Recorded Works
Joseph James: Requiem after J.S. Bach
Sumi Jo soprano; Ruby Philogene mezzo soprano; David Wilson-Johnson baritone; Edward Burrowes treble
Philharmonia Orchestra; conductor Stephen Barlow
London Choral Society – Oxford Camerata
Track listing
1. Introitus
2. Kyrie
3. Graduale
4. Offertorium
5. Hostias et preces tibi
6. Sanctus
7. Agnus Dei
8. Communio
9. Requiem aeternam
10. Amen
11. Versa est in luctum cithara mea
12. Responsorium: Libera me Domine
13. Dies illa, dies irae
14. Requiem aeternam
15. Libera me, Domine
16. Kyrie
The Requiem, first performed at St James's Church, Piccadilly, in October 1997, belongs to the rich tradition of works based on the music of J.S. Bach, but it breaks with that tradition both in its form and technique of composition. It is a full setting of the text of the Latin Requiem Mass, and each of its parts is a vocal movement based on one of Bach’s keyboard pieces, in some cases – particularly the fugues – a fairly direct transcription, in others a more complex transformation using both the harmonic progressions and the figuration of the original in a strikingly new context. The unifying element is Bach’s Chromatic Fantasy in D minor, used for the four Requiem aeternam movements and the final Kyrie, which frame the work. The distinctive sonority of Joseph James’s music is realized virtually entirely within the context of Bach’s own instrumental, vocal and harmonic resources, but the transparent layering of the writing creates a new composition that probes deeply into the meaning both of Bach’s original works and the solemn words of the Mass.
The work has an intensity of expression rarely encountered in late twentieth-century classical music and has made a significant impact since its release, having been reviewed in many of the broadsheet and specialist music journals and broadcast on the UK's Classic FM and on numerous radio stations abroad.
First published: 1997