STAINER, John (1840-1901) - The Crucifixion (1887)

Obra de Prospero Mallerini (c.1780-c.1830), pintor italià (1)

- Recordatori de John Stainer -

En el dia de la commemoració del seu 115è aniversari de decés

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Parlem de Pintura...

Prospero Mallerini (Martinengo?, c.1780 - Roma?, c.1830) va ser un pintor i arquitecte italià. Es desconeix bona part de la seva vida. La seva cronologia s'inicia a partir de la data de la seva primera obra, un retrat d'un monjo caputxí de 1794 i conservat al Museo Francescano de Roma. Es creu que va romandre actiu a Roma, tant com a pintor, la seva darrera obra data de 1829, com d'arquitecte. Es creu que va morir a Roma a l'entorn del 1830.

Font: En català: No disponible - En castellano: No disponible - In english: Prospero Mallerini (c.1780-c.1830) - Altres: No disponible

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Parlem de Música...

John Stainer (London, 6 de juny de 1840 - Verona, 31 de març de 1901) va ser un musicòleg i compositor anglès. Es va formar inicialment amb el seu pare William Stainer i a partir del 1849 va ser cantant del cor de la Catedral de Saint Paul. El 1854 va assolir el càrrec d'organista de St Benet Paul's Wharf de Londres. Des d'allà i gràcies al seu talent, fou promocionat al St Michael's College de Tenbury Wells. El 1859 va entrar a la Christ Church d'Oxford, el 1860 va ser nomenat organista de la Magdalen College de la mateixa ciutat i el 1861 organista de la prestigiosa Universitat d'Oxford. Va ser fundador de la Oxford Philharmonic Society dirigint el primer concert el 1866. El seu èxit va anar creixent i el 1872 va succeir a John Goss com a organista de la Catedral de Sant Pau on va introduir considerables reformes tant d'organització com de propostes musicals. Per aquest motiu ben aviat va assolir la condició del més important músic d'església de Londres. El 1874 va fundar la Royal Musical Association i el 1876 va ser nomenat organista de la National Training School for Music. El 1888 fou nomenat Cavaller si bé aquell any va renunciar al seu càrrec a Sant Pau per la progressiva pèrdua de visió. El 1889 va tornar a Oxford on va treballar de professor i on va ser ser vicepresident del Royal College of Organists, president de la Musical Association, de la Plainsong and Mediaeval Music Society i de la London Gregorian Association. Va morir sobtadament a Itàlia durant una visita a la ciutat de Verona el març de 1901.

OBRA:

Vocal religiosa:

Gideon (orat), Oxford, 1865 (1875)
The Daughter of Jairus (cant.), Worcester Festival, 1878 (1879)
St Mary Magdalen (cant., W.J. Sparrow Simpson), Gloucester Festival, 1883 (1884)
The Crucifixion (orat, Sparrow Simpson), St Marylebone Parish Church, 24 Feb 1887 (1887)
The Story of the Cross (cant., E. Monro) (1893)
5 evening services: A (‘Magdalen’), c1864, D, F (1894), E (1894), F (1895)
3 communion services: A (1865), F (1887), C (1901)
4 full services: E  (1874), A/D (1877), B  (1884) and D, male vv (1898)
6 morning services: C (after 1877), G (1893), D (1894), F (1896), A  (1899), G (1915)
4 chant services (1895–7)
Sevenfold Amen (1873) [arr. of Dresden Amen]
12 Sacred Songs for Children (E. Oxenford) (1889)
[156] Hymn Tunes (1900)
44 anthems, org works, madrigals, partsongs, songs, str qt

Editions:
with H.R. Bramley: Christmas Carols, New and Old (London, 1871)
with S. Flood Jones and others: The Cathedral Psalter (London, 1874)
with W. Russell: The Cathedral Prayer Book (London, 1891)
Six Italian Songs (London, 1896)
The Church Hymnary (Edinburgh, 1898)
with J.F.R. and C. Stainer: Early Bodleian Music (London and New York, 1901/R)
with W.H. Frere and H.B. Briggs: A Manual of Plainsong (London, 1902)

Literatura:

A Theory of Harmony, Founded on the Tempered Scale (London, 1871, 7/1884 as A Treatise on Harmony and the Classification of Chords, 8/c1895)
with W.A. Barrett: A Dictionary of Musical Terms (London, 1876, 4/1974)
The Organ (London, 1877/R)
Music of the Bible, with an Account of the Development of Modern Musical Instruments from Ancient Types (London, 1879, 2/1914 with suppl. by F.W. Galpin)
Music in its Relation to the Intellect and Emotions (London, 1892/R)
with J.F.R. and C. Stainer: Dufay and his Contemporaries (London, 1898/R) 

Font: En català: John Stainer (1840-1901) - En castellano: John Stainer (1840-1901) - In english: John Stainer (1840-1901) - Altres: John Stainer (1840-1901)

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Parlem en veu pròpia o en veu d'altri...

In his lifetime and for a considerable period after his death, Stainer was known primarily as a composer of cathedral music and hymn tunes. His services and anthems, most of them written for St Paul's, were fashionable throughout the Anglican communion and beyond it. His fine literary feeling in his choice of texts was not always matched by an ability to set them appropriately to music. He himself came to regret that he had published his compositions, and said to Fellowes that he knew they were ‘rubbish’; they have been so judged by severe critics of more recent times. Nevertheless, a few works remain favourites: The Crucifixion is usually broadcast every Passiontide and several of the hymn tunes can be heard in churches of almost every denomination. Wienandt and Young (1970) pointed out ‘a dramatic element in Stainer's anthems not often seen in the works of his predecessors’ and a balanced appreciation of Stainer's output of cathedral music has been provided by Gatens (1984). His hymn tunes have been rehabilitated by Routley (1981), who called him ‘a matchless part-writer, contrapuntist and handler of the musical language’. Today Stainer is venerated not as a composer but as a pioneer of English musicology. His edition of Early Bodleian Music, completed shortly before his death, was the first serious effort by an English scholar to explore music before Palestrina and Tallis. Also of value is his edition, with the Rev. H.R. Bramley, of Christmas carols. His professorial lectures at Oxford, and his papers to the Musical Association (six of which were printed in PMA), were excellent models for younger scholars, often venturing into almost unexplored musical territory. In general, he was a benign influence on musicians of the younger generation, most notably Hubert Parry, his successor at Oxford. Stainer was a noted collector of music, specializing in 18th-century songbooks. His elder daughter, Eliza Cecilia, who helped him with Early Bodleian Music, published a Dictionary of Violin Makers (London, 1896/R), and contributed, along with her father and a brother, John F.R. Stainer, to earlier editions of Grove.

GROVE MUSIC ONLINE (source/font: aquí)

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The Crucifixion was composed in 1886-87 and first performed in St Marylebone Parish Church on Good Friday 1887. The work’s dedicatee, William Hodge was a pupil and friend of the composer and, aside from being the assistant sub-organist at St Paul’s was also the organist at St Marylebone (The church has kept up a fine tradition of performing the oratorio on every Good Friday since the premiere). Scored for tenor and bass soloists, choir and organ, Stainer conceived The Crucifixion as ‘A Meditation on the Sacred Passion of the Holy Redeemer’, a work that would not be too taxing for the average village choir and which might also immediately engage an audience. Given its immense popularity, Stainer obviously succeeded in the latter. As to the forces: while the choir parts are more than manageable for a decent amateur choir, the organist has to be more than competent, and the singers, who carry most of the narrative, need to be quite exceptional amateurs and preferably professionals. The structure of The Crucifixion is inspired by J.S. Bach, the scheme of arias recitatives, choruses and chorales (hymns) reflecting that of the St John and St Matthew Passions. Unlike the passions, however, there is no orchestra to provide light and shade to accompaniments and add piquancy or punch to the drama. It is testament to Stainer’s economy of scale and his deft organ writing that we are barely aware of a solitary instrument accompanying the choir and soloists. Central to the work’s structure and impact are the five hymns which are interspersed throughout the oratorio. These are intended for congregational participation and are as key to the work’s success as even the most lyrical passages for the solo voices or organ. The congregation is invited to stand for these hymns and so directly take part in a communal celebration at this crucial point in the liturgical year. While the first performance was a success, the libretto, by the Reverend William Sparrow-Simpson would soon attract ferocious criticism and the music has also been vilified down the years. It is true that there are some cloying sentimental passages by Sparrow-Simpson and perhaps, at times, an excess of High Victorian piety from Stainer, too—the ‘Fling wide the gates’ chorus has taken many a critical bashing—but there are many more passages of real beauty and invigorating drama. The Crucifixion can still bat with the best of them every season, its many performances and broadcasts every year at Passiontide gladly attended and participated in with great British gusto.

HYPERION (source/font: aquí)

Gaudiu i compartiu! 

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Informació addicional... 

INTERPRETS: Andrew Kennedy (tenor); Neal Davies (bass); Darius Battiwalla (organ); Huddersfield Choral Society
HYPERION: STAINER, J. - The Crucifixion (1887)

IMSLP: John Stainer (1840-1901)

CPDL: John Stainer (1840-1901)

SPOTIFY: STAINER, J. - The Crucifixion (1887)



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