Verdi - Requiem (arr. Blackford) | Nimbus - Alliance NI6437

Verdi - Requiem (arr. Blackford)

£10.40

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Label: Nimbus - Alliance

Cat No: NI6437

Format: CD

Number of Discs: 1

Genre: Vocal/Choral

Release Date: 7th April 2023

Contents

Works

Verdi, Giuseppe

Requiem (Messa da Requiem) (orch. Richard Blackford)

Artists

Helena Dix (soprano)
Catherine Carby (mezzo-soprano)
Luis Gomes (tenor)
Jihoon Kim (bass)
Iain Farrington (piano)
Anna Tilbrook (piano)
Philip Scriven (organ)
Peter Fry (percussion)
The Bach Choir

Conductor

David Hill

Works

Verdi, Giuseppe

Requiem (Messa da Requiem) (orch. Richard Blackford)

Artists

Helena Dix (soprano)
Catherine Carby (mezzo-soprano)
Luis Gomes (tenor)
Jihoon Kim (bass)
Iain Farrington (piano)
Anna Tilbrook (piano)
Philip Scriven (organ)
Peter Fry (percussion)
The Bach Choir

Conductor

David Hill

About

‘Who would not wish to perform Verdi’s Requiem in the composer’s masterful original orchestration! The astonishing range of orchestral colour, from the moments of high drama to the most tender, give Verdi’s masterpiece its unique power and aura. When David Hill suggested that I create a new orchestration for two pianos, organ and percussion for The Bach Choir, I immediately saw the potential of an orchestration that would have a distinctive sound world of its own, not a watered-down reduction of Verdi’s original. Such an orchestration would also make the work accessible to choirs who either could not afford the full orchestra, or would not have the space to accommodate it. Further discussions with David, who had the previous year commissioned me to write Prelude and Passacaglia for organ solo, gave valuable insights into how the organ could replicate a great range of orchestral colours that would contrast and augment the dynamic brilliance of the pianos and percussion. As work progressed, I found more and more ways of realising Verdi’s intentions with these minimal resources, such as replicating Verdi’s frequent string tremolandos by overlapping the piano tremolos in a way that, rather than cancelling each other out, produce a strange pianistic murmuring. Having six keyboard hands available generally meant that Verdi’s contrapuntal writing, especially in the Sanctus, is fully reproduced, unlike a single piano reduction. The percussion part, by virtue of being one player, requires the player to switch energetically from timpani to bass drum, and reassuringly few notes of the original were sacrificed in the course of doing so. The choral parts remain exactly as in the original, and are replicated from the current Novello vocal score. I am indebted to David Hill for commissioning this arrangement, and for his generous and expert notes and suggestions for the organ part.’ – Richard Blackford

The Bach Choir is renowned for performing the very best in choral music since 1876. We inspire and connect people of all backgrounds with the magnificence and emotional power of choral music in performances, recordings and community projects. We perform regularly in London’s top concert halls and churches, with the world’s leading orchestras and soloists. We sing a wide variety of repertoire from Bach, Mozart and Verdi to today’s contemporary composers, and part of our charitable aim is to commission new works to add to the choral tradition for future generations.

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