Jo Vincent on Psalms & Religious Chant
Jo Vincent II
Jo Vincent III
Jo Vincent IV
Jo Vincent V
Jo Vincent Quartett I & II
Jo Vincent remembers the recordings of Psalms & Religious Chant
When, in early morning prior to the 1940’s one would listen to Dutch radio, usually the singing of psalms and chants could be heard, and you would know that N.C.R.V. radio was on. The vocal quartet that sang these psalms and chants was not a ‘real’ quartet in the sense that it appeared in public – we never did. The members, alto Theodora Versteegh, tenor Evert Miedema, bass Willem Ravelli and me of course knew each other from the concert stages in The Netherlands. Moreover we all had been pupils of Cornelie van Zanten, the famous vocal teacher who trained countless gifted singers. Most likely we have appeared as a quartet once or twice in our student days. Given our similar background in training, we surely would have appeared as a very homgenuous quartet in sound and style.
Regardless, as young as we were in those early years of our careers, we were honoured by an invitation of Columbia Records, urging us to come to London for the purpose of making recordings of our radio repertoire. This happened long ago, and the details are near forgotten. Only with effort we managed to reconstruct that this must have been in 1925-1928. The recordings were made in Christ Church, London. Little do we remember of our staying there.There is an old photograph, with ladies wearing these ugly potty hats which are now again fashionable; the gentlemen had stiff boards. It was hard labour, since back then the slightest flutter influenced the wax and urged a re-recording. After every recording we turned our heads to the left, where an Englishman would stick his head around the door to tell us: ‘Sorry, bad wax.’ This meant that there was a technical problem, urging another take. Seven or eight takes was not exceptional. Strenuous, particularly for the soprano, was the moving to and from the microphone. Low notes urged a step forward, high notes two steps backwards. With more than 40 tracks scheduled, we had our hands more than full in London and there remained no time for sightseeing.
My personal records of these sessions have all but disappeared, they broke or I gave them away. Those of Theodora Versteegh did not survive the bombing of The Hague [presumably she means Rotterdam – RS]. Now, 35 years onwards they are reissued in a clean remastering, they are de-hissed, and released in an unbreakable format. No, these won’t be the next hit records of today, there will be no fan clubs devoted to them… and yet I imagine that many a kind and simple heart, or sick people in need of comfort and peace of mind as well as many devote Christians, shall rejoice in the the calm devotion that is the hallmark of these old, sacred chants.
Jo Vincent
*) Apart from Christ Church they also recorded in Wesley Church and Central Hall Westminster.
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The 45RPM Rereleases of the 1960's
Religious song takes a prominent place in the history of the recording industry. It has held this prominent place already before World War II, when the Jo Vincent Quartet could frequently be heard performing these songs on the radio and on 78RPM records.
With the dissapearance of the 78RPM record this specific religious repertoire dissapeared along with the recording technique and the devices to play 78RPM records. In the post war era, there was nonetheless a huge demand for the unsurpassed recordings of the Jo Vincent Quartet in this repertoire, since the four members have never been matched in their homogenuous singing and the complementary texture of their vocal colors. The demand resulted in rereleases on the 45RPM format in the series"Psalmen en Gezangen". Those who enjoyed these recordings will welcome this series to the delight of us, who compiled these rereleases for you with much care and devotion.
Het Jo Vincent Kwartet: Jo Vincent, soprano, Theodora Versteegh, alto, Evert Miedema, tenor, Willem Ravelli, bass, accompanied from the organ. met orgelbegeleiding.
The series "Psalmen en Gezangen" includes the following essestials: 5 with the Jo Vincent Quartet and 2 with bass Willem Ravelli:
Volume 1. Wij loven U, 0 God ( Gez.3) - Prijst mijn ziel,Uw God is Koning (Gez. 23) - De Heer is mijn herder (Gez.198) - Hoe zal ik U ontvangen (Gez. 270) • WILLEM RAVELLI bariton met orgelbegeleiding SEGH 48
Volume 2. Houdt Gij mijn handen beiden (Vers 1, 2 en 3) -Looft, looft nu allen Heer (Ps. -134) - Halleluja, lofgezongen (Gez. 166) - Kom nu met zang (Gez. 146) • JO VINCENT KWARTET met orgelbegeleiding SEGH 65
Volume 3: Rijst op, rijst op voor Jezus (Lied 205) - Wij geven het niet over (Vers 1, 2 en 4) - 0 denkt aan het huis bij den Heer- (Lied 231) - Zouden wij ook eenmaal komen (Lied 82) • JO VINCENT KWARTET- met orgelbegeleiding SEGH 66
Volume 4: Psalm 43: Geduchte God, hoor mijn gebeden - Psalm 32: Welzalig hij, wiens zonden zijn vergeven -Psalm 73: Ja waarlijk God is Isrel goed - Psalm 68; De Heer zal opstaan tot den strijd • WILLEM RAVELLI met orgelbegeleiding SEGH 67
Volume 5: Prijs den Heer met blijde galmen (Ps. 146) - Dat ons loflied vrolijk rijze (Lied 34) - Als de dag met gouden glans (Zondagslied) - Heer ik hoor van rijken zegen (Lied 132) • JO VINCENT KWARTET met orgelbegeleiding SEGH 69
Volume 6: 's Heren intocht: Dochter Sions, weest verheugd 'k Wil U, o God, mijn dank betalen - (Gez. 280) - Ontwaak, gij die slaapt - (Gez. 165) - God enkel licht - (Gez. 153) • JO VINCENT KWARTET met orgelbegeleiding SEGH 70
Volume 7: Looft, looft verheugd den Heer der heren (Ps. 105) -Een vaste burcht is onze God (Gez. 96) - Veilig in Jezus armen (Lied 523) - Scheepje onder Jezus hoede (Lied 213) • JO VINCENT KWARTET met orgelbegeleiding SEGH 18]
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401DutchDivas Records offers two MP3 downloads withthe Psalms & Religious Chant recordings of the Jo Vincent Quartet, along with 21 tracks that have never been relrelead post the 78RPM era. All recordings were made from the original 78RPM reords in our archives. Recently we added a third CD in the Psalms & Religious Chant series, with one of the Quartett's members, bass-baritone Willem Ravelli (the one on the right of the group portrait on the cover art of the ensemble).
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Psalmen & Gezangen cd 1 - 2009DD0804
01-Waarheen pelgrims, waarheen gaat gij, Columbia D9878, *)
02-Daar kwam een rijsje, Columbia D9880, *)
03-Daar juicht een toon, daar klinkt een stem, Columbia D9881, *)
04-Kom tot den Heiland, toef niet langer, Columbia D9881, *)
05-Zouden wij ook eenmaal komen, Columbia D9882
06-O denkt aan het huis bij den Heer, Columbia D9882, *)
07-Prijs den Heer met blijde galmen, Columbia D9883
08-Dat ons loflied vroolijk rijze, Columbia D9883, *)
09-Heer ik hoor van rijken zegen, Columbia D9884, *)
10-Een vaste burcht is onze God, Columbia D9942, *)
11-'k Wil U, o God, mijn dank betalen, Columbia D9942
12-Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht; O Verblijdende, O Gij wijdende, Columbia D9943
13-Das Wiegenlied der Hirten, Columbia D9943
14-'s Heeren intocht, Columbia D9945
15-Hallelujah! Lof gezongen, Columbia D9945, *)
16-Komt nu met zang, Columbia D9946, *)
17-Advent, Op U mijn Heiland blijf ik hopen, Columbia D9946
18-Looft, looft nu aller heeren Heer, Columbia D9947, *)
19-Rijst op, rijst op voor Jezus, Columbia D9948, *)
20-Wij geven het niet over, Columbia D9948
21-Ontwaak gij, die slaapt, Columbia D9949
22-God enkel licht, Columbia D9949, *)
*) liederen van Joh. de Heer
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Psalmen & Gezangen cd 2 - 2009DD0805
01-Eere zij God, Columbia D10046, *)
02-O kindje klein, Columbia D10046
03-O welk een macht, Columbia D10047, *)
04-'t Scheepken onder Jezus' hoede, Columbia D10047, *)
05-Uren dagen maanden jaren, Columbia D10048
06-Er ruischt langs de wolken een lief'lijke Naam, Columbia D10048, *)
07-Geloofd zij God met diepst ontzag, Columbia D10049
08-Dankt nu den Heer voor al zijn zegeningen, Columbia D10049, *)
09-'k Zal met mijn gansche hart U eer, Columbia D10050, *)
10-Christus heeft overwonnen, Columbia D10050
11-Gods voorzienigheid, Columbia D10051
12-Looft, looft verheugd, Columbia D10051, *)
13-Veilig in Jezus armen, Columbia D10052, *)
14-O Heer die daar des hemels tente spreidt, Columbia D10052
15-Zondagslied, Als de dag met gouden glans, Columbia D9884
16-Bach, Mattheus Passion, Was mein Gott will, das g'sche' All'Zeit, Columbia D9944
17-Bach, Mattheus Passion, O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden, Columbia D9944
Bonus tracks:
18-Psalm 95, duet Jo Vincent & Theodora Versteegh, Columbia D9879
19-Mendelssohn, Paulus, Want alzoo, duet Miedema & Ravelli, Columbia D9879
*) liederen van Joh. de Heer
Psalmen & Gezangen, cd 3 - Willem Ravello, bas-bariton
Psalmen & Gezangen cd 3 - Willem Ravelli - DDR 0903
01-Psalm 32, vers 3, Columbia D 9977
02-Psalm 43, vers 5 en 7, Columbia D 9977
03-Gezang 3, Columbia DH 47
04-Gezang 22, Columbia DH 47
05-Gezang 273, Columbia DH 49
06-Gezang 274, Columbia DH 49
07-Psalm 27, Columbia D 9979
08-Psalm 116, vers 1, 2 en 3, Columbia D 9979
09-Psalm 51, Columbia D 9981
10-Psalm 73, Columbia D 9981
11-Gezang 198, Columbia DH 48
12-Gezang 270, Columbia DH 48
13-Psalm 84, Columbia D 9980
14-sound Psalm 98, Columbia D 9980
01-Psalm 32, vers 3, Columbia D 9977
15-Luther, Een vaste burcht is onze God, HMV B 4555
16-Gezang 160, Uren, dagen, maanden, jaren, HMV B 4613
17-Psalm 73, HMV B 4555
18-F.A.Schulz, Engelenzang, Zonophone 3294
19-G.de Wolf, O verblijdende, Zonophone 3294
20-Psalm 42, 't Hijgend hert, HMV B 4613
21-Bach, Bede, HMV B 4556
22-Wierts, Onze vader, HMV B 4556
23-Emiel Hullebroeck, Hemelhuis, HMV B 4803, Londen 1928
nb. opnames 15 t/m 23 zijn gezongen door Thom Denijs, bariton (1877-1935)
