Gavin Bryars: The Fifth Century - Two Love Songs

Prism Quartet - The Crossing - Donald Nally

Released on 18-11-2016 by ECM New Series
Main artists: The Crossing Donald Nally Prism Quartet
Genre: Klassiek

Digital booklet

Available in

24-Bit/88 kHz Stereo

Unlimited Streaming

Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps

Start my trial period and start listening to this album

Enjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription

Digital Download

Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.

Gavin Bryars has written a good deal of music in minimalist styles, but he makes room for a good deal of expressivity. He has not written much choral music, but this ECM release may make his fans wish he had written more. He emerges here as a kind of British counterpart to Arvo Pärt, with similarly spiritual and mystical leanings. The title The Fifth Century refers to the texts used in the seven-section work, which come from a series of prose poems entitled Centuries of Meditations by the 17th century English mystical poet Thomas Traherne; the texts here are drawn from the fifth volume. Many of the texts suggest a contemplation of eternity, and they're quite compelling ("Like the sun we dart our rays before us, and occupy those spaces with light and contemplation which we move towards, but possess not with our bodies"). Around the peaceful a cappella settings of these words, a saxophone quartet winds counterpoint and preludes. The work was commissioned by the small choir heard here, called The Crossing, and it would be hard to imagine a more sympathetic performance. Those new to Bryars could start with the Italian-language Two Love Songs, for a three-part female choir (or solo singers), which presents the spare, yet deeply emotional quality of Bryars' music in compact form. As usual with ECM, the sound engineers are among the stars of the show; their work on The Fifth Century, at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, is especially enchanting.

© James Manheim /TiVo

More info

Gavin Bryars: The Fifth Century - Two Love Songs

The Crossing

You are currently listening to samples.

Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.

Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.

From 13,50€/month

The Fifth Century (Gavin Bryars)

We See The Heavens With Our Eyes

The Crossing