William Hayes (1708 – 1777)
Glossa,
2008
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Evelyn Tubb Narrator, Melancholy, Cheerfulness
Ulrike Hofbauer Hope, Cheerfulness, Reason
Sumihito Uesugi Jealousy, Joy
David Munderloh Fear, Despair
Lisandro Abadie Anger, Revenge
Anthony Rooley Leitung
Chor der Schola Cantorum Basiliensis
La Cetra Barockorchester Basel
Stepping out of the shadows
William Hayes (1708-1777) is one of those English composers who are unjustly overshadowed by George Frideric Handel and whose importance is only gradually being appreciated. As an enthusiastic “Handelian”, the organist and professor of music at Oxford was an eager conductor of Handel’s works without having to be considered an epigone in terms of composition. Rather, he consciously sought out his own creative areas, which Handel did not serve or only sporadically. He was also more open to the galant style than his idol. His large-scale ode “The Passions” from 1750 vividly confirms his outstanding position among Handel’s English contemporaries.
International Classical Music Awards (ICMA) nominated The Passions by William Hayes