Ecce Cor Meum

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Ecce Cor Meum
Paul McCartney's studio album

Publication
(s)

September 25, 2006 ( UK ) ,
September 26, 2006 ( US )

Label (s) EMI Classics

Format (s)

CD , download

Genre (s)

Classical music

Title (number)

5

running time

56 min 50 s

occupation
  • Magdalen College Choir Oxford - Choir
  • King's College Choir Cambridge - Choir

production

  • John Fraser

Studio (s)

Abbey Road Studios

chronology
Chaos and Creation in the Backyard
(2005) 		Ecce Cor Meum Memory Almost Full
(2007)

Ecce Cor Meum ( Latin See, my heart ) is the fourth classic album and second oratorio by Paul McCartney . At the same time, including the Wings albums, the Fireman albums, the classic albums, the live albums and compilation albums, it is Paul McCartney's 39th album after the Beatles split up . It was released on September 25, 2006 in the UK and on September 26, 2006 in the US .

Emergence

Performance of Ecce Cor Meum by the Orchester régional de Cannes-Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur

Planning for the album began in 1997 when Paul and Linda McCartney attended Magdalen College , Oxford . Anthony Smith, who was director of the institute from 1998 to 2005, approached Paul McCartney and asked him if he could compose something for the opening of a new concert hall in the college. He imagined a choral work “in the style of Handel ”. Paul McCartney found the inspiration for the title when he saw a statue in a New York church under which "Ecce Cor Meum" was written. The completion of the project was delayed due to the death of Linda McCartney in 1998.

The first version was performed in 2001 by the Magdalen College Choir, conducted by Bill Ives, at the Sheldonian Theater in Oxford . McCartney then had to lend a hand on the piece several times because the choir passages were too long and the singers "literally ran out of breath".

The recordings for the album took place from March 13th to 17th, 2006 at Abbey Road Studios . This oratorio in four movements was produced and orchestrated by John Fraser; the Latin and English texts were set to music for soprano solo , mixed choir , boys' choir and orchestra . The album was recorded with the soprano soloist Kate Royal , the boys of the Magdalen College Choir and the choir of King's College from Cambridge and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields under the direction of Gavin Greenaway . It was released on September 25, 2006. A DVD is also available which documents the creation of the album in addition to the live concert. The album did not achieve great commercial success or placements in the official album charts , but Paul McCartney received the Classical BRIT Award for "Album of the Year" in 2007.

The revised version premiered on November 3, 2006 in London at the Royal Albert Hall . In Germany, the Latin-English oratorio was performed for the first time on October 27, 2007 in Siegen . The Philharmonie Südwestfalen, the Philharmonic Choir Siegen, the choir of the municipal music association Hamm and the boys' choir of the Dortmund Choir Academy took part in the performance . Other concerts followed, including in the Berlin Philharmonic .

Cover design

The cover was designed by DEWYNTERS. The photos in the CD booklet are from Harry Borden. The CD comes with a 24-page (deluxe version: 52-page) illustrated booklet containing information about the album, the songs and the lyrics.

Track list

  1. Spirit - 12:00
  2. Gratia - 10:50
  3. Interlude (Lament) - 3:56
  4. Musica - 15:14
  5. Ecce Cor Meum - 14:50

Meaning of the lyrics

spirit

With Spiritus ( Latin for 'spirit'), the first sentence of the work, Paul McCartney treats the subject of love in the form of a song of praise for God. The Holy Spirit is particularly emphasized. In singing, the choir and soloist thank God for his spirit, which teaches us to love and tries to stimulate the listener to think about what a lack of this love would mean.

Gratia

Also Gratia (Latin for, grace ', also, thanks') has anthemic character. Compared to the first sentence, however, the emphasis here is not on the Holy Spirit, but on Jesus Christ, who is portrayed in the play as the pioneering light: “[…] this guiding light will burn so bright […]” (quote from the Lyrics by Gratia). For comparison, the statement of the Evangelist John : “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not been able to extinguish it.” ( John 1.5  EU ) and “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will no longer wander around in the darkness [...] ”( John 8:12  EU ).

Interlude (lament)

This is an instrumental transition.

Musica

The longest sentence in the work, the name of which means music in German , deals with a transcendent connection between light and music. The composer tries to express that it is also possible through music to find the true light, that is, to Jesus Christ . There is a reference back to the second movement, Gratia .

Others

Ecce Cor Meum later also became the motto Paul McCartney used for his official coat of arms.

Re-releases

  • The album has not yet been remastered .
  • In May 2007 the album was released in download format.

Single releases

No official single was released from the album. The promo single Gratia was released in Europe and the United States .

literature

  • Luca Perasi: Paul McCartney: Recording Sessions (1969-2013). LILY Publishing, Milan, Italy, ISBN 978-88-909122-1-4 , p. 398.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ecce Cor Meum. on the Paul McCartney Official Website
  2. ↑ Wencke Nottmeyer: CD review: Paul McCartney: Ecce cor meum. on Kultura Extra , October 15, 2006.
  3. ^ Arifa Akbar: McCartney tops Sting in Classical Brit awards. In: The Independent . May 4, 2007.
  4. ↑ Thunderous applause for the German premiere of “Ecce Cor Meum”. Concert report on DerWesten.de
  5. ↑ Past concerts ( Memento of the original from February 1, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. of the Chorus Berlin e. V. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.chorus-berlin.de
  6. ^ In the program: Paul McCartney "Ecce Cor Meum". Press release from Chorus Berlin e. V., summer 2008. (PDF; 80 kB)
  7. ↑ Ex-Beatle granted coat of arms. In: BBC News. December 22, 2002.
  8. ↑ Promotion CD single Gratia / Gratia (Radio Edit)