Phoenix Chorale, Charles Bruffy - Northern Lights: Choral Works by Ola Gjeilo (2012) [DSD64 + Hi-Res FLAC]

Performed by Charles Bruffy, the Phoenix Chorale, The Harrington String Quartet, saxophonist Ted Belledin and the composer himself on piano, "Northern Lights" contains five world premiere recordings and three pieces which were either commissioned, composed, or dedicated to the Phoenix Chorale.

Best Classical Vocal Album of the Year on iTunes' Best of 2012
#4 on Billboard Traditional Classical Chart
#5 on Gramophone Specialist Classical Chart in the United Kingdom
Top-selling title for Chandos Records in the USA for 2012
13 weeks on Billboard’s Traditional Classical Albums chart
6 weeks on Gramophone chart

Norwegian composer Ola Gjeilo, born in 1978, received his training at Juilliard and has made New York his base of operations. This 2012 CD includes almost all of his published works for mixed voices to date. He served as composer-in-residence with the Grammy Award-winning Phoenix Chorale, which performs his music here under the leadership of Charles Bruffy. Gjeilo uses exclusively sacred texts, set mostly in Latin, except for English translations of two texts by St. Augustine and St. John of the Cross. Gjeilo falls into the category of American choral composers like Morten Lauridsen and Eric Whitacre whose work has accessibility and originality that make it immensely popular with performers and audiences. Of the three, Gjeilo is the most conservative in his harmonic language and adherence to choral conventions of earlier eras. His work resembles that of Eastern European minimalists like Arvo Pärt in its reliance largely on homophonic textures, which have the virtue of making the texts easily comprehensible. There is a soft-edged harmonic and melodic focus to several of these pieces, particularly The Ground and Evening Prayer, that veers toward a new age sensibility. At its best, the music has a natural, inexorable flow and is radiant and ecstatic. Among the most impressive works are Northern Lights, Serenity, The Spheres, Phoenix, and Unicornis captivatur. The Phoenix Chorale performs with its characteristically impeccable technique and sumptuous blend. It excels in the long-breathed lyricism that's typical of most of these pieces; Bruffy effectively summons a mood of spacious serenity that serves the music beautifully. The group fully lives up to its reputation as one of the very finest choral ensemble singing today. Most of the pieces are a cappella, but the Harrington String Quartet, tenor saxophonist Ted Belledin, and the composer on piano assist on several tracks. The sound of this recording is immaculate and warmly natural.

Tracklist:

01 - The Ground (Pleni Sunt Caeli)
02 - Serenity (O Magnum Mysterium)
03 - Ubi caritas
04 - Northern Lights (Pulchra Es, Amica Mea)
05 - Dark Night of the Soul
06 - The Spheres (Kyrie Eleison)
07 - Tota Pulchra Es
08 - Prelude (Exsultate, Jubilate)
09 - Phoenix (Agnus Dei)
10 - Unicornis captivatur
11 - Evening Prayer

Recording Produced by Blanton Alspaugh.
Sound Engineers: John Newton & Beyoung John Hwang.
Recorded on May 28-30, 2011 at Camelback Bible Church, Paradise Valley, Arizona, USA.

Musicians:
Phoenix Chorale - Conducted by Charles Bruffy
Ola Gjeilo - piano
Emmanuel Lopez - cello
Ted Belledin - tenor saxophone
Alison Chaney - soprano
Harrington String Quartet:
Rossitza Jekova-Goza - violin
Keith Redpath - violin
Vesselin Todorov - viola
Emmanuel Lopez - cello


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