Lamentatio Jeremiae Prophetae « Peter~Anthony Togni

Lamentatio Jeremiae Prophetae

Lamentations of Jeremiah ECM

Of all the recorded offerings for Holy Week, this is by some measure the most original and affecting that has come my way. – Norman Lebrecht

Now available in Europe!

Released in the UK, Switzerland, Germany and
France
USA: April/May 2010, tba

Now Available in Canada!

Canadian Release – November 17, 2009

Available through HMV and at Amazon.ca

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Lamentations of Jeremiah

Concerto for bass clarinet and choir
on texts from “The Book of Lamentations”

Peter-Anthony Togni, composer

The Elmer Iseler Singers, Lydia Adams, conductor

Soloists: Bass clarinetist/improviser Jeff Reilly, soprano Rebecca Whelan

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I Quomodo sedet sola civitas (14:53)
How doth the city sit solitary

II Quomodo Dominus filiam Sion obtexit (6:09)
How hath the Lord covered with obscurity the daughter of Zion

III Silentio (6:01)
Silence

IV Quomodo obscuratum est aurum (12:03)
How is the gold become dim

V Recordare, Domine (16:15)
Remember, O Lord

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Jeff Reilly at the premiere

Weaving an intricate, universal tale of a prophet who speaks the truth and is disregarded, Jeff Reilly, often improvising the bass clarinet, Rebecca Whelan, and the 20-voiced ensemble offer a poignant interpretation of Lamentatio Jeremiae Prophetae (Lamentations of Jeremiah), a compelling and expressive piece that was commissioned by the Canada Council for the Arts. This is the first work by a Canadian composer to appear on the prestigious ECM label (under the guidance of producer/guru Manfred Eicher) as part of the ECM New Series, which has launched the careers of some of the world’s most famous contemporary composers. In the year of its 40th anniversary, ECM Records has been named both Classical and Jazz Label Of The Year by the world’s leading publications in these genres, Gramophone and Downbeat respectively.

After a world premiere in Toronto in 2007 and a 2008 tour in Nova Scotia, Lamentatio Jeremiae Prophetae was recorded in Halifax in October 2008 in the richly acoustical All Saints Cathedral in Halifax, Nova Scotia. As Keith Horner explains in his CD liner notes, Lamentatio Jeremiae Prophetae is “a virtuoso concerto, incorporating improvisation and choral support”. Composer Peter-Anthony Togni points out that the origins of the word ‘concerto’ embrace the concept of ‘playing together.’ “So I wanted this sense of performing together, and still have the bass clarinet as concerto virtuoso and improviser, and then combine this with the challenge of telling a story,” adds Togni.

“Togni’s music is deeply felt, simply put well-crafted and irradiated by a personal sense of the divine… Jeff Reilly is an undisputed master of the Bass Clarinet who has gone to the end to explore its sonic universe.” – Halifax Herald