Gerald Finzi - For St. Cecilia - Op. 30 - James Gilchrist, Tenor

English composer Gerald Finzi’s "For Saint Cecilia", subtitled "Ceremonial Ode", was a commissioned work by the St Cecilia’s Day Festival Committee for the 1947 celebration of music’s patron saint. It was premiered on 22 November 1947 at the Royal Albert Hall by René Soames with the Luton Choral Society and the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Adrian Boult. The words are by noted English poet Edmund Blunden (1896-1974). Blunden and Finzi worked together closely over the words.

James Leonard of AllMusic writes "Perhaps no other English composer of the first half of the twentieth century had the talent of fitting words to music that Gerald Finzi did. So complete was the unity of his art that Finzi was acknowledged in his time to be the finest composer of English songs. Even in his larger works for soloist, chorus, and orchestra, Finzi never faltered but created works in which it was nearly impossible to tell which came first, the music or the poetry.

In this 2005 Naxos recording, tenor James Gilchrist and conductor David Hill leading the Bournemouth Symphony Chorus & Orchestra turn in superlative performances of Finzi's Intimations of Immortality and For St. Cecilia [featured here]. Part of the excellence is Hill's skill as a choral conductor -- listen to the bright, alert, and always sincere singing of the Bournemouth Chorus -- and part of it is Hill's skill as an orchestral conductor -- listen to the warm, sustained, and always graceful playing of the Bournemouth Symphony. But the largest part of the excellence is owed to James Gilchrist. A doctor turned tenor, Gilchrist has a supple yet strong voice that wonderfully captures the lyrical ecstasy of Finzi's writing. Better yet, Gilchrist has a sensitive yet objective soul that marvellously catches the subtle insights of Finzi's settings. Preserved in Naxos' clear yet deep sound, these performances are as fine as the best ever recorded of either work and are well worth hearing by anyone who loves twentieth century English vocal music."

From Schott Music: "For St Cecilia, Ceremonial Ode for tenor solo, chorus & orchestra; words by Edmund Blunden. The original work was commissioned by the St Cecilia’s Day Festival Committee for the 1947 celebration of music’s patron saint. The ceremonial mood is established with fanfares, and the sonorous sweep of the choral writing reflects Finzi’s admiration for Parry and Elgar. The ‘catalogue’ of saints, shared between the soloist and chorus, are deftly delineated: St Valentine, St George, St Dunstan, St Swithin and St Cecilia herself. In rapt stillness, the English composers of the past – Merbecke, Byrd, Dowland and Purcell – are summoned. To close, Finzi creates a festal summation with exultant counterpoint and the saint’s name pealing around the chorus."

Images

I took these images in various places in the Peak District, Derbyshire, England.

Performing Artists

James Gilchrist (tenor)
Bournemouth Symphony Chorus
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: David Hill
A Naxos Recording (p) 2005 - sponsored by the Finzi Trust