Motets 1,3,4 & 6

1. Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied, motet for chorus & continuo, BWV 225
Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach
with Harry Bicket , Jane Coe , Sarah Cunningham

2. Fürchte dich nicht, ich bin bei dir, motet for chorus & continuo, BWV 228
Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach
with Harry Bicket , Jane Coe , Sarah Cunningham

3. Jesu, meine Freude, motet for chorus & continuo, BWV 227
Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach
with Neill Archer , Harry Bicket , Jane Coe , Sarah Cunningham , Bruce Russell

4. Lobet den Herrn, alle Heiden, motet for chorus & continuo, BWV 230
Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach
with Harry Bicket , Jane Coe , Sarah Cunningham

Customer Reviews:

Uneven quality but great value.......2007-04-30

Brilliant Classics has found a niche with their extremely low-price multi-disc collections of the work of a single composer or performer. The Bach, Mozart and Chopin Complete Editions are legitimately considered to be artistic and economical triumphs. But the Masterworks series are more uneven. Currently available from Amazon France at about a buck per CD, they're still a bargain for those interested in quickly building a music library. But it's worth keeping a few things in mind. Unlike the Bach and Mozart Editions, these are not always historically informed performances. In this Mendelssohn set, the Hanover Band puts in a cameo (in Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage), but most of the ensembles use modern instruments, techniques and proportions. This doesn't always work out, as in the case of the ponderously heavy recordings of the String Symphonies by an apparently full complement of Gewandhausorchester Leipzig strings (Mendelssohn likely wrote these early works for a much smaller group). The caliber of the performances varies too, ranging from good to poor, and from marquis musicians such as Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau to a few Dutch who-dats. The chamber musicians generally acquit themselves well (though the Octet recording is marred by an engineering flaw in the last movement, distortion, at least on my copy). But the symphonies suffer from some substandard performances, such as the Italian Symphony's live recording with not only audience noise but also ensemble flaws such as a distracting clarinet squeak in the first movement's recapitulation. Another strike is the lack of program notes. Brilliant's Complete Editions provide a booklet or CD-ROM with program notes, but here you'll need to do your own research.

Despite these shortcomings, this set is still good value (at least at Amazon France's current price of 31 Euros). And it's a fine way to become acquainted with Mendelssohn's music.

A superb collection of Mendelssohn.......2007-03-24

Let me preface this by saying that most of these works were not new to me - I own many other Mendelssohn CDs and have enjoyed his compositions for some time now. Also, this set is available much cheaper elsewhere, particularly from European retailers.
The symphonies are well-performed. 'Reformation' is an inspired live recording. The 12 string symphonies, written in Mendelssohn's youth, are also included. The concertos are exceptional - the violin concerto is as good as you'll find anywhere. The oratorios Elijah and Paulus are included, as well as the complete chamber works and a diverse assortment of choral works. The last few discs include the Lied ohne worte, the epic organ sonatas, and excellent renditions of A Midsummer Night's Dream and Fingal's Cave. While there are a few sketchy performances in the choral and chamber works, the performances and recordings are generally very solid, and the body of work couldn't be better.

Average customer rating:

The "Clinker" of the bunch

Brahms: The Masterworks (Box Set)

Manufacturer: Brilliant Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Dvorák: The Masterworks [Box Set]
Mendelssohn: The Masterworks [Box Set]
Vivaldi: The Masterworks (Box Set)
Beethoven: The Masterworks (Box Set)
Schubert: The Masterworks [Box Set]

ASIN: B00062FLIS
Release Date: 2004-11-30

Customer Reviews:

The "Clinker" of the bunch.......2006-12-19

Having collected the entire "The Masterworks" series (including the Bach and Mozart Complete Works) this set is the 'clinker' of the bunch. First off... 6 CD's of Lieder 'historic' (pre-historic) recordings. No Overtures, No Orchestral Seranades, No Haydn Variations?? The performances of the Symphonies and the Concertos are shakey and not very well recorded. Brilliant Classics, who has done such a wonderful job with the Hadyn Complete Symphonies (licensed from Nimbus), the Mozart and Bach Complete sets, has stumbled a bit with this release.

Dunstable: Sweet Harmony - Masses and Motets

Average customer rating:

Dunstable masses and motets: recording by Tonus Peregrinus
The harmonic building blocks of Renaissance music
THE GREAT LEAP FORWARD

Dunstable: Sweet Harmony - Masses and Motets

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Leonin, Perotin: Sacred Music from Notre-Dame Cathedral
John Dunstable: Motets / Hilliard Ensemble
Dufay: Missa L'homme armé; Supremum est mortalibus bonum
Nicolas Gombert: Missa Media Vita in Morte Sumus
Das Gänsebuch (The Geese Book): German Medieval Chant

ASIN: B000B6N67M
Release Date: 2005-10-18

Tracks:

Quam Pulchra Es
Kyrie
Gloria A 4
Credo A 4
Gloria: Jesu Christe Fili Dei
Credo: Jesu Christe Fili Dei
Sanctus
Credo: Da Gaudiorum Premia
Sanctus: Da Gaudiorum Premia
Agnus Dei
Veni Sancte Spiritus-Veni Creator
Gloria In Canon

Customer Reviews:

Dunstable masses and motets: recording by Tonus Peregrinus.......2007-07-21

This CD includes the wonderful short motet "Quam Pulchra Es" and the better-known "Vene Sancte Spiritus/Veni Creator", together with movements from four of Dunstable's settings of the Mass ordinary. It is difficult to imagine a better recording. Tonus Peregrinus have a full intellectual and emotional understanding of Dunstable's ground-breaking musical achievement; the individual lines are clear and precise; the selection of works provides a fine illustration of the composer's range of techniques; the acoustics of Chancelade Abbey, where the recording was made, are perfect for the task; and the recording quality (Naxos) is flawless. I strongly recommend it to anyone interested in early Renaissance church music in general or of Dunstable in particular.

The harmonic building blocks of Renaissance music.......2006-06-07

Take a journey back to early 15th century Europe with Tonus Peregrinus' recording of the works of English composer John Dunstable (c. 1390-1453). Dunstable worked in English-occupied France during the early 1400s, and his sweet English harmonies influenced French composers such as Dufay and Binchois. The incorporation of English harmonic technique into the Continental style was a major factor in the development of Renaissance counterpoint.

Dunstable was a master of isorhythm, a technique that involved repetition of lengthy melodic and harmonic figures (sometimes in sync and sometimes in overlapping fashion). While isorhythm contributes to the compositional integrity of Dunstable's music, it's not readily discernible by modern ears. What's most apparent in the music of John Dunstable is the forceful delivery of a new style: the sweet harmony resulting from the use of parallel 3rd and 6th intervals. Dunstable's harmonic writing is not particularly disciplined: unprepared dissonances occur, sometimes in jarring fashion. But overall, a spirit of jubilation pervades Dunstable's work, which should impress modern listeners just as it did the European composers who heard it nearly six centuries ago.

Tonus Peregrinus, a vocal consort named for an ancient chant that Christ might have sung at the Last Supper, delivers an evocative performance of Dunstable's works. The group performs Dunstable's motets "Quam pulchra es" and "Veni Sancte Spiritus - Veni Creator", sandwiched around a collection of Mass movements. "Quam pulchra es" exhibits a stately, graceful quality later found in the works of Binchois, while the first "Sanctus" achieves an otherworldly beauty that may have influenced the motets of Dufay. The acoustics of this recording, captured in an echo-filled French abbey, create a sense of time and place that enhances the authenticity of the performance.

In 1476, music theorist Johannes Tinctoris remarked, "There is no composition written over forty years ago which is thought by the learned as worth of performance." Tinctoris' dismissal presumably included the works of Dunstable. Fortunately, Dunstable's music has survived Tinctoris' sentiment, and now awaits your discovery, courtesy of this fine recording.

THE GREAT LEAP FORWARD.......2005-11-29

Goodness me, how many superlative groups of ancient music specialists can there be? Here is yet another, predictably brought to us by Naxos. There are 8 singers directed by Anthony Pitts, and the group photograph also shows us Jeremy Summerly himself in a daft-looking hat as producer, and also, most properly, the engineer Geoff Miles whose work I would call absolutely outstanding.

England was not always `the land without music'. In particular, it seems that a sudden and spectacular leap in musical development occurred precisely there in the early 15th century, and, if we are to believe the musical historian of the time Tinctoris (cited by Pitts in his liner-note), the main driving-force behind this revolution was John Dunstable, whose innovations were picked up promptly by his contemporary Dufay and thereafter by Europe in general. My own knowledge of this period is deplorably patchy, but it is quite clear that by the 12th century the ecclesiastical tradition of monodic plainsong, believed to date from the 8th century, had not changed much, even at the hands of the frumious Hildegard of Bingen. There was a parallel secular tradition, probably more than one, but if the music of the troubadours during this same period is anything to go by it had primitive instrumental accompaniment for the voices, but nothing by way of genuine `harmony' much less polyphony or counterpoint.

Enter the English, Dunstable in the lead. Not a lot seems to be known about him except that he appears to have been associated with St Albans in Hertfordshire, where his name survives in the name of a town not far away, as does that of the author of Dunstable's epitaph and Abbot of St Albans Abbey John Wheathampstead. All this information is conveyed with admirable brevity in Pitts's notes, and I take it on faith entirely. Faith of another kind shows through his phraseology here and there, as in his dedication of the recording to `a God-fearing man' (not the kind of terminology one encounters much in England these days) and in his sniffy comment in his resume that he left the BBC in protest over its screening of `a blasphemous musical'. I would only remark that the BBC never actually broadcast anything by such a description, nor did the public in general realise that they were listening to such. At the musical level by and large the liner-note is awesomely learned but slightly heavy going. It is worth absorbing slowly, but the most significant thing it says is really its naïve proclamation of how marvellous the music is. This is the dawn of the elaborate harmonisation that makes European music, so far as I know, unique, and the thrill and sense of awe that go with that are enormous for one kind of listener at least.

If I understand Pitts aright, the various sections of the mass here - including 2 glorias, 3 credos and 2 settings of the sanctus - don't incorporate one specific `mass' although they approximately follow the order of the parts normally set to music: indeed if there were a single coherent mass in it what would be the point of such duplications? The way they have sequenced it all is appropriate to isolated settings, sensibly programmed so as to avoid having the same text in successive tracks. The recital starts with one motet and ends with another, followed by a gloria that `we' have completed from the restored but deficient MS. `We' have done just brilliantly if I may say so - this is what music-making is all about, but it needs the right level of talent. The performing artists consist of 2 sopranos, 1 female and 1 male alto, 3 tenors and a single bass. I have to take the historical authenticity of this, just as I have to take the tempi adopted, on faith once again. I believe the phrase is `It works for me'. What is beyond much question is the sheer quality of the singing, and what I want to sing my own praises of is the recording, which has a perfect sense of spaciousness together with perfect clarity.

I hope I will be believed when I say that I have no link of any kind with Naxos. I collect their discs because of what these are and because of what my tastes and standards in good music are. This particular disc is from this very year 2005, and the recording was done in Chancelade Abbey in the Dordogne. Over and above the learned inputs of Mr Pitts we are given brief resumes of all the performers, and all texts are provided with English translations. These latter are a great deal better than many I have seen in the last year or two. My suspicions having relaxed, I have been less hawk-eyed than sometimes, and I don't believe that there are any serious misrenderings. In the Veni Creator if the text is right at lines 11-12 the meaning must be `Thou duly enriching our mouths with the promised utterance of the Father'; 4 lines later `perpetim' is a simple misprint for `perpeti', but as usual the translator thinks `perpeti' is some kind of adjective. It is a prolative infinitive, and lines 15-16 therefore mean `Strengthening what in our bodies is weak so as to be steadfast through virtue'.

Go forth in droves at the Christmas season and acquire this disc.

Holst: The Cloud Messenger; A Choral Fantasia; Part-Songs

Average customer rating:

More than just choral works
Get This For the Hymn of Jesus
An important record of lesser known choral works . . .

Holst: The Cloud Messenger; A Choral Fantasia; Part-Songs

Manufacturer: Chandos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Sacred & Religious | Classical | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B00000IYN5
Release Date: 1999-05-18

Tracks:

The Cloud Messenger, H111: 'O Thou, Who Com'st From Heaven's King' - G. HOLST
The Cloud Messenger, H111: 'Tarry Not, O Cloud, Tarry Not. Rushing Northward ...' - - G. HOLST
The Cloud Messenger, H111: 'Tarry Not, O Cloud, Tarry Not.' - G. HOLST
The Cloud Messenger, H111: 'Tarry Not, O Cloud. Bow Thy Head' - - G. HOLST
The Cloud Messenger, H111: 'When The Dancers Are Weary ...' - G. HOLST
The Hymn Of Jesus, H140: Prelude - - G. HOLST
The Hymn Of Jesus, H140: The Hymn - G. HOLST
Ave Maria, H49 - G. HOLST
The Evening-watch, H159 - G. HOLST

Tracks:

Seven Part-Songs, H162: Say Who Is This? - Gustav Holst
Seven Part-Songs, H162: O Love, I Complain - Gustav Holst
Seven Part-Songs, H162: Angel Spirits Of Sleep - Gustav Holst
Seven Part-Songs, H162: When First We Met - Gustav Holst
Seven Part-Songs, H162: Sorrow And Joy - Gustav Holst
Seven Part-Songs, H162: Love On My Heart From Heaven Fell - Gustav Holst
Seven Part-Songs, H162: Assemble, All Ye Maidens - Gustav Holst
A Choral Fantasia, H177 - Gustav Holst
City Of London Sinfonia: A Dirge For Two Veterans, H121 - Gustav Holst
Ode to Death, H144 - Gustav Holst
This Have I Done For My True Love, H128 - Gustav Holst
Four Part-Songs: O Lady, Leave That Silken Thread - Gustav Holst
Four Part-Songs: Soft And Gently - Gustav Holst
Four Part-Songs: The Autumn Is Old - Gustav Holst
Four Part-Songs: Winter And The Birds - Gustav Holst

Customer Reviews:

More than just choral works.......2006-04-20

These choral works from Gustav Holst are as striking as the Planets. They are like two dozen angels singing with heavenly glory. A Choral Fantasia, The Cloud Messenger and The Hymn of Jesus are excellent; superb playing from the London Symphony, breathtaking and articulate singing from the Chorus. Ode to Death & A Dirge for Two Veterans are absolutely haunting. The Part-songs are worth the listen, and the Ave Maria and the Motets sound fresh and fabulous.

If you are a fan of Holst's Planets, then you'll be an immediate fan of his choral works once you start listening to The Cloud Messenger.

Get This For the Hymn of Jesus.......2002-09-07

How many of you are sick of the Planets! I know I am, as marvelous as I find that work. Holst was a much more varied and talented composer than that work reveals. On this disc you can hear a wide variety of Holst's choral music and judge for yourself.

I can only comment on half this disc, as I own the Cloud Messanger and the Hymn of Jesus only in an earlier incarnation. The Cloud Messanger is a massive work based on an Hindu text. It is of variable quality...Holst himself flet that it was not wholy a success and supressed further performances of it in his lifetime. But the passages that are good are stunning indeed, and Hickox and crew make a strong case for the work.

The reason to get this CD is for the Hymn of Jesus. This is the best performance of the best work that Holst composed. The Hymn of Jesus is based on Holst's own translation of a passage from the Gnostic Gospel of Thomas ( some sources claim the Acts of John as the origin of this text, but I'm pretty sure I have it in my copy of the Gospel of Thomas, which had recently been discovered at the time.)These Gnostic texts so intrigued Holst that he studied Greek just to be able to read it in the original. The work begins with a beautiful, atmospheric prelude based on two Sarum chants, Panea Lingua and a resplendant Vexilla Regis in the boy choir. Then there is a massive choral invocation to God and the Hymn is sung. This text is also known as the Round Dance of Jesus, and Holst goes for the dance in the piece, with a splendid section in 5/4 which must have frightened the Edwardian audience at the work's premiere. Tightly organized and stunning in it's choral effects, this version of the work surpasses even the fine old recording by Sir Charles Grove.

I can't comment on the performances of the other works on the second disc, but know that the Ode to Death is haunting and the Choral Fantasia is a major work worth hearing. But the reason to buy this album is for the Hymn. It's a stunning and neglected masterpiece in the English choral tradition.

An important record of lesser known choral works . . ........2000-08-08

. . . but I wish they'd used a large choral force.

My primary interest in this CD was the recording of the relatively recently re-discovered (1984) major choral work "The Cloud Messenger." From Holst's "India" period, this is a stunningly beautiful "painting" of the Khalidasa 6th Century A.D. lyric poem, "Meghaduta" ("Cloud Messenger"), the lament of an exiled yaksa who is pining for his beloved on a lonely mountain peak. When, at the beginning of the monsoon, a cloud perches on the peak, he asks it to deliver a message to his love in the Himalayan city of Alaka. Most of the poem consists of a description of the landmarks, cities, and terrain on the cloud's route to Alaka, interspersed with admonishments to the cloud to "Tarry not!" It is only at the end that we are finally aware of the message itself -- one intended to comfort the yaksa's wife in her loneliness.

I had the privilege of singing the U.S. premiere of this work in 1996 with Masterworks Chorale in San Mateo, CA, a chorus of about 150 auditioned singers. This work needs such a large choral force, and a conductor who can deal with the inherent drama in the text. We had both, and the performance was a stunning success. (It was the final work on a program that opened with Debussy's "La damoiselle Elue" for women's voices and mezzo-soprano and soprano soloists; and Brahms' "Alto Rhapsody" for men's voices and mezzo-soprano soloist. "The Cloud Messenger" also includes a mezzo-soprano soloist.)

My biggest complaint with this recording is the dynamics. The entire work seems to be performed at about mf+, occasionally venturing into f and mp. Unfortunately, this doesn't do justice to the drama. The opening, for example, needs to grow from the first ppp gentle raindrops, building as the cloud builds in strength, to a glorious ff choral introduction of the main character, the cloud: "O Thou, who com'st from heaven's king! scion of a noble race! who wearest wondrous forms at will!"

There are parts of this work that beg for a lush warm sound; what we hear on this recording is the British "boy choir" sound in the treble range, while the men have a warmer (albeit somewhat watered down) tone. This is a highly sensuous work, full of luscious ripe sensual imagery: "Where e'er thou goest, lonely wives, who pine in solitude with close-bound hair, will arise and go along the road. Thou bringest home their absent husbands, who will loosen their tresses and fill their hearts with joy!" The "flat" sound of pre-pubescent boys just doesn't do this music, or mature text, justice.

That said, however, this is an important recording of a little-known work. You'll get the feeling of the piece, a sense of the promise. Let's hope that a large chorus paired with a sensitive conductor will have an opportunity at another recording of this in the not-too-distant future (Atlanta? Chicago?).

Contrast this with "The Hymn of Jesus" -- Hickox fares much better with this material, playing up the dance rhythms (Holst knew what he was doing -- at the climax of the piece, the words are: "Ye who dance not, know not what we are knowing.") It really is a first-rate performance of this work.

Other works deserving special mention are "Dirge for Two Veterans," in which one can hear hints of "Mars" from "The Planets"; "Ode to Death," a setting of Walt Whitman's "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd," which contains allusions to "Saturn." The Four Partsongs on the second disk are among Holst's earliest works, written in 1894, when he was barely 20 yrs old and in his second year at the Royal College of Music; and the Choral Fantasia is among his later choral works, written in 1931.

Tracks:

Messe solennelle In C Sharp Minor Op. 16: Kyrie
Messe solennelle In C Sharp Minor Op. 16: Gloria
Messe solennelle In C Sharp Minor Op. 16: Sanctus
Messe solennelle In C Sharp Minor Op. 16: Benedictus
Messe solennelle In C Sharp Minor Op. 16: Angus Dei
Tantum ergo
Ave Maria
Quatre Motets Op. 9: O salutaris hostia
Quatre Motets Op. 9: Tantum ergo
Quatre Motets Op. 9: Ave Maria
Quatre Motets Op. 9: Laudate Dominum
Messe a deux choeurs et deux orgues Op. 36: Kyrie
Messe a deux choeurs et deux orgues Op. 36: Gloria
Messe a deux choeurs et deux orgues Op. 36: Sanctus
Messe a deux choeurs et deux orgues Op. 36: Benedictus
Messe a deux choeurs et deux orgues Op. 36: Angus Dei
Tu es Petrus Op 23 No 2
Tantum ergo Op 18 No 1
Surrexit a mortuis Op 23 No 3

Customer Reviews:

Wow!.......2003-08-13

Having sung the Widor Mass and enjoyed it thoroughly, I decided to buy a recording to prolong the good memories! And this cd certainly does not disappoint... I have to confess to having been somewhat sceptical about Westminster Cathedral Choir's reputation, but this cd really does confirm that they are Britain's premier cathedral choir, Anglican or Roman Catholic. The 24 trebles on this highly acclaimed recording far surpass any sound I've heard St Paul's produce - and the three altos (three! in a double-choir line-up of over fifty singers!) are prominant, clear and rich in tone in a way that I've not come across before. The Widor Mass and motets are, of course, sung with gusto and grandeur, as is the astoundingly moving Vierne Mass - both backed by two fine organs that blend perfectly for a delicious French colour. It's also nice to see the rarely-performed Dupre motets given an outing, and they are a real joy to listen to. All in all a wonderful recording which presents the music exactly as it is - grand, impressive, but always highly moving - exactly what we've come to expect from the Hyperion label. Buy it, buy it, buy it. I cannot say enough good things about it. Definitely the highlight of my summer!

Widor Mass - AWESOME.......2003-02-24

I got this CD having never heard any of the works on it. I was immediately impressed with everything on here. If you buy one choral or organ CD make it THIS ONE! The organ comes through clearly, as does the choir. The accoustics, of course, are superb. It exceeded my expectations and more. The Widor mass is all you need to hear on this CD. I have one complaint, and that is in the intro to the Gloria in the Widor, the organ emits a shrill noise on the last note. However this isn't at all noticeable and I still very much recommend it!

A stupendous choral recording.......1999-08-25

The Widor, "Tu es Petrus," is worth the price of the entire recording. Lasting less than three minutes, it has some of the most moving and beautiful choral work with organ that I have ever heard. What a discovery to find that the rest of the album is also terrific. For those with a subwoofer, the organ pedal notes are particularly well rendered. This CD is must for choral music lovers and audiophiles alike!

If you don't own this CD, order it now!.......1999-01-31

James O'Donnell and the choir of Westminster Cathedral have produced yet another magnificent recording. While there are several recordings of the Vierne, finding the Dupre motets and the Widor mass are much more difficult. The Widor mass, in particular, is splendidly done. Although an English choir, the men and boys of Westminster Cathedral are well known for their "continental" style of singing, thus it's far more forward in tone and is appropriate for all of the works performed on this recording. The organ thunders behind an energetic and flawless choral sound. With any luck, this CD will result in more performances of the Dupre and Widor, and more respectable performances of the Vierne.

Average customer rating:

the rare high A sung with love
St. Anton Bruckner
Superior Sacred Music
Rare to find
Review of few words

Bruckner Motets

Manufacturer: Hyperion UK
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Motets | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

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Bruckner: Missa No. 2; Psalm 150; Te Deum
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Bruckner: Motets
Bruckner: Masses; Te Deum

ASIN: B000002ZGK
Release Date: 1993-09-01

Tracks:

Gradual: Locus iste a Deo factus est
Gradual: Os justi meditabitur
Offertorium: Afferentur regi
Ave Maria
Vexilla regis
Ecce sacerdos magnus
Antiphon: Tota pulchra es
Virga Jesse floruit
Pange lingua
Offertorium: Inveni David
Gradual: Christus factus est pro nobis

Amazon.com

Bruckner's sacred vocal works are certainly among the greatest vocal compositions of the 19th century; they shimmer in an otherworldly, almost immaterial glow. The Corydon Singers, under the direction of Matthew Best, have fastidious ears--their sensitive, vibrant sonorities are the crux of this altogether astonishing disc. --Joshua Cody

Customer Reviews:

the rare high A sung with love.......2007-07-19

I bought this CD on the strength of the reviews of others here, and my trust was rewarded. As soon as I heard the sopranos' high A in "Os Justi" NOT going sharp (very difficult to do, as I know from having sung and conducted it) and undergirded by bass/tenor/alto voices that each had a distinct timbre but managed to contribute to a felicitous whole, I knew I was in good hands. The entire CD balances warmth with precision. As a Roman Catholic and a musician I recommend this CD especially to those Catholics who feel dispirited by the mediocre music in much of today's masses--it will give you hope. And for everyone else, it is sheer beauty.

St. Anton Bruckner.......2006-07-23

These wonderful pieces of liturgical music represent the peace and purity Bruckner found through his faith in God. The writing is at times simple...as it should be...but this simplicity only serves to accentuate the tranquility and beauty of these works. Bruckner the symphonist and Bruckner the devout Catholic. Much like Bach, Bruckner's music bears witness to God and I even find myself truly believing when listening. In this day and age of largely agnostic and God-less music, it is Bruckner's music which I find so dear and it will forever remain so for those in need, due to its intrinsic spiritual and faithful character.

Great Recording and Music!

Superior Sacred Music.......2006-05-27

Bruckner is without doubt the best composer of sacred music since the Renaissance. Don't get me wrong, I love the sacred music of Bach, Mozart, even Verdi, but their works are more appropriate for the theater or concert hall than church. These motets could truly enhance the spiritual (and not just aesthetic) experience of a worship service, especially a Mass. Bruckner understood the difference between inspiring art and sacred art. What I just said does not apply to all his sacred music - his Te Deum is another example of "concert hall" sacred music - but it is certainly true of his motets and his E minor Mass for chorus and winds.

The performance on this disc, as others have said, is exquisite.

Rare to find.......2004-08-19

There are not many records of Bruckner motets, so I was happy to find this CD. I bought it together with Naxos Bruckner Motets (ASIN: B000001415)

No critic about performance or recordings quality, but finally I am no singer, just someone who likes classic music and Bruckner.

Review of few words.......2004-04-26

This is one of the greatest choral performances ever set to disc, if not the greatest.

Songs Ring Out to the Heavens: Brahms's Choral Works

Average customer rating:

A TREASURE HOUSE
Heavenly
Etheral, moving, and polished!

Songs Ring Out to the Heavens: Brahms's Choral Works

Manufacturer: Nimbus Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

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Choruses | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Motets | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

A Cappella | Folk | Styles | Music
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Eric Whitacre: Cloudburst and other choral works

ASIN: B0000037HQ
Release Date: 1997-10-07

Tracks:

Four Songs, Op.17: Harp Notes Ring Fourth
Four Songs, Op.17: Song Of Shakespeare
Four Songs, Op.17: The Gardener
Four Songs, Op.17: Song From 'Fingal'
Three Songs, Op.42: Evening Ser
Three Songs, Op.42: Vineta
Three Songs, Op.42: Dirge For Dar-Thula
Four Qts, Op.92: Oh Beautiful Night, Op.92, No.1
Four Qts, Op.92: Late Autumn, Op.92, No.2
Four Qts, Op.92: Evening Song, Op.92, No.3
Four Qts, Op.92: Why?, Op.92, No.4
Two Motets, Op.29: A Saviour Is Come To Us
Two Motets, Op.29: From Psalm 51
Op.112, Nos.1 and 2: Yearning, Op.112, No.1
Op.112, Nos.1 and 2: At Night, Op.112, No.2
Five Songs, Op.104: Night Watch I
Five Songs, Op.104: Night Watch II
Five Songs, Op.104: Last Happiness
Five Songs, Op.104: Lost Youth
Five Songs, Op.104: In Autumn
Neue Liebeslieder, Walzer, Op.65, No.15

Customer Reviews:

A TREASURE HOUSE.......2005-01-01

There is a whole underworld of vocal music by Brahms that is very little known, and this is a very intelligent selection from it that I hope will do a bit to correct that state of affairs. Brahms's smaller choral and `chamber-choral' works cover a range of different styles. Also, as was typical of him in his instrumental music too, he sometimes issued alternative versions of the same piece, e.g. I have a performance of Vineta, sung here unaccompanied, with piano. Sometimes the style is severe, as in the two unaccompanied motets op 29, as also in Bach's unaccompanied motets. Even here the most casual listener would still know that this is not Bach. It is music of the romantic era that is not quite romantic in idiom. The rest of the disc is blatantly romantic in various ways, and some of it is perfectly gorgeous. It starts with the four songs op 17, which have the seemingly un-Brahmsian accompaniment of two horns and a harp. However little or nothing in Brahms is without a precedent in earlier German music if we just know where to look, and there are some things by Schubert that may have prompted him here. The rest is either unaccompanied (I prefer to reserve the term `a capella' for the stricter style of the motets), or with piano solo accompaniment, or, in the very appropriately-placed Zum Schluss from the New Liebeslieder waltzes that concludes the selection, piano duet. The disc starts with some heavenly romantic sound from the two horn-players, and ends with the equally heavenly Schubertian modulations of Zum Schluss or `Envoi', taking us on an interesting tour in between.

There are 24 members of the Kansas City Chorale, not including the conductor or the instrumentalists. Their singing is excellent, and their sense of style likewise. Britten also wrote a good deal of vocal music for chamber-ensembles, but he liked to keep the technical requirements of the music within the scope of amateurs. Brahms's stuff seems to me more demanding, music for off-duty professionals. There is not a lot that calls for criticism, and if I could have imagined a touch more subtlety here or there, heartiness is a better fault than artiness in music of this kind. One problem that the chorus-master and the recording consultants between them might have given some attention to (the poets seeming not to have) is some very sibilant s-sounds. Tennyson was acutely aware of this problem in his poetry, and took care to `kick the geese out of the boat' as he put it. It doesn't greatly detract from my enjoyment, and what I remember much more is the delectable sound right at the beginning of the record.

For once I can report a really first-rate liner-note. It highlights what it ought to, namely the composer's early interest -- from childhood -- in the traditional methods and techniques of German music down the centuries. Schumann had preceded Brahms in this respect, but he took it to nothing like the same extent. It does not make Brahms any `conservative', as Schoenberg was at pains to point out. He was as deeply original as Wagner himself, but a scholar of minute and profound learning that fired his special creative sense. Texts are given with translations into English and the occasional misprint, and the recording is admirable generally. I hope the Kansas City Chorale will be encouraged in their project of bringing this marvellous music to the active notice of the musical public.

Heavenly.......2000-07-15

This is an exceptional recording. Brahms wrote many more choral works than most people realize, and they are of a uniformly high standard of workmanship. A goodly number are truly inspired and rank with the most beautiful choral music ever written. This collection includes much of Brahms's finest music, and it would be hard to find (or imagine) it performed any better.

The four songs for women's chorus accompanied by two horns with harp (Op. 17) is especially noteworthy. I have four recordings of this piece, and the one on this disc is far and away my favorite. The voices are ravishing, and the accompaniment is absolutely first rate.

It should be noted that several of the selections on this disc were set by Brahms for vocal quartet, not for choir, and he never endorsed their performance by larger forces. But the marvelous renditions presented here should calm the nerves of even the most curmudgeonly purist.

If you love choral music, you will love this recording.

Etheral, moving, and polished!.......1999-09-29

What more can be said of this splendid collection of chorale works by Brahms? Most of the selections are seldom heard, but after listening to the Kansas City Chorale perform them, you wonder why. The moods here range from joyous to bittersweet melancholy, although the Chorale never loses control, never allows the spirit of the music to become overshadowed by vocal hubris. All in all, music that is, like the cover suggests, sent from heaven.

Average customer rating:

Heavenly
The Holy Grail of Choral Recordings
One Small Correction
Gorgeous music, gorgeous performances
Stunning collection suitable for music nuts or newbies alike

Choral Moods

Manufacturer: RCA
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Hymns | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Masses | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Motets | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Noels | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Oratorios | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Psalms | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Requiems | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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Choral Masterpieces
Agnus Dei: Music of Inner Harmony
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ASIN: B00000DFKO
Release Date: 1998-10-13

Tracks:

Miserere Mei, Deus
Deutsche Messe D.872: Sanctus
Hear My Prayer, Oh Lord
Timor Et Tremor
Videntes Stellam
Psalm 13, OP.27
O Salutaris Hostia
Salvette Flores
Evening Hymn
L'enfance du Christ: Shepherd's Farewell
Ave Maria
Advent Responsory
Ave Maria OP.93
Edi Beo Thu, Hevene Quene
Missa Cum Iubilo (Gregorian Chant): Kyrie
Missa Cum Iubilo (Gregorian Chant): Gloria
Missa Cum Iubilo (Gregorian Chant): Sanctus & Benedictus
Missa Cum Iubilo (Gregorian Chant): Agnus Dei
Requiem: In Paradisum
Agnus Dei

Tracks:

Nunc Dimittis
Mass In G: Agnus Dei
Ave Verum Corpus Op. 65 No. 1
O Ignis Spiritus Paracliti
Hear My Prayer
Ave Maria
Panis Angelicus
Eternal Father
Vom Himmel Hoch
Ave Maria
Messe basse: Kyrie
Messe basse: Sanctus
Messe basse: Benedictus
Messe basse: Agnus Dei
Rejoice, Rejoice
Salve Regina, Op. 67 No. 1
Ave, Verum Corpus
Laudi Alla Vergine Maria
Tenebrae Facta Sunt
O Sacrum Convivium

Customer Reviews:

Heavenly.......2007-03-29

This is the most uplifting music I have encountered. The angelic sounds of this choral group help me stay sane on California highways!

The Holy Grail of Choral Recordings.......2006-07-03

This was the first choral CD I've ever purchased when I started becomming involved with choir during my senior year of high school five years ago. My director was telling the choir that he had finally found his copy at a music store and referred to it as the "Holy Grail" of choral recordings. So, I went out to find my own copy and I'm still blown away by it today. I've even given copies as gifts. The music is certainly relaxing and such, but what I most value from it is the spiritual magic. The Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge (then and now my favorite choir in the world) brings every composition to life in such a way that's pure, elegant, and deep. Listening to this music and enjoying this choir has allowed me to set my own standard of singing and compositional excellence.

One Small Correction.......2004-03-06

I keep finding new things to love on this CD, including the fact that it has the first recording I found of Gabriel Faure's beautiful Soprano (or Soprano/Alto) duet Ave Maria., Opus 93. The same recording appears on another CD where the singers are named. The above description of this selection unaccountably adds a baritone. Incidentally, Faure also composed a shorter SATB Ave Maria, which John Rutter has recorded.

I only wish the recording included the complete text of Psalm 50/51 from Gregorio Allegri's Miserere Mei Deus. This might come from John Rutter's recently edited score, published by Oxford Press, if I'm not mistaken. I, for one, do not find this selection (or indeed the entire recording) too long and I believe that the embellishments at the end (mentioned in another review) are probably correct when considering performance conventions of the time of its composition.

Gorgeous music, gorgeous performances.......2003-06-19

I am a semi-professional singer with a BA in Music, and I bought this CD with some trepidation because it looked like one of those dreadful "pop classical" compilations that are everywhere lately. But it had lots of great repertoire all in on place, so I decided to risk it, and I was not disappointed! In fact, this is now one of my favorite choral CDs.

As usual, the Choir of Trinity College delivers stunning performances, and the music itself is just gorgeous. Lots of "church" favorites from a wide range of musical periods. The mood of the CD is definitely on the mellow side, but it's perfect for those quiet moods. I love this CD -- highly recommended!

Stunning collection suitable for music nuts or newbies alike.......2002-03-18

Even as an avid fan of classical music with very picky tastes, there was just so much good music packed on these two (cheap!) discs for me to take in at once!
The perfectly balanced and locked chords can really give you chills.

Tracks:

'Thee, God..'
Seven Motets For The Church Year: 'While All Things Were In Quiet Silence'
Seven Motets For The Church Year: 'Before The Morning Star Begotten'
Seven Motets For The Church Year: 'Lay Up For Yourselves'
Seven Motets For The Church Year: 'Praise Him Who Was Crucified'
Seven Motets For The Church Year: 'God Is Gone Up'
Seven Motets For The Church Year: 'Today The Holy Spirit Appeared'
Seven Motets For The Church Year: 'Rejoice We All In The Lord'
'Phos Hilaron'
'Canticle Of The Lamb'
'Little Lamb, Who Made Thee?'
'Come, Pure Hearts, In Sweetest Measure'
'Mercy And Truth Are Met'
Love Alone: 'Here'
Little Prayers: Three Prayers: 'Creator Spirit, Who Dost Lightly Hover'
Little Prayers: Three Prayers: 'Father, Guide And Lead Me'
Little Prayers: Three Prayers: 'Creator Spirit, Please...'
What Is Pink?: 'What Is Pink?'
What Is Pink?: 'The Mysterious Cat'
What Is Pink?: 'Who Has Seen The Wind?'
What Is Pink?: 'A Pavane For The Nursery'
What Is Pink?: 'Counting-Out Rhyme'
What Is Pink?: 'The House On The Hill'
'All Glorious God'
'Breathe On Me, Breath Of God'
'Lead, Kindly Light'
'Love Divine, All Loves Excelling'
'Sing, My Soul, His Wondrous Love'
'Surge, Illuminare'

Customer Reviews:

Impeccably Performed, Stunning Sound.......1998-11-20

The beautifully captured reverberant sound of the acoustic space is matched by gorgeous choral balance, precise diction, and definitive interpretation. In spite of the contemporary style of the compositions - Rorem doesn't shy away from crunchy dissonances - this is a very enjoyable collection of Choral music with many beautfiul moments.

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