Special offer. Durante: Requiem
Alexandra Kidgell (soprano), Katy Hill (soprano), William Purefoy (countertenor), Mark Dobell (tenor), Ben Davies (bass), Clive Driskill-Smith (organ)
Oxford Baroque, Christ Church Cathedral Choir, Oxford, Stephen Darlington
Durante’s 1746 post-Baroque Requiem is no great masterpiece, but it does have moments of elegance and charm which are beautifully rendered. The likeable Organ Concerto benefits from sparkling...
Special offer. Durante: Requiem
Alexandra Kidgell (soprano), Katy Hill (soprano), William Purefoy (countertenor), Mark Dobell (tenor), Ben Davies (bass), Clive Driskill-Smith (organ)
Oxford Baroque, Christ Church Cathedral Choir, Oxford, Stephen Darlington
Purchase product
Durante’s 1746 post-Baroque Requiem is no great masterpiece, but it does have moments of elegance and charm which are beautifully rendered. The likeable Organ Concerto benefits from sparkling...
About
An exciting new collaboration between some of the UK’s most eminent musical ensembles sees Oxford’s Christ Church Cathedral Choir, one of the world's oldest and best-known cathedral choirs, joins forces with soloists from The Sixteen and Oxford Baroque on this new recording of Francesco Durante’s Requiem Mass in C minor.
Despite its enduring popularity in the 18th century this beautiful and majestic work was never published but survives through over 50 manuscript copies scattered across Europe. It is a remarkable work which can justly be described as one of the most important orchestral Requiem settings of the 18th century. This is the premiere recording of Stephen Darlington’s new edition of the work which shows Durante to be a composer of considerable skill and invention, who combined his mastery of counterpoint with an elegance of melody, a richness of harmony and an imaginative instinct for structure.
This album also features Durante’s exquisite Organ Concerto in B flat major - a rare example of an Italian keyboard concerto of the period - performed here by celebrated organist, Clive Driskill-Smith.
Contents and tracklist
- Alexandra Kidgell, Katy Hill, Ben Davies, William Purefoy, Mark Dobell
- Oxford Baroque, Christ Church Cathedral Choir, Oxford
- Stephen Darlington
- Clive Driskill-Smith
- Oxford Baroque
- Stephen Darlington
Awards and reviews
May 2017
Durante’s 1746 post-Baroque Requiem is no great masterpiece, but it does have moments of elegance and charm which are beautifully rendered. The likeable Organ Concerto benefits from sparkling registration and articulation.
May 2017
The instrumental writing is descriptive and sensitive to the text, the perceptive playing of Oxford Baroque giving depth to the performance. There is skilled singing throughout: there are some very fine voices among the male students at Christ Church, and the matchless voices of soloists from The Sixteen fit effortlessly…It’s just sheer delight.
January 2017
Sometimes singing in five parts and elsewhere in eight, Christchurch Church Cathedral Choir are on superb form in this skilfully woven music.
30th October 2016
This first collaboration between Oxford’s Christ Church Cathedral Choir, members of the Sixteen and Oxford Baroque – a tremendous combination, much to be encouraged – reveals Francesco Durante’s never-before published Requiem in C minor in all its 18th-century glory…the soloists are uniformly excellent, and the string playing as crisp and alert as the fresh young voices of the Christ Church trebles
