Sancta Civitas is an oratorio

Oratorio

An oratorio is a large musical composition including an orchestra, a choir, and soloists. Like an opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias...

 by Ralph Vaughan Williams

Ralph Vaughan Williams

Ralph Vaughan Williams OM was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song: this activity both influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, beginning in 1904, in which he included many...

. Written between 1923 and 1925, it received its first performance in Oxford

Oxford

The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...

 in May 1926, during the General Strike

UK General Strike of 1926

The 1926 general strike in the United Kingdom was a general strike that lasted nine days, from 4 May 1926 to 13 May 1926. It was called by the general council of the Trades Union Congress in an unsuccessful attempt to force the British government to act to prevent wage reduction and worsening...

. Although its title is in Latin, the libretto is entirely in English, based upon texts from Revelation

Book of Revelation

The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament. The title came into usage from the first word of the book in Koine Greek: apokalupsis, meaning "unveiling" or "revelation"...

, as well as Taverner's Bible

Taverner's Bible

Taverner's Bible, more correctly called The Most Sacred Bible whiche is the holy scripture, conteyning the old and new testament, translated into English, and newly recognized with great diligence after most faythful exemplars by Rychard Taverner, is a minor revision of Matthew's Bible edited by...

 and other sources. Late in life, Vaughan Williams would call Sancta the favourite of his choral works.

Orchestration

Sancta Civitas is scored for a full orchestra, with optional organ, as well as a mixed chorus, a semi-chorus, a "distant chorus" of boys, a baritone solo, and a tenor solo.

Vocal score

The piano reduction of the orchestral parts used in the vocal score was prepared by fellow composer Havergal Brian

Havergal Brian

Havergal Brian , was a British classical composer.Brian acquired a legendary status at the time of his rediscovery in the 1950s and 1960s for the many symphonies he had managed to write. By the end of his life he had completed 32, an unusually large number for any composer since Haydn or Mozart...

.

Recordings

Naxos Catalogue No. 8.572424: Bach Choir, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra is an English orchestra. Originally based in Bournemouth, the BSO moved its offices to the adjacent town of Poole in 1979....

, Winchester Cathedral Choristers; cond. David Hill (choral director)

David Hill (choral director)

David Hill , is a choral conductor and organist. His most high profile roles are as Chief Conductor of the BBC Singers from September 2007, and Musical Director of The Bach Choir from April 1998. He was previously Organist and Director of Music at St John's College, Cambridge, in succession to...

; Andrew Staples, Matthew Brook. Released Mar 29, 2010. c/w Dona nobis pacem (Vaughan Williams)

Dona nobis pacem (Vaughan Williams)

Dona nobis pacem, , is a cantata written by Ralph Vaughan Williams in 1936 and first performed on 2 October 1936. The work was commissioned to mark the centenary of the Huddersfield Choral Society. Vaughan Williams produced his plea for peace by referring to recent wars during the growing fears...