In Celebration of the Human Voice - The Essential Musical Instrument

Jonathan Harvey

Born in Warwickshire in 1939, Jonathan Harvey was a chorister at St Michael's College, Tenbury and later a major music scholar at St John's College, Cambridge. He gained doctorates from the universities of Glasgow and Cambridge and (on the advice of Benjamin Britten) also studied privately with Erwin Stein and Hans Keller. He has written many widely-performed unaccompanied works for choir - as well as the large-scale cantata for the BBC Proms Millennium, Mothers shall not Cry (2000). His church opera Passion and Resurrection (l981) was the subject of a BBC television film, and has received seventeen subsequent performances. His opera Inquest of Love, commissioned by ENO, was premiered under the baton of Mark Elder in 1993 and repeated at Theatre de la Monnaie, Brussels in 1994.

Harvey is now in constant demand from a host of international organisations, attracting commissions far into the future, and his music is extensively played and toured by the major ensembles of our time (Musikfabrik, Ensemble Modern, Ensemble Intercontemporain, London Sinfonietta, ASKO, Nieuw Ensemble of Amsterdam and Ictus Ensemble, to name but a few).

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Jonathan Harvey : Forms of Emptiness

Review: Forms of Emptiness is a work for mixed choir which sets words from the Buddhist Heart Sutra, in the original Sanskrit, and three poems by E.E. Cummings. The E.E. Cummings poems all have emphasis on the here and now, on 'catching the joy as it flies'. Seeker of truth Follow no path All paths lead where Truth is here Against these vivid flashes of joy and colour is set a chant - the sanskrit of the Heart Sutra - which acts as a ground from which the 'forms of emptiness' briefly emerge, and against which they are comprehended as transient, scarcely real. There are references to other 'sacred styles' as well as that of the chant - to those of Palestrina and Messiaen for instance. Jonathan Harvey

Latvian Radio Choir : Jonathan Harvey

Review: Jonathan Harvey is Britain's foremost composer of electronic music and has developed a complex and personal musical language for which he is globally recognized. His catalogue of works explores unique sound worlds and imaginative ensembles. The works on this disc, composed within seven years of each other during one of the most productive periods of Harvey's career, demonstrate the stylistic range of his choral writing and his unique approach to the combination of live performance and electronic sound, as well as his innate sympathy for the voice. The Latvian Radio Choir have been labelled as the creators of a new choral paradigm: a testament to their diverse range of voices and skilful performances of challenging experimental works. The choir champions the works of many leading Latvian composers and much focus is placed on exploring the capabilities of the human voice. The singers explore their skills by turning to the mysteries of traditional singing, as well as every other vocal utterance, from speech to breath. They make their Hyperion debut with thrilling performances of Jonathan Harvey's The Angels, Ashes Dances Back, Marahi and The Summer Cloud's Awakening.

Songlist: The Angels, Ashes Dance Back, Marahi, The Summer Cloud's Awakening

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Displaying 1-8 of 8 items.

Song Name	Composer	Artist	Item Title	Format
Angels	Jonathan Harvey	Choir of King's College, Cambridge	On Christmas Day - New Carols From King's	2 CDs	MORE DETAILS
Ashes Dance Back	Jonathan Harvey	Latvian Radio Choir	Jonathan Harvey	1 CD	MORE DETAILS
Come, holy Ghost	Jonathan Harvey	Oxford New College Choir	In Excelsis	1 CD	MORE DETAILS
I Love The Lord	Jonathan Harvey	Oxford New College Choir	In Excelsis	1 CD	MORE DETAILS
I Love The Lord	Jonathan Harvey	Luther College Nordic Choir	I Love The Lord	1 CD	MORE DETAILS
Marahi	Jonathan Harvey	Latvian Radio Choir	Jonathan Harvey	1 CD	MORE DETAILS
The Angels	Jonathan Harvey	Latvian Radio Choir	Jonathan Harvey	1 CD	MORE DETAILS
The Summer Cloud's Awakening	Jonathan Harvey	Latvian Radio Choir	Jonathan Harvey	1 CD	MORE DETAILS

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