He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven - SATB / SATB & Glasses

I would also like to draw attention to the composers of Slovenia whose music features here. I have always admired and highly respected the Slovenian choral culture and tradition, and its combination of the full Slavic vocal sound with the European way of thinking and singing technique; this is brightly reflected not only in the sound of their choirs, but also in the music of Slovenian composers. The two composers I have chosen for this album are Ambrož Copi and Matej Kastelic. I have been incredibly impressed by the talent of the young Kastelic and his ability to touch the hearts of audiences in his piece Credo / I believe. It combines a number of compositional techniques, quoting numerous passages from Lotti’s well-known Crucifixus, and posits pertinent questions about the relevance of faith in today’s society. I believe this piece is worthy of standing among the greatest classical choral works. 

MARIS SIRMAIS © 2023 Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the State Choir LATVIJA for Hyperion's CD production Credo (CDA68426)

Ambrož Copi studied at the Academy of Music in the Slovenian capital, Ljubljana. He is a choral conductor, also artistic director of the International Youth Choir Festival ‘Aegis Carminis’, based in the south-west Slovenian coastal city of Koper. He wishes for the cloths of heaven sets in its original English a well-known short poem from the collection The wind among the reeds (1899) by the Irish poet W B Yeats (1865–1939). Copi’s approach to harmony and homophonic, densely chordal textures is broadly similar to that of Sven-David Sandström, but differs in scoring: Copi introduces a baritone soloist towards the end of his Yeats setting. The solo line awakens from amidst the continuing choral textures and remains partly subsumed by them, yet lends a heightened confessional intimacy to the poem’s closing two lines. The prominent descending semitone from Copi’s opening makes frequent reappearances throughout, the plangency of its second chord absorbing traditional notions of dissonance into a euphonious postmodern language. A further divergence from Sandström lies in Copi’s novel introduction of an instrumental part for crystal bowls, which awaken at the same moment as the baritone soloist. Playable with a variety of soft percussion mallets and sometimes known to musicians as ‘bowl gongs’, crystal bowls are widely used also as aids to meditation, and their discreet addition to a choral texture lends a serenely otherworldly sonority not unlike that of a vibraphone or string harmonics. The crystal bowls are the last sound heard as He wishes for the cloths of heaven recedes into silence.

FRANCIS POTT © 2023 for Hyperion's CD production Credo (CDA68426)