From Captivity to the Holy City
Opus 7, directed by Loren Pontén

 

Recorded in the beautiful acoustics of St. James Cathedral in Seattle, Washington, this CD features texts for the Lenten and Easter seasons, describing the human experience as it moves from darkness to light, from enslavement to liberation, and from suffering to joy. Included are works by Gibbons, Parry, Ives, Stanford, Finzi, and the first recording of John Muehleisen’s De profundis.

 

Chichester Mass—William Albright (1944-1998)
De profundis—John Muehleisen (b.1955)
“Long since in Egypt’s plenteous land” from Judith —C. Hubert H. Parry (1848-1918)
Drop, drop slow tears—Orlando Gibbons (1583-1625)
Crux fidelis—Monsignor Domenico Bartolucci (b.1918)
“Fac me tecum” from Stabat Mater—Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937)
“Never weather-beaten saile” from Songs of Farewell—Parry
67th Psalm—Charles Ives (1874-1954)
Veni, creator spiritus—Adam Rener (1485-1520)
And I saw a new heaven—Edgar Bainton (1880-1956)
Coelos ascendit hodie—Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924)
God is gone up—Gerald Finzi (1901-1956)
Hark, I hear the harps eternal—Alice Parker (b.1925)

Standard works by Parry, Gibbons, Ives, Bainton, Stanford, and Finzi are all beautifully performed by this fine vocal group Opus 7, which is the professional ensemble resident at St. James Roman Catholic Cathedral in Seattle. They sing with especially clean tone and sensitive phrasing. The engineering by Bill Levey and Sarah Holberg is exemplary. The liner includes notes, texts, and biographies.

—Victor Hill, The Journal of the Association of Anglican Musicians (September 2003)

"Opus 7 - Seattle's finest vocal ensemble"
—Bruce Reid