Regina caeli - Herbert Howells, John Rutter, The Cambridge Singers
13. 'Regina caeli'
From the album ‘Hail! Queen of Heaven’
Composer Herbert Howells
Conductor John Rutter
Choir The Cambridge Singers
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LYRICS:
Regina caeli, laetare, alleluia:
Quia quem meruisti portare, alleluia:
Ora pro nobis Deum, alleluia.
(Antiphon of the BVM)
Queen of heaven rejoice, alleluia:
Because he whom you were worthy to bear,
alleluia:
Rose from the dead, as promised, alleluia:
Pray for us to God, alleluia.
Regina caeli
In 1916, Howells wrote four 'Anthems of the Blessed Virgin Mary', of which 'Regina caeli' was the third. The anthems were not published at the time, and were forgotten for many years until rediscovery of a manuscript copy led to publication in 1988. Richly laid out for double choir, the music is perfectly calculated for the very reverberant acoustic of Westminster RC Cathedral: after a fanfare-like opening filled with Easter joy, there follows a blazing climax on the words 'resurrexit sicut dixit' then the music subsides to a peaceful conclusion.
Hail! Queen of Heaven
This recording, made in the architecturally and acoustically glorious setting of the Lady Chapel of Ely Cathedral by the 28 mixed voices of the Cambridge Singers, gathers together 21 examples of the extraordinary wealth of choral music inspired by the Virgin Mary, from Gregorian chant to the 20th-century sounds of Gustav Holst, Herbert Howells, Pierre Villette, Igor Stravinsky and Giles Swayne.
John Rutter, English composer and conductor, is associated with choral music throughout the world. His recordings with the Cambridge Singers (the professional chamber choir he set up in 1983) have reached a wide global audience, many of them featuring his own music in definitive versions. Among John’s best-known choral works are Gloria, Requiem, Magnificat, Mass of the Children, and Visions, together with many church anthems, choral songs and Christmas carols.
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