His Majestys Sagbutts & Cornetts
The Choir of King’s College, Cambridge
Directed by Stephen Cleobury
Released 30 October 2015
1615 Gabrieli in Venice (Download)
£7.99 – £13.00
Available as a cd
This recording pays homage to one of the most influential musicians of the Venetian Renaissance from within one of the great buildings of the English Renaissance.
Much of Giovanni Gabrieli’s music was composed for grand ceremonial occasions. 2015 marked not just the 400th anniversary of the publication of this collection of works from 1615, but also the 500th anniversary of the completion of King’s College Chapel. The Choir celebrates these anniversaries with the first classical album ever to use Dolby’s new Atmos technology to reproduce the acoustics of the Chapel with unprecedented realism.
As well as being principal organist at St Mark’s Basilica, Gabrieli was a prolific composer of sacred vocal and instrumental music. The early brass ensembles for which Gabrieli composed are no longer to be found performing in St Mark’s Basilica, but this tradition is alive and well in Cambridge: the Choir is joined by His Majestys Sagbutts & Cornetts playing faithful recreations of instruments from Gabrieli’s time.
This recording is also available in a two-disc package containing both CD/SACD hybrid and Pure Audio Blu-ray formats.
***** – HRAudio.com
***** – Stereophile Magazine
“Pristine” – The Guardian
Essential New Release – The Sunday Times
| 1 | In ecclesiis (a 14), C78 | 07:45 | Gabrieli, Giovanni |
| 2 | Canzona Seconda (a 6), C196 | 04:07 | Gabrieli, Giovanni |
| 3 | Suscipe, clementissime Deus (a 12), C70 | 04:50 | Gabrieli, Giovanni |
| 4 | Hodie completi sunt dies Pentecostes (a 8), C57 | 04:04 | Gabrieli, Giovanni |
| 5 | Iubilate Deo omnis terra (a 10), C65 | 05:18 | Gabrieli, Giovanni |
| 6 | Canzona Terza (a 6), C197 | 03:27 | Gabrieli, Giovanni |
| 7 | Quem vidistis pastores? (a 14), C77 | 08:41 | Gabrieli, Giovanni |
| 8 | Sonata XXI, ‘con tre violini’ (a 4), C214 | 04:27 | Gabrieli, Giovanni |
| 9 | Exultavit cor meum in Domino (a 6), C53 | 04:34 | Gabrieli, Giovanni |
| 10 | Surrexit Christus (a 11), C66 | 04:12 | Gabrieli, Giovanni |
| 11 | Canzona Prima (a 5), C195 | 03:34 | Gabrieli, Giovanni |
| 12 | Litaniæ Beatæ Mariæ Virginis (a 8), C63 | 11:42 | Gabrieli, Giovanni |
| 13 | Magnificat (a 14), C79 | 06:29 | Gabrieli, Giovanni |
| Total playing time – 73:10 |
Tracks 1-3, 6 & 8-11 recorded at 192kHz 24-bit PCM, 11-13 January 2015. Tracks 4-5, 7 & 12-13 recorded at 96kHz 24-bit PCM, 22-23 June 2015. Dolby Atmos & 5.1 surround-sound. All tracks recorded in the Chapel of King’s College, Cambridge, by kind permission of the Provost and Fellows.
Organ 1 – Continuo organ by Henk Klop in Cherry wood, 2007. 8′ 4′ 2′ & Quint 2 ⅔’. Supplied by Keith McGowan.
Organ 2 – Continuo organ by Henk Klop in Oak, 2012. 8′ 4′ 2′ & Quint 2 ⅔’. Owned by King’s College, Cambridge.
Organs tuned by Dan Tidhar and Keith McGowan to A=440 in quarter comma meantone temperament.
Producer & Editor Simon Kiln
Recording Engineer Arne Akselberg
Mixing Engineer Arne Akselberg
Technical Engineer Richard Hale
CD Mastering Engineer Simon Kiln
SACD Mastering Engineer Andrew Walter