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Rome's Golden Poets
Compact Disc # 5

• See Review from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch below.

This recording is the first project of its kind, a disc dedicated to late Republican and Augustan poetry, set to music from the fifteenth century to the present day.  The selection includes extracts from Aeneid IV, a fragment of Eclogue IV, two Catullan poems and a series of Horatian odes.  Each piece is sung in a manner appropriate to the composer's origins, so that listeners may hear Classical, Italianate and Germanic Latin in the different selections.  The disc is accompanied by a booklet containing both texts and translations, together with an informative article by the Chorus's conductor, Philip Barnes, who also holds the Johnston Endowed Chair in Classics at John Burroughs School, a private high school in St. Louis.  The disc has been co-produced by Bolchazy-Carducci and the Chamber Chorus.

For sound samples of selected tracks, click on the title to hear the first 45 seconds of the piece (MP3 files, about 530 KB each, created at around FM broadcast quality to keep file sizes down — the CD will be of higher quality).

1. Odi Et Amo — Jacob Handl (1550-1591)
2. Passer Mortuus Est — Gian-Francesco Malipiero (1882-1973)
3. Fama, Malum — Josquin Des Prez (c.1455-1521)
4. Oráculo — José Antônio de Almeida Prado (b.1943)
5. At Trepida Et Cœptis — Jacob Arcadelt (c.1505-c.1567)
6. Dulces Exuviæ — Adrian Willaert (c.1490-1562)
7. Dulces Exuviæ — Jacob Handl
8. Dulces Exuviæ — Josquin Des Prez
9. Felices Ter — Johann Walther (1496-1570)
10. Felices Ter — Randall Thompson (1899-1984)
11. Justum Et Tenacem — Zoltán Kodály (1882-1967)
12. Montium Custos — Randall Thompson
13. O Venus — Peter Cornelius (1824-1874)
14. Vitas Hinnuleo — Randall Thompson
15. Rectius Vives — Zoltán Kodály
16. Oderunt Hilarem — Jacob Handl
17. O Fons Bandusiae — Randall Thompson
18. Principibus Placuisse — Jacob Handl
19. In Honorem Vitæ — Antonín Tucapsky (b.1928)
    19. Ne Forte Credas
    20. Iam Satis
    21. Nunc Est Bibendum
    22. Eheu Fugaces
    23. Tu Ne Quaesieris
24. Old Horatius Had A Farm — Z. Randall Stroope (b.1953)

For information on purchasing this CD, please see our Recordings page.

St. Louis Chamber Chorus CD
puts some classic poetry to song

        By Sarah Bryan Miller
        Post-Dispatch Classical Music Critic

    The St. Louis Chamber Chorus has a new CD on the market, one that reflects both its goals as an a cappella choral group committed to singing works in their original language and the interest of its artistic director, Philip Barnes. "Rome's Golden Poets: A Cappella Settings of Latin verse" (SLCC05) offers a well-sung selection of poetry by Catullus (some of his cleaner stuff), Horace and Virgil.

    Because Barnes' day job is teaching classics at John Burroughs School, we may be certain that the pronunciations are spot on for classical (as opposed to church) Latin. Because Barnes' night job is that of a choral conductor with a gift for selecting programs that hang together, we have been given a varied group of 24 poetic settings by composers from Josquin Des Prez (c. 1455-1521) to Peter Cornelius (1824-1874) to Z. Randall Stroope (b. 1953). There are a few harmonically astringent moments for contrast, but all but the most conservative listeners should find it quite approachable.

    In a nice touch, many of the translations are by England's golden poets, including William Wordsworth, John Dryden and the appealingly odd Christopher Smart, with Barnes filling in where needed. Not surprisingly, given Barnes' sense of humor, amid all the high seriousness of most of the subject matter, there are a couple of moments of whimsy for balance.

    There are some lovely musical discoveries waiting to be made on "Rome's Golden Poets." The balance and tuning are generally excellent; the choice of subject matter refreshing, something different that's not already available in 10 different versions on major labels. Barnes' program notes are, as usual, well-written and informative.

From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Arts & Entertainment Section), Sunday, February 6, 2000. Reprinted with permission of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, copyright 2000.