Drop Down, Ye Heavens: Advent Antiphons For Choir

Siglo de Oro; Corkin, Sam; Ely, Hannah; Partridge, Bethany; McPhee, Angus; Allies, Patrick; Prevost, David Le

Sigio de Oro’s first commercial recording sees the choir and its director Patrick Allies in collaboration with saxophonist Sam Corkin. Their intriguing program highlights the saxophone’s natural kinship with the human voice, as well as the endless expressive possibilities which this versatile instrument stimulates in the imaginations of modern composers. The instrument’s athletic vigor launches Will Todd’s “O Wiom,” the first of eight settings of the Advent antiphons in English which, having been commissioned by the present artists, now form the backbone of this recording. Elsewhere the instrument soars above the voices’ urgent prophecy and imploration, while the choir is heard unaccompanied in glowing renditions of sixteenth-century polyphony. Included on this recording are works by Pierre Certon, Antoine de Mornable, Michael Praetorius, and Josquin des Prez, whose music complements the atmosphere of quiet expectancy proper to Advent.

Price: $28.98