Stanford, Beati Quorum Via

I often turn to Irish music in honor of St. Patrick’s Day. This year, I’m featuring a Latin motet by English composer Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924). Beati quorum via bears none of the marks of traditional Irish music. Sanford was, however, born in Dublin.

Stanford attended Cambridge University and studied music in Leipzig and Berlin. His lawyer father, an accomplished amateur cellist, permitted Stanford to study music instead of law on the condition that he get a university education before going abroad to study music. Stanford received his classics degree from Cambridge, barely. His efforts there were more focused on music: he served as organist at Trinity College and directed two vocal societies.

He became one of founding professors of the Royal College of Music where he taught from 1882 until his death. There, his composition students included Gustav Holst, Ralph Vaughan Williams, and Frank Bridge.

Stanford was among the late Romanticists. He met and admired Johann Joachim and Brahms in 1873. He aligned with those composers in what we call the “War of the Romantics” with Liszt representing the opposing camp.

Best known for choral works in the Anglican tradition, Stanford receives credit for elevating English church music with his anthems and motets, which remain a significant part of the repertoire. Beati quorum via is one of three Latin motets in opus 38 published in 1905. Written in six parts, it is sung here by Voces8, an outstanding vocal ensemble that have featured several times before.