Five Saints
With Donald Macleod.
1: Cecilia. Yesterday was the feast day of St Cecilia, the most famous saint to be associated with music.
Adopted in the late 15th century as patron by various guilds of musicians, she has been the inspiration for composers through the ages. Cecilia was martyred for her Christian faith; one lurid account of her death tells how she was placed in a boiling bath for a night and a day, then, as she was still alive, her tormenters tried to cut off her head and finally left her to bleed to death over three days. j Including:
Handel Ode for St Cecilia's Day
(excerpt) Felicity Lott (soprano), English Concert, director Trevor Pinnock
Gounod St Cecilia Mass (Agnus Dei) Irmgard Seefried (soprano), Gerhard Stolze (tenor). Czech Chorus and PO, conductor Igor Markevitch
Britten Hymn to St Cecilia The
Sixteen, director Harry Christophers Flnzl For St Cecilia
Philip Langridge (tenor), London
Symphony Chorus and Orchestra, conductor Richard Hickox
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