Ecce Cor Meum

Infobox Album | Name = Ecce Cor Meum
Type = Album
Artist = Paul McCartney


Released = 25 September 2006
Recorded = 13-17 March 2006 | Genre = Classical
Length = 56:50
Label = EMI Classics
Producer = John Fraser
Reviews =
*"Allmusic" Rating|3.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=43:139963 Link]
Last album = "Chaos and Creation in the Backyard"
(2005)
This album = "Ecce Cor Meum" (2006)
Next album = "Memory Almost Full"
(2007) |

"Ecce Cor Meum" (Latin for "Behold My Heart") is the fourth classical album by Paul McCartney. The album was released on September 25 2006 by EMI Classics. An oratorio in four movements, it is produced and orchestrated by John Fraser, written in Latin and English, and scored for orchestra and Boys and Adult choir.

History

The title was inspired by the inscription McCartney noticed above a statue of Jesus in St. Ignatius Church, New York City. The reference in the church context is to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, although McCartney freely adapted the text for use in his composition. Upon Sir Paul's grant of arms, he adopted "ECCE COR MEUM" as his motto. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2599041.stm]

Ecce Cor Meum had been more than eight years in the making and its origins follow in the historic tradition of composers commissioned to write music for the world-renowned Magdalen College in Oxford. Sir Paul was invited by Anthony Smith (President of Magdalen College 1998 – 2005) to compose something to set the seal on a new concert hall for the college.

The composition was delayed by the death of Sir Paul's wife, and could not be used for the opening of the new auditorium (which was celebrated instead by a premier of Tony Harrison's verse film, "Prometheus"). Fortunately, the project did not die: with encouragement from the then Oxford University Music Society president and perseverance by the College itself, the work was finished and eventually performed in the Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford, in November 2001.

Originally, it was presented in 2001 with the full Choir of Magdalen College, Oxford conducted by Bill Ives, in the Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford. Sir Paul McCartney expressed in the programme his hope " "that this piece will carry the name of Magdalen to all parts of the globe and help to make people aware of the noble institution that it is". " Photographs of the premiere can be found at [http://titan.glo.be/~kg001310/oxford.html] .

The piece did not receive universal acclaim. One of the only reviews of the world premier at Oxford in the Cherwell Newspaper on 16 November 2001 began cuttingly:

" With Laura Spence and the Sultan of Brunei’s son safely matriculated in far-flung corners of the globe, it is about time that Magdalen found itself a more positive image in the press. What better way to do so than by association with pop legends, knights of the realm and fellows of the Royal College of Music?"

"Paul McCartney wears all of these hats and even knows a few choice words of Latin into the bargain (five, in fact – I counted). I do not for a moment deny Sir Paul’s unparalleled contribution to British Music. But of all people, Bill Ives, Magdalen’s Musical Director and a former King’s Singer, must have realised that putting McCartney in charge of a full orchestra and choir was the artistic equivalent of giving Myra Hindley a job in a crèche. "

It went on, "The orchestra looked suitably embarrased as they interpolated their contributions to a texture which could have been rescored without loss for a five piece band. It is true that the piece was brimming with fresh musical ideas – the juxtaposition of radically different genres, the fluid allocation of melodies to parts, and the use of the choir to accompany the orchestra rather than vice verca – but the absence of any understanding of orchestration and choral arrangement, or of any signposting with recurrent themes, any satisfying development or indeed any real sense of climax throughout the four movements, meant that the piece simply lurched from melodramatic ejaculation to profound banality like a drunkard giving a witness statement. "

As a final knife in the back, the reviewer observed, " "When he had exhausted his rhyming dictionary, he gave up on a libretto altogether and retreated into a fog of formless vowel sounds which left one of the world’s finest choirs as no more than a cushion of sound for his orchestral trial and error. The setting of the word “ecce“, in particular, left much of the audience in stitches as it sounded like all four parts had simultaneously contracted hiccups. The Latinglish line commencing the final movement, on the other hand, seemed strangely appropriate: 'What of Musicaaaa?' " "

Yet, the concert was a success, and even the sullen Cherwell reviewer had to concede, " "Both in terms of individual contributions, such as Pavel Jiracek ’s fine solos in the three spirituals [in the first half of the concert, not featuring music by Sir Paul] , and the subtlety and fullness of the sound made by the choir as a whole, Magdalen lived up to their reputation as one of the world’s leading choirs." " The piece was taken up in a later performance by soprano Kate Royal, the boys of Magdalen College Choir, Oxford, the boys of King's College Choir, Cambridge, and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields conducted by Gavin Greenaway.

Its American première was November 14, 2006 at a sold-out Carnegie Hall in New York City. Scored for choir and orchestra, the Orchestra of St. Luke's under Gavin Greenaway joined the Concert Chorale of New York and the American Boychoir, with soprano Kate Royal and Andrew Staples as soloists. The concert was simulcast over WNYC-FM, New York Public Radio and webcast over wnyc.org

The Canadian première took place on October 27, 2007 at Metropolitan United Church in London, Ontario. Conducted by Toronto conductor Robert Cooper, it was performed by the combined forces of the Orpheus Choir of Toronto, Chorus Niagara, London Pro Musica, the Amabile Treble Choir and Orchestra London.

On May 3, 2007, at the Royal Albert Hall Paul McCartney was presented with the Best Album Award at the Classical Brits for his fourth classical album Ecce Cor Meum (Behold My Heart), an album partly inspired by his late wife Linda. The award was voted for by readers of Classic FM magazine and listeners of Classic FM. Paul’s album had tough competition alongside favourites such as Katherine Jenkins, Alfie Boe and Sting. The album was a big hit in the classical world, reaching #2 in the Top Classical Albums charts from the U.S.

Track listing

All pieces by Paul McCartney.
# "Spiritus" – 12:00
# "Gratia" – 10:50
# "Interlude (Lament)" – 3:56
# "Musica" – 15:14
# "Ecce Cor Meum" – 14:50

Release details

External links

* [http://www.eccecormeum.com/ Ecce Cor Meum] - official site.
* [http://www.seanhenri.com/paul_mccartney.html Pictures from the United States première at Carnegie Hall]