Vidi Speciosam: Sacred Choral Music

by Bevan Family Consort, Graham Ross

Overview

The Bevan Family Consort is an offshoot of the Bevan Family Singers, a unique choir that dates back to the 1970s. The members are, as promised, members of a single family that produced star soprano Mary Bevan, among others. The group stands apart from the work of their British compatriots in several respects. First is the choice of repertory, a subject into which the booklet notes go into a good deal of detail. Many of these pieces were favorites of founder David Bevan, and they are from an older layer of English music-making, with rich Counter Reformation polyphony and some favorite English composers. In some ways, the program holds together well; the simpler, vertical sound of Thomas Tallis makes an ideal foil for the dense music of Victoria and Palestrina. In other ways, it is a bit idiosyncratic; the pieces by Holst and Stanford at the end, lovely though they may be individually, seem tacked on. The choir's sound, too, bears little resemblance to the current state of the English collegiate-cathedral style; it is richer, more caressing, and more openly lyrical. Consider the Versa est in luctum of Alonso Lobo, a piece often given an almost minimalist treatment; here, it is almost opulent. It would be wrong to say that The Bevan Family Consort is for people who don't like the usual English sound, but it is definitely a choir with a difference, and listeners are encouraged to check out this latest iteration, which his classical best-seller charts in the spring of 2023. ~ James Manheim

Product Details

Release Date:	05/19/2023
Label:	Signum Classics
UPC:	0635212074626
Rank:	136908

Tracks

1. O lux beata caelitum
2. Sicut cervus
3. Missa Vidi speciosam~Kyrie
4. Missa Vidi speciosam~Gloria
5. Missa Vidi speciosam~Credo
6. Missa Vidi speciosam~Sanctus
7. Missa Vidi speciosam~Agnus Dei
8. Versa est in luctum
9. O sacrum convivium
10. Credo quod redemptor
11. In spiritu humilitatis
12. Dignare me laudare te
13. Ave Maria
14. Magnificat septimi toni
15. Nunc dimittis
16. Ave Maria
17. Beati quorum via

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Bevan Family Consort   Primary Artist,Choir/Chorus
Graham Ross   Primary Artist,Conductor

Technical Credits

Tomas Luis de Victoria   Composer
Robert Parsons   Composer
Francis Bevan   Liner Notes
Ben Stoney   Cover Image,Photography,Portrait Photography
Gustav Holst   Composer
Mike Hatch   Mixing,Engineer
Thomas Tallis   Composer
Giovanni Croce   Composer
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina   Composer
Charles Villiers Stanford   Composer
Mary Bevan   Liner Notes
Alonso Lobo   Composer
David Bevan   Composer
Mark Brown   Editing,Producer
Fernando de las Infantas   Composer
Plainchant   Composer