing We of the Blessed Mother

A hymn for this day, the Feast f the Annunciation, was shared by Scott Gun over at Seven Whole Days. The words are by George Timms, and it is set to the tune, "Rustington." Sung here by the choir at the Church of St.Thomas Fifth Avenue (New York City).

   

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