Tantum ergo (New Horizons)

ISBN 10: 0193411474 ISBN 13: 9780193411470

Publisher: Oxford University Press Music, 2016

for SATB (with divisions) unaccompanied This serene communion motet sets the last two verses of the Pangue Lingua and oscillates between 3/4 and 4/4 time signatures. The melodic lines are expressive and at times melismatic, and the divisi in all parts creates a rich texture.

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About the Author:

Gabriel Jackson was born in Bermuda. After three years as a chorister at Canterbury Cathedral he studied composition at the Royal College of Music. Jackson's music has been commissioned, performed and broadcast worldwide, and his works have been presented at many festivals including Aldeburgh, Cheltenham, Spitalfields, and the BBC Proms. His liturgical pieces are in the repertoires of many of Britain's cathedral and collegiate choirs, and his choral works in general have been recorded by some of the world's leading choirs including Polyphony, The Vasari Singers, The State Choir of Latvia, and Merton College Choir, Oxford. He is currently the Associate Composer to the BBC Singers, who have premiered and broadcast a number of recent commissions. Over recent years Jackson's music has been equally focussed on instrumental works. Commissions include works for organist Michael Bonaventure, Red Note Ensemble, and the Lunar Sax Quartet.

Review:

Gabriel Jackson's music is in the repertoire of many cathedral and collegiate choirs, though it has a reputation for being difficult and few parish choirs attempt it. But these two pieces ['Tantum ergo' and 'O salutaris hostia'] would be well within the capability of many choirs, with a bit of effort to learn them initially, and most rewarding for those who try them. The words are of the two hymns traditionally sung at Benediction, but each would make a good communion anthem. They are however a pair, both in E flat and sharing much musical material: indeed the final three-bar Amens are identical. Yet each piece also has a distinctive sound, O salutaris hostia notably featuring drones that underpin the melodies. Both are on YouTube sung by the Byron Consort of Harrow School for whom they were written; do listen to them and enjoy this expressive, contemplative music. * James L. Montgomery, www.rscm.com, June 2017 *

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