Some Modest Proposals

Andrea Mantegna's Ascension (c. 1462)

So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.
–Mark 16:19

The Christian calendar marks this day as the Feast of the Ascension. The feast takes place on the fortieth day after Easter Sunday and commemorates the Ascension of Christ into heaven.

Giotto's Ascension of Christ (c. 1300)

I love the way the Ascension has been depicted through the ages. Some artists have gone full out with glowing clouds and Christ rising like a missle. Others have a touch of whimsy, with only Christ’s feet poking out of the bottom of a cloud as the Apostles look skyward.

Hans Suess Von Kulmbach's Ascension (c. 1513)

For lovers of choral music and Anglican liturgy there’s two superb recordings of music for the Feast of the Ascension. On the Hyperion label there’s The Feast of the Ascension at Westminster Abbey. The recording takes the listener through a day of worship at the Abbey with music for Matins, the Eucharist and Evensong. Some highlights include Sir Charles Villiers Stanford’s old favorite Caelos ascendit hodie, Gerald Finzi’s “God is gone up,” and Patrick Gowers’ brilliant Viri Galilaei. The Westminster series has now reached several volumes of glorious sacred works for chief feast days – O Praise the Lord, Restoration Music from Westminster Abbey is the newest – and they are some of my favorite recordings.

The Feast of the Ascension at Westminster Abbey (Hyperion)

You can sample some of this terrific album at the Hyperion website.

The Ascension from Les Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry (c. 1412-1416)

The always marvelous Delphian, a super-cool independent label from Scotland, has Ascension. This recording features the Choir of St Mary’s Cathedral, Edinburgh in an Evensong service for The Feast of the Ascension. The recording has hymns, psalms, anthems and a terrific pair of canticles (Magnificat and Nunc dimittis) by Richard Allain. The program closes with organist Simon Nieminski playing Olivier Messiaen’s magnificent L’Ascension.

Ascension (Delphian)

Speaking of Messiaen, here’s Oliver Latry playing Transports de joie d’une âme devant la gloire du Christ qui est la sienne, the 3rd movement (not part one as the video post claims) of Messiaen’s L’Ascension.

This entry was posted on May 13, 2010 at 1:32 PM and is filed under Uncategorized with tags Ascension, Delphian, Hyperion, Olivier Latry, The Feast of the Ascension, The Feast of the Ascension at Westminster Abbey. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.