May the Season Last Throughout the Year!

SKU: GI.G-10445

  Using several versions of the original work as inspiration, Zack Stachowski has arranged The Seven Last Words of Christ for solo instrument and piano, making Haydn’s music accessible to music ministers who may not have access to larger instrumental ensembles.    These prayerful meditations can be used as preludes, as music for reflection, or in ritual when singing is not permitted. Though the pieces are inspired by the Seven Last Words from the Cross and find their most obvious fit in the season of Lent and Holy Week, the diversity of color and character makes them suitable on other occasions throughout the entire year.   (Since these arrangements were envisioned as liturgy preludes or as instrumental pieces during ritual, Haydn’s original prelude and earthquake movements have been excluded due to their overtly dramatic and performative nature.)    .

SKU: GI.G-1046

UPC: 785147004622.

For the Taizé Community, prayer together, three times a day, is a vital way to return to the wellsprings, to renew hope, and to get ready to take on practical commitments. This CD, like the other recordings made in Taizé, shows how this prayer is renewed while yet remaining constant throughout the years. Many of the songs presented here are new: they were written by brothers of Taizé between 2012 and 2017 and are recorded here for the first time. Others have been part of the community’s prayer for many years. A few come from a much older tradition: for example, the hymn Ô vous qui dans l’obscurité (You who in darkness) comes from the German evangelical churches of the 17th century, the litany Ô Sagesse (O Wisdom), which calls for the coming of Christ, is based on antiphons of the age-old tradition of the Latin Church. These last two pieces are sung at Taizé especially during the season of Advent. Most of these songs focus on an essential reality that can be internalized more and more deeply, as the words are tirelessly repeated. The simplicity of these repetitive forms makes them easy to sing in many situations, but they can nevertheless achieve great breadth and depth, especially when the voices of a large assembly are united with solo singers and instruments. To help use these songs in prayer groups or parishes, practical suggestions as well as the musical scores are available online and in books listed on the Taizé website www.taize.fr/en.