www.signumrecords.com/catalogue/sigcd080/index.htm

SATB a cappella with brief divisions

Duration: ca 5 minutes

Traherne This work is featured on a Signum worldwide release of choral and solo organ music by Francis Pott {SIGCD 080} performed by the Choir of Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, under its Director of Music, Judy Martin, with Tristan Russcher, organ. The disc became available in June 2006 This five-minute motet takes its text from passages of the extended spiritual meditation ‘Centuries of Meditations’ by the 17th century poet, writer and mystic, Thomas Traherne, and is suitable particularly for baptisms. It is published by G.Ricordi & Co. [London] Ltd. Please refer to the Links page for contact details.

Reviews

Church Music Quarterly, 2005
O Sing Unto the Lord a New Song, Jesu the Very Thought of Thee, A Meditation

[These] balance homophony and polyphony in a manner reminiscent of the finest sixteenth century anthems but in an entirely contemporary language. The close imitations and springy rhythms of O Sing unto the Lord escape the tyranny of the barline without causing metrical difficulties for the singers. Response to the words is precise to the point of word-painting, as in the solemnity of ‘for he is come to judge the earth’ and the antiphony describing ‘a psalm of thanksgiving’. There is a similar sure touch of harmonic effect at ‘and in thy presence rest’ in Jesu, the Very Thought of Thee.  – A Meditation selects perfectly appropriate words from Thomas Traherne for a service of baptism and sets them with sensitivity but without a trace of sentimentality.

Choir and Organ *****

First comes the word and here we have a composer who has an implicit understanding and love of the text, which manifests itself throughout his music. Judy Martin is a choral director who has a perfect understanding of this relationship. She draws from the mixed-voice choir of Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, in beautifully expressive and finely honed performances. This elegant and individual music gains its own momentum as it builds toward each climax. Choral works include the Mass in five parts, Turn our Captivity, A Remembrance and O Lord, support us all the day long. The composer's organ writing is represented by his stunning Introduction, Toccata and Fugue, which is given a first-rate performance by the cathedral's young Australian organist Tristan Russcher. Highly Recommended.

Shirley Ratcliffe

The Times, May 2006 ****

The music of Francis Pott is rapidly gaining attention for its silky lines and sensitivity. The items that give the album its title, Meditations and Remembrances, are settings of the 17th-century thinker Thomas Traherne. One senses Pott's pleasure at painting the word "love" with such glowing warmth in A Meditation. He is well served by a beautifully tuned choir. The Osanna in the Five-Part Mass is light and crisp and Psalm 126 ends with the sort of melismatic Amen for which the Church was once reprimanded.

Rick Jones