Darkness into Light

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Product Details

• Audio CD (April 8, 2003)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Harmonia Mundi Fr.
• ASIN: B00008RV0I
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)

  8 Reviews 5 star:  (6) 4 star:  (2) 3 star:  (0) 2 star:  (0) 1 star:  (0) › See all 8 customer reviews...

• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #150,102 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #17 in Music > Classical > Featured Performers, A-Z > ( A ) > Anonymous 4
  • #48 in Music > Classical > Featured Composers, A-Z > ( T ) > Tavener, John Kenneth
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On this CD:

1. O lux beata trinitas
   Composed by Anonymous
   with Anonymous 4
   
   
2. Jube domine / Lection: In principio, for 2 voices
   Composed by Anonymous
   with Anonymous 4
   
   
3. Come and do your will in me, for chorus
   Composed by John Tavener
   with Anonymous 4
   
   
4. Christe qui lux es, compline hymn
   Composed by Anonymous
   with Anonymous 4
   
   
5. Lectio ysaye prophete / Lection: Surge illuminare, for 2 voices
   Composed by Anonymous
   with Anonymous 4
   
   
6. As one who has slept, for chorus
   Composed by John Tavener
   with Anonymous 4
   
   
7. Medie noctis tempus est, nocturne hymn (tune Primo dierum omnium)
   Composed by Anonymous
   with Anonymous 4
   
   
8. Leccio libri apokalipsis / Lection: Vidi civitatem, for 2 voices
   Composed by Anonymous
   with Anonymous 4
   
   
9. The Lord's Prayer, for chorus (1999)
   Composed by John Tavener
   with Anonymous 4
   
   
10. Alleluia. Quinque prudentes virgines
    Composed by French Anonymous
    with Anonymous 4
    
    
11. The Bridegroom, for voices & string quartet
    Composed by John Tavener
    with Anonymous 4
    
    
12. Inventor rutili, hymn for the New Light
    Composed by French Anonymous
    with Anonymous 4
    
    

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Editorial Reviews

Darkness into Light is the title of this new Anonymous 4 CD, and, indeed, many of the works refer to the perils and glory, religiously speaking, of the former and the latter, respectively. Sprinkled within the eight 12th- to 14th-century hymns, all beautifully performed and interestingly varied in tone and use of voices, are four works by the contemporary British composer John Tavener, one of which is receiving its recorded premiere and was composed for Anonymous 4 and the Chilingirian Quartet. 

It is called "The Bridegroom," and in its 17-plus minutes examines the metaphor of Christ-as-Bridegroom, with the strings standing for Christ and the four voices, in the words of the composer, for "the people of the world, full of that longing which is a kind of Divine eros." 

Be that as it may, it contains some wonderful high-lying vocal lines, many short, phrases and a series of long-held, fading-out notes. The effect is very interesting and the string quartet adds to the mystery. The other three Tavener works are in the same vein. 

Whether or not one subscribes to Tavener’s only occasionally convincing brand of religiosity, the performances here--of his music and the rest--are gorgeous, as the Anonymous 4 sing with their usual combination of abundance and absolute purity--an odd combination, but a unique one. 

The ear is constantly enchanted here, even if one finds the ancient piety more appealing, universal, and convincing than the modern. --Robert Levine