PRICE:
$15.50
IN STOCK
ARTIST
TITLE
Vigilia
FORMAT
CD/SACD

LABEL
CATALOG #
NEOS 10817CD NEOS 10817CD
GENRE
RELEASE DATE
7/2/2013

Performed by ChorWerk Ruhr Ensemble Modern/Rupert Huber. "In the Catholic liturgy, Vigils is the nocturnal part of the canonical hours, which are spread over the entire day. In formal terms, they consist of a series of prayers, psalms, and hymns from the so-called Gregorian hymnal. Vigilia, too, satisfies the principle of concatenated form: instrumental and vocal ensembles are heard seven times in alternation before joining forces at the end of the 'Miserere'. The instrumental and vocal sections differ in character. The vocal writing in the sung sections constantly recalls the age of early vocal polyphony as well as sixteenth-century madrigals. Melody, harmony, and rhythm reign supreme. With few exceptions there are no dynamic marks. The instrumental movements are different in kind: rather than representing introductions to or commentaries on the vocal sections, they invoke a field of tension in which the vocal numbers are embedded. The clarinet and horn are stationed apart from the rest of the ensemble, heightening the impact of this field of tension. Here, too, there are echoes of imitation and cantus firmus techniques, albeit fewer than in the vocal ensembles. Yet the instrumental movements, called 'Sonatas,' are marked by extreme dynamic contrasts typical of Rihm's music altogether. The sung texts, in Latin, are taken from the Biblical Good Friday story and its liturgical and mystical adjuncts." Stereo/multichannel hybrid SACD that can be played on any CD player.