An Oasis in French, English and Welsh Catholicism.
JANE MOSSENDEW'S blog; dedicated to the support of His Holiness Benedict XVI through prayer-based apostolic action. Traditional ROMAN CATHOLIC and loyally obedient to his authority as Successor of Peter.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Corpus Christi
O Sacrum Convivium - Richard Farrant (1530 - 1585)
Beautiful and holy! Is there a CD of music by Richard Farrant? I'm sorely in need of something like this, since it's never going to return to the Clifton Diocese. I love the little slide show, too. Thank you, Jane!
Glad you both enjoyed this Farrant motet. Hardly anything seems to be known of his life, although he was a playwight, paricularly of childrens's plays, and is thought to have known Byrd and Tallis. All his plays appear to have been lost and very little of his music survives. This is the only Latin piece by him that I know. It's one of the first Communion motets I remember hearing, and for that reason alone it has a special place in my affections. Certainly it was the first one I learned in choir. It's quite easy compared with other settings of 'O Sacrum'. In the days when most big parishes had a choir who sang Chant and Polyphony, I think Terry's edition of it was in most repertoires, rather like Arcadelt's Ave Maria and Tye's Rorate Caeli (both equally easy).
As for recordings, I don't know who's singing on the YouTube I posted, but it seems to be a professional recording. Amazon has two CDs that include items by Farrant but in neither case does it name the piece. Nevertheless, Byrd and Tallis are on these discs so they're probably worthe the £6 being asked.
YES, Anon., this type of music WILL come back, EVEN in Clifton, but maybe not in our lifetime!
3 comments:
Thank you for this post. I recall singing this motet in my youth but never noticed the composer's name. Now I know!
Beautiful and holy! Is there a CD of music by Richard Farrant? I'm sorely in need of something like this, since it's never going to return to the Clifton Diocese.
I love the little slide show, too.
Thank you, Jane!
Love,
Mary xxx
Glad you both enjoyed this Farrant motet. Hardly anything seems to be known of his life, although he was a playwight, paricularly of childrens's plays, and is thought to have known Byrd and Tallis. All his plays appear to have been lost and very little of his music survives. This is the only Latin piece by him that I know. It's one of the first Communion motets I remember hearing, and for that reason alone it has a special place in my affections. Certainly it was the first one I learned in choir. It's quite easy compared with other settings of 'O Sacrum'. In the days when most big parishes had a choir who sang Chant and Polyphony, I think Terry's edition of it was in most repertoires, rather like Arcadelt's Ave Maria and Tye's Rorate Caeli (both equally easy).
As for recordings, I don't know who's singing on the YouTube I posted, but it seems to be a professional recording. Amazon has two CDs that include items by Farrant but in neither case does it name the piece. Nevertheless, Byrd and Tallis are on these discs so they're probably worthe the £6 being asked.
YES, Anon., this type of music WILL come back, EVEN in Clifton, but maybe not in our lifetime!
God bless,
J
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