- Composer: Ralph Vaughan Williams (12 October 1872 -- 26 August 1958)
- Orchestra: Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
- Choirs: Winchester Cathedral Choristers, Winchester College Quiristers, The Bach Choir
- Conductor: David Hill
- Soloists: Andrew Staples (tenor), Matthew Brook (baritone)
- Year of recording: 2009
Sancta Civitas [The Holy City], oratorio, written between 1923-1925.
00:00 - I. I was in the spirit (Lento)
05:28 - II. And I saw Heaven opened (Allegro)
07:46 - III. And I saw an angel standing in the sun (Meno Mosso)
08:53 - IV. Babylon the great is fallen (Lento)
13:34 - V. Rejoice over her O Heavens (Allegro Moderato)
16:37 - VI. And I saw a new heaven (Adagio)
21:11 - VII. Therefore are they before the throne of God (Poco Meno Largo)
22:13 - VIII. And I saw a pure river
24:28 - IX. Holy, Holy, Holy (Andante Sostenuto)
25:21 - X. Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory (Poco Animato)
Vaughan Williams completed this work during a very productive year, a year that also yielded the Three Songs from Shakespeare, Two Poems by Seumus O'Sullivan, the Concerto academico (Concerto for Violin and String Orchestra), and his collaborative work on the hymn book, Songs of Praise, with the Rev. Percy Dearmer and Martin Shaw. An atheist in his early years but later mellowing to agnosticism, Vaughan Williams wrote or arranged more sacred and church service music than any other major composer of the twentieth century. Thus, Sancta Civitas (The Holy City) was just one of many fine works in the genre.
Using texts from the Bible, Taverner's (1539) Bible (a revised version of the early [pre-King James] English Bible), and other sacred sources Vaughan Williams fashioned this oratorio for tenor and baritone soloists, chorus, semi-chorus, off-stage chorus, and orchestra. The work is divided into ten continuous sections.
- The first, "I Was in the Spirit," is marked Lento and is mostly somber and gloomy in character.
- In contrast the second, "And I Saw Heaven Opened" (Allegro) is bright and lively, the choral writing quite ecstatic and the whole grandiose and colourful.
- The ensuing "And I Saw an Angel Standing in the Sun" (Meno Mosso) is grim and powerful, with rumbling drums and darkly atmospheric writing for the baritone soloist. The music here is intense, sounding ominous and often nearly crushing in its choral and orchestral sonorities.
- "Babylon the Great is Fallen" (Lento) is lovely in its rich post-Romantic character, recalling the style of such choral works as Toward the Unknown Region (1905 - 1906), the composer's first major success.
- The next section, "Rejoice Over Her O Heavens" (Allegro Moderato) has a muscular manner and mixes the celebratory with the somber,
- while the ensuing "And I Saw a New Heaven" (Adagio) is celestial and gentle, featuring a lovely theme on violin. Here the mood recalls the composer's popular Romance for violin and orchestra, The Lark Ascending.
- The music builds up and leads to the epiphanic moment that punctuates the opening of the next section, "Therefore Are They Before the Throne of God" (Poco Meno Largo).
- The ensuing "And I Saw a Pure River" is ethereal and lovely, featuring the attractive violin writing that appeared in "And I Saw a New Heaven."
- In the last two sections "Holy, Holy, Holy" (Andante Sostenuto) and "Heaven and Earth Are Full of Thy Glory" (Poco Animato), Vaughan Williams builds from ethereal and gossamer music to a grand triumph and sense of spiritual relief.
Many consider this to be the composer's greatest oratorio, but it must also be ranked among his very best choral works. Sancta Civitas lasts about a half hour in performance and has received several recordings over the years, but, unfortunately, is still not as widely-known as many lesser works in its genre.