for soprano, contralto, tenor, bass soli, choir SSATB and orchestra   (70 mins)
2.2.0.2 – 2.2.0.0 – timpani – organ – strings

Words from Psalm CXI

First performance 4 May 1826 London (Argyll Rooms, Regent Street)

First modern performance 10 June 1972 York Minster

The  re-discovery of Wesley’s music in the twentieth century, after the obscurity in which it had lain since the composer’s death in 1837, began with a performance of Confitebor in York Minster in June 1972 – the first since its original premiѐre in 1826 . Some of his chief works gradually began to be performed, broadcast and   published after that point. Confitebor is his master choral work, the one by which he is chiefly  known,  a setting of the Latin Psalm 110, for soloists, chorus and orchestra . It is a choral symphony of praise and thanksgiving, in style and structure in the tradition of the Viennese Masses and Oratorios of Haydn and Mozart. Its fifteen sections, lasting 70 minutes, are precisely structured, and the key scheme resembles that of Haydn’s Oratorio The Creation. Wesley uses the solo singers in a duet, a trio and a quartet, as well as individual solos. Each of the choruses is differently constructed, and they alternate with the solos throughout. At the  centre, Wesley gives the soprano soloist a show stopping display of vocal virtuosity, Fidelia omnia mandata eius (see sound sample below). This was modelled on the Queen of the Night’s aria Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen, in Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute.

Contact us for more information on this work

Full score ISMN M 708046 60 8

Vocal score ISMN M 708046 61 5

LISTEN TO A SOUND SAMPLE

Jennifer Vyvyan, London Mozart Players, Peter Gellhorn

VIII   Allegro con brio       “Fidelia omnia mandata eius”         ( 9’15”)

PURCHASE THE VOCAL SCORE