Listen to the Providence Singers

The following selections were recorded live in concert.

Ralph Vaughan Williams: Sanctus  from the Mass in G minor

Like many of his contemporaries, Vaughan Williams was searching for — and adding to — a musical tradition that was unequivocally English and of a quality commensurate with “the imperishable glories of English prose.” He found much of his inspiration in the polyphony of Thomas Tallis, William Byrd and other composers from the 16th century. His Mass in G minor was, in fact, the first truly English setting of the Mass since the Elizabethans.

Recorded June 3, 2007:  Listen  |  More about the concert

Herbert Howells: Psalm 23  from the Requiem

In a long and productive life — his published works span seven decades, from 1908 through 1978 — Herbert Howells gave the world a striking body of inventive, harmonically complex work for orchestra, chamber ensembles, voice and instrumental soloists, including nearly 200 sacred and secular works for chorus.

Recorded June 3, 2007:  Listen  |  More about the concert

Herbert Howells: Requiem Aeternum  from the Requiem

Writing in 1936 from profound grief after the death of his only son Michael, 9, Howells achieved an emotional depth and intensity that seemed to surprise even the composer himself. Despite the entreaties of his friend Ralph Vaughan Williams, Howells withheld the Requiem from performance for more than four decades — until 1980, three years before his own death.

Recorded June 3, 2007:  Listen  |  More about the concert

Christopher Trapani: O now the drenched land wakes  (a world première)

Commissioned by the Providence Singers, Trapani composed this setting of Kenneth Patchen’s nine-line poem for a double choir in 12 voices (SATB / SSAATTBB). The Singers presented the world première in March 2007 as part of an “American Masterpieces” choral festival, funded in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Recorded March 4, 2007:  Listen  |  More about Christopher Trapani