CANTATA ELIENSIS

Recorded Extracts

Cantata Dramatica organised a workshop in the Holywell Music Room, Oxford on Saturday 9 November 2013 to rehearse and perform Cantata Eliensis with solo singers, small chorus, and a selection of instruments.  The day ended with an informal performance to an invited audience and this performance was professionally recorded.

The short extracts below provide an initial introduction to the music but listeners need to bear in mind that they were prepared with the minimum of rehearsal and they are also missing the full instrumentation specified by the composers.

Act I

Act 1, Scene 2a  Etheldreda sings Lauds in her sanctuary on the island of Ely

Act 1, Scene 7  Etheldreda sings a final Nunc dimittis in preparation for death

Act 2

Act 2, Scene 4  Matilda tries to encourage Abbott Simeon

 Act 2, Scene 5  The monks, nuns and townsfolk of Ely pray for deliverance in troubled times

Act 3

Act 3, Scene 2  Richard of Bec rouses the monks, nuns and townsfolk to build the cathedral

Act 3, Scene 4  The stonemasons and carpenters sing while they work