David Briggs

A grand setting – particularly suitable for Massed Choral Festivals. There is an 'espressivo' middle section, suitable for either treble soloist or semi-chorus.

"When God made man, he gave him all the earth, all growing things, with every bird and beast, then Adam named them at the Lord’s command…" (Stanbrook Abbey Hymnal)

"Life is short, and there is little time to gladden the hearts of those who journey with us. So be swift to love, make haste to be kind, and may the blessing of God Almighty, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, be with you, and those that you love, this day and for evermore. Amen". (Frédéric Amiel)

Unlike Boris Ord’s famous setting, this was not composed in the bath! It is a very incisive and rhythmic carol with a percussive Organ accompaniment. Especially suitable for people who are young at heart…

Congregation, S.A.T.B. and Organ (with optional Brass for Gloria)

Commissioned in 2004 by the Lay Clerks of Blackburn Cathedral and first performed by them at their Advent Carol Service in 2005. Subsequently broadcast on BBC 3's 'Choral Evensong'. It is a rich and lyrical setting for divided Tenors and Basses with organ accompaniment.

Quite straightforward – even though it’s in G flat major… Duruflé-inspired harmonies

S.A.T.B. unaccompanied

Initially inspired by the famous Mozart masterpiece, here is a moving setting of the same Latin text, this time wrapped up in the language of the early 21st Century. Cool and gently emotive organ interludes (with double pedal) frame the choral sentences, which too are cosseted in ecstatic post-Debussyan harmonies. Needs quite experienced singers…

First performed by Michael Perrier and the Choirs of St Mary’s Parish Church, Moseley, Birmingham, at their 2006 Festival of 9 Lessons and Carols, this setting uses the traditional Kirkpatrick tune, with enriched harmonies. Ideal for choirs of good Parish Church standard.

Joyful, and ideal for choirs of good Parish Church standard

Evocative and widely-spaced chords – with plentiful added notes and ending in a lush F sharp major. Not without intonation challenges…!

I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also; I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.

S.A.T.B. unaccompanied

A powerful and extended setting – suitable for a Festival Evensong. Moderately complex…and exciting.

Lush and post-romantic, this setting could have been the product of an imaginary meeting of Alexandre Scriabin, Herbert Howells, Marcel Dupré and Pierre Cochereau… in an upscale Parisian restaurant…!

Excerpts here

Hyperion programme note: Perhaps because the evening canticles are so intrinsic to that Anglican choral tradition, Briggs’ Trinity Magnificat and Nunc dimittis—even with organ accompaniment—feel closer to Dover than to Calais. With a fine sense of architecture and alternations of choral texture, this pairing is the most recent work here—composed for the forces on this recording in 2008.

'With a passing nod to Giovanni Palestrina'! Makes an interesting change from the
ubiquitous Palestrina setting of the same text.

Composed 2002 and premiered in Notre-Dame de Paris. Duration 27 minutes. S.A.T.B. and 2 organs (but works well with one). Level of difficulty: similar to Vierne, Widor and Langlais Masses.

Listen to excerpts here – Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge (directed by Stephen Layton, David Briggs, organ): http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/dc.asp?dc=D_CDA67808&vw=dc

Listen to the Kyrie, Gloria and Sanctus performed by the Academie Vocale de Paris, directed by Iain Simcock, David Briggs (Orgue de St Merri, Paris)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmPJcO3tU50

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJfIgVU42t4&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0v3zd_Pago

Reviews:

Gramophone Magazine (Critics’ Choice, Christmas 2010): “It’s wonderful to hear new settings of familiar liturgical texts which are so emotionally powerful, thanks to David Briggs’s luminous choral writing and beautiful harmonic language in this Mass for Notre-Dame”. (Christopher Nickol)

Gramophone Magazine (Critics’ Choice, Christmas 2010): “In Briggs’ Mass, here is music to set beside cherished choral masterworks by Fauré, Duruflé and Briggs’ own teacher Jean Langlais” (Richard Osborne)

International Record Review: “There's only one word for this. Spectacular…. Stephen Layton has inspired his singers to heights of magnificence, relishing Briggs's penchant for rich, sumptuous harmonies and ravishing melodic lines, but at the same time moving beyond mere effect and rooting out the genuine musical intensity behind these finely crafted works…. The musical voice we hear in the improvisations is certainly present in the choral music, yet it's so finely crafted and idiomatically written that we realize that, as a composer, Briggs is no mere writer-out of inspirational ideas but a man with a well-honed gift for creating true music.”

BBC Radio 3 CD Review: "An overwhelming, all-compassing audio experience - I can't resist it"

Gramophone Magazine (Editor's Choice, August 2010): "I can confidentially say that this recording is one of the greatest CDs of sacred choral & organ music you'll ever hear. I'm not ashamed to say I had tears in my eyes; listeners who are churchgoers & non-believers alike will find this disc a profoundly moving experience."

Classical Music Sentinel: “All of you who have become convinced that any new music being written these days is only going to be either boring formulaic minimalism, atonal noise, electronic manipulation, or worst of all, tepid crossover attempts to draw a different crowd, can all breathe a deep sigh of relief. David Briggs (b1962) has come to the rescue with this jaw-dropping Mass for Notre-Dame, composed in 2002. The choral writing is just stunning in its rich harmonic colors, adventurous intervals, long flowing lines and cathedral filling 'grandeur'.”

Co-commissioned by the choirs of All Saints, Northampton and The Cathedral of the Redeemer, Calgary, this work was premiered in St Sulpice on 28th May, 2011.  Scored for S.A.T.B. and girls’ choir (or soprano solo) and two organs – but works fine with one.  Recorded (on the Naxos label) with the Vasari Singers (directed by Jeremy Backhouse) mid-February 2013. See reviews here

Excerpt here

Hyperion programme note: St Thomas Church, Fifth Avenue, sustains a fine choir of boys and men, and it was for these forces and their conductor John Scott that Briggs wrote O Lord, support us in 2005. Commissioned by the then Assistant Organist Jeremy Bruns for his wife Kathy, this setting of an exquisite evening collect from the Book of Common Prayer is a tender wash of unashamed loveliness.

A setting of a text by Soren Kierkegaard, the expansive outer sections of this anthem contrast with a highly expressive middle section for two high soprano soloists.

S.A.T.B. unaccompanied

Celebratory, loud and ideal for choirs of good Parish Church standard. A little bit like Parry, but with heaps of added garlic and a decidedly Parisian accent…

S.A.T.B. and organ

S.A.T.B. unaccompanied

Review in The American Organist: “The concluding work is the stunning St Davids Service … this setting is distinguished for its rich, intriguing harmonies, textual sensitivity, drama, and exalted conclusion. The St Davids Choir well represents its nation’s strong heritage of song”.

Review in The American Organist: “The concluding work is the stunning St Davids Service … this setting is distinguished for its rich, intriguing harmonies, textual sensitivity, drama, and exalted conclusion. The St Davids Choir well represents its nation’s strong heritage of song”.

Composed as an encore for the Gloucester Cathedral Choir USA tour (Easter 2000),
this arrangement begins with some spoof Palestrina-esque imitative counterpoint.
Almost imperceptively the American National anthem is introduced (by the altos!).
Gradually this becomes more and more noticeable (… and the American audience rise
to their feet, one by one!). The final phrase is a grand, homophonic statement of
"… and the land of the brave".

Now regularly performed in over 15 English cathedrals, this opulent setting features a French-inspired harmonic language – and has the advantage of fitting well into a liturgical context (ie. it’s not too long!). The last movement is a lush, accompanied 8-part setting – maybe rather like Richard Strauss on vacation in Paris! A great showpiece for any choir – and organist…

Excerpts here

Hyperion programme note: Immediate comparisons with Cochereau’s teacher Duruflé are tempting in the setting of Ubi caritas et amor. Briggs takes the plainchant in different directions harmonically, however, and avoids a mere refurbishment of the Duruflé setting. This a cappella motet, like the Mass, was composed for a Bristol church — Bristol City Church — and first heard too in Notre-Dame de Paris, at Grand-Messe on 30 July 2006.

S.A.T.B. and organ