Bringing together Bernstein, Stravinsky, Schoenberg and Zemlinsky has turned out to be a master stroke of programming by Nigel Short and his expert, small professional choir, Tenebrae.
– Financial Times
Symphonic Psalms & Prayers
With trumpets and well-tuned cymbals, the musical and prayerful richness of The Book of Psalms inspires vastly differing offerings from composers with a myriad of approaches to combining the two worlds of the symphonic and the choral. The results are works which defy categorisation and stand the test of time with audiences and performers alike. Tenebrae and the BBC Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Nigel Short, perform iconic works by American and American émigré composers: Bernstein, Schoenberg, Stravinsky and Zemlinsky. This release also marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Leonard Bernstein in 2018 and highlights the richness of American twentieth-century music.
Tenebrae
BBC Symphony Orchestra
David Allsopp countertenor
Nigel Short conductor
Produced in association with BBC Radio 3.
Bringing together Bernstein, Stravinsky, Schoenberg and Zemlinsky has turned out to be a master stroke of programming by Nigel Short and his expert, small professional choir, Tenebrae.
– Financial Times
- Release Date: 02 February 2018
- Record Label: Signum
- Catalogue Number: SIGCD492
- Location of Recording: BBC Maida Vale Studios and St Augustine’s Church, Kilburn, London
- Total Running Time: 01:00:28
- View/Download Liner Notes
Purchase Options
You have the option to purchase the physical CD for delivery, or download the full recording or individual tracks, in a choice of audio formats.
Select your preferred format:
Individual Tracks
Add individual tracks to your shopping cart by ticking their boxes in the track listing table below.
| Buy | # | Title | Composer | Duration | Price | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Symphony of Psalms: I. Exaudi orationem meam, Domine | Igor Stravinsky | 03:20 | £ | Listen | |
| 2 | Symphony of Psalms: II. Expectans expectavi, Dominum | Igor Stravinsky | 06:23 | £ | Listen | |
| 3 | Symphony of Psalms: III. Alleluia. Laudate Dominum | Igor Stravinsky | 11:44 | £ | Listen | |
| 4 | Friede auf Erden, Op. 13 | Arnold Schoenberg | 10:30 | £ | Listen | |
| 5 | Chichester Psalms: Psalm 108: 2; Psalm 100 | Leonard Bernstein | 03:42 | £ | Listen | |
| 6 | Chichester Psalms: Psalm 23; Psalm 2: 1–4 | Leonard Bernstein | 05:31 | £ | Listen | |
| 7 | Chichester Psalms: Psalm 131; Psalm 133: 1 | Leonard Bernstein | 09:23 | £ | Listen | |
| 8 | Psalm 23, Op. 14 | Alexander Zemlinsky | 10:53 | £ | Listen |
“There is an arresting immediacy to both performance and recording… What a sound!”
– Gramophone Magazine
Countertenor David Allsopp displays beguiling poise and tonal purity in ‘The Lord is my shepherd’, while the Tenebrae singers contribute a precision-tooled ‘raging nations’ section to that movement. Short’s flowing tempo in the finale dilutes the danger of sentimentality, and the hushed coda is particularly captivating… these Tenebrae performances will reward repeated listening.
– BBC Music Magazine
