The Music Of Herbert Howells

The first large-scale study of the music of Herbert Howells, prodigiously gifted musician and favourite student of the notoriously hard-to-please Sir Charles Villiers Stanford.

Composer, organist, teacher, writer, and broadcaster, Herbert Howells (1892-1983) was the leading church music composer of the century and the man who revolutionized it. His cantile settings and anthems, and decades of teaching have ensured him a massive influence which is still growing. Many of his choral works are considered masterpieces, while his ecclesiastical music, "quite possibly sung daily in Britain, " is hailed by musicians the world over.

Herbert Howells composed his Magnificat And Nunc Dimittis evening canticles for St Paul's Cathedral in 1951, going on to become among his most famous and enduring works. These beautiful canticles were composed by a master of setting the Anglican liturgy, and are arranged for SATB Chorus and Organ Accompaniment. These two wonderful works of choral music are characterised by a unique blend of unison harmonies and disparate melodies that highlight each voice perfectly. The lingering notes, crescendos and subtle dynamic changes were composed with the acoustics of that great cathedral in mind, but they also work equally well in any setting.

Herbert Howells's Magnificat & Nunc Dimittis for the Gloucester service is one of his most popular choral settings. This sheet music is arranged for SATB Choir and Organ. Herbert Howells was a renowned English composer of church music in the Anglican evensong tradition, best known for his 'Hymnus Paradisi' and as a teacher at the Royal College of Music. His lesser-known evening canticles include this piece: with its famous treble duet opening the work, it calmly progresses to an affirmation of the glory of heaven through distinctive Lydian harmony and soaring highs. Each individual voice has its own part to play in this piece, with melodies that rise to uplifting highs and fall to booming lows, the combination of voices blends and binds to create a gliding and soaring unity of harmony. This Magnificat & Nunc Dimittis sheet music is the most accurate transcription available of an awe-inspiring piece that is acclaimed by fans of choral music for its beautiful composition and wondrous voicing.

For SATB and Organ

"Each chapter begins with a discussion of its composer's song-output and of the poets and poetry he sets, and goes on to give an account of the influences on him and the hallmarks of his style; the songs are then discussed in detail, focusing on the major works. The text is illustrated with musical examples and there is a comprehensive bibliography and index"--Jacket.