Christmas in Medieval England
Sarum plainchant
Angelus ad virginem
Gabriel fram Heven-King
Carols: Hayl Mary, Ther is no rose of swych vertu, Nowel: Owt of your slepe aryse, Ecce quod natura, Ave rex angelorum, Nowel syng we bothe al and som, Nova, Nova! Ave fit ex Eva
John Dunstaple (d. 1453): Gaude virgo
Leonel Power (d. 1445): Gloria, Ibo michi ad montem mirre
Anonymous (English, c. 1440): Missa Veterem Hominem (Sanctus & Agnus dei)
“The program is by turns pensive and lively, and the scholarship required to evoke stylistic accuracy is put totally at the service of performance. There’s a deeply affecting edge to the singing, whether in an atmospheric account of the still-familiar ‘Veni, Veni Emanuel,’ or the glorious, elevated Sanctus from the anonymous ‘Missa Veterem Hominem.’”
David Allen, The New York Times | Dec. 22, 2015
Christmas in Medieval England allows listeners to share the beauty, excitement, intensity and variety found in a Blue Heron concert performance. It includes plainchant, carols, and other music for Advent and Christmas from 15th-century England. It is comprised entirely of tracks recorded live at First Church in Cambridge, Congregational in December 2013. The disc should appeal to fans of Blue Heron’s first disc (BHCD1001), which contained music of 15th-century France (“an extremely impressive recorded debut” ~ F. Weber, Fanfare).
BHCD 1006
Release Date: October 9, 2015
Track Listing
Advent
1 Veni, veni Emanuel (4:41)
Annunciation
2 Angelus ad virginem / Gabriel from Heven-King (7:26)
3 Gaude virgo salutata / Gaude virgo singularis — John Dunstaple (4:52)
4 Hayl Mary, ful of grace (5:03)
5 Gloria (Old Hall MS, no. 21) — Leonel Power (3:38)
6 Ther is no rose of swych vertu (3:49)
7 Ibo michi ad montem mirre — Leonel Power (3:25)
Christmas Eve
8 Veni redemptor gencium — Sarum plainchant (3:14)
Christmas Day
9 Dominus dixit ad me — Sarum plainchant (2:13)
10 Nowel: Owt of your slepe aryse (3:56)
11 Gloria (Old Hall MS, no. 27) — Pycard (2:41)
12 Ecce quod natura (4:12)
13 Missa Veterem hominem: Sanctus (7:04)
14 Ave rex angelorum (2:58)
15 Missa Veterem hominem: Agnus dei (6:39)
16 Nowel syng we bothe al and som (2:51)
17 Nova, nova! Ave fit ex Eva (2:50)
Total time: (71:27)
