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David Geringas, DR, Stefan Parkman - Gubaidulina: The Canticle Of The Sun; Hommage a Marina Tsvetayeva (2003)

Posted By: Designol
David Geringas, DR, Stefan Parkman - Gubaidulina: The Canticle Of The Sun; Hommage a Marina Tsvetayeva (2003)

Sofia Gubaidulina - The Canticle Of The Sun; Hommage à Marina Tsvetayeva (2003)
David Geringas, cello; Danish National Radio Choir & Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Stefan Parkman

EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 192 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 129 Mb | Scans included
Genre: Classical, Choral | Label: Chandos | # CHAN 10106 | Time: 00:54:52

When in the first decade of the twentieth century, pioneering Russian creative artists turned to the sun for inspiration, they saw this theme as a symbol of liberation from turn-of-the-century decadence. In The Canticle of the Sun the power of the sun celebrates two liberating forces: specifically, the dedicatee, Mstislav Rostropovich, who shed light in the darkness of the later Soviet years (Gubaidulina has even spoken of the work embodying his ‘sunny personality’) and more generally, the spiritual sources which the composer has explored through her own musical journey within and beyond Soviet Russia. The Canticle of the Sun is a response to a text by St Francis of Assisi, in which he humbly glorifies the creator. Gubaidulina, aware that the music should not be ostentatious or complicated, suggests the mysteries of creation and humanity through solo cello and percussion, and places St Francis’s text in the restrained mouths of the choir as a kind of wondering response. The second work on this disc is a setting of five poems by Marina Tsvetayeva for unaccompanied choir.

Oxford Camerata, Jeremy Summerly - Thomas Tallis: Spem in Alium; Missa Salve intemerata (2005)

Posted By: Designol
Oxford Camerata, Jeremy Summerly - Thomas Tallis: Spem in Alium; Missa Salve intemerata (2005)

Thomas Tallis - Spem in Alium; Missa Salve intemerata (2005)
Oxford Camerata, conducted by Jeremy Summerly

EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 300 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 183 Mb | Scans included
Classical, Choral, Sacred | Label: Naxos | # 8.557770 | Time: 01:17:17

To mark the 500th anniversary of the birth of Tallis, here are his biggest and best church compositions, performed in its customary high style by the Oxford Camerata under Jeremy Summerly (whose Fauré Requiem remains one of Naxos's all-time bestsellers). Tallis's youthful motet Salve intemerata is among the longest single-movement works of the 16th century, but it is Spem in alium, a work of Tallis's maturity, that overshadows any other English piece of the period, including those of his great contemporary, William Byrd. Scored for 40 independent voices, it is symphonic in proportion and resplendent in this surround-sound version.

Vox Clamantis, Jaan-Eik Tulve - Filia Sion (2012)

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Vox Clamantis, Jaan-Eik Tulve - Filia Sion (2012)

Vox Clamantis, Jaan-Eik Tulve - Filia Sion (2012)
EAC | FLAC | Tracks (Cue&Log) ~ 332 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 187 Mb | Scans included
Label: ECM | # ECM New Series 2244, 476 4499 | Time: 01:11:08
Classical, Choral, Medieval, Gregorian Chant

Filia Sion is the first ECM New Series disc devoted entirely to the Estonian vocal group Vox Clamantis. From the beginning of its history, Vox Clamantis has focussed on Gregorian chant as the foundation of European music, but has also maintained strong connections to contemporary composers including Arvo Pärt, Helena Tulve and Erkki-Sven Tüür (members of the ensemble previously appeared on Tüür s Oxymoron album, singing his composition Salve Regina ). Their interpretation of medieval music is never purely historical. While always remaining true to the spirit of this repertoire, the approach to the work and the selection of pieces is contemporary, with sound and texture and the blending of voices as a focus. As leader Jaan-Eik Tulve explains, Gregorian chant is monophonic music which remarkably emphasizes the blend of voices.

Robert Shaw Festival Singers - Francis Poulenc: Mass In G Major; Motets For Christmas And Lent (1990)

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Robert Shaw Festival Singers - Francis Poulenc: Mass In G Major; Motets For Christmas And Lent (1990)

Francis Poulenc: Mass In G Major; Motets For Christmas And Lent (1990)
Robert Shaw Festival Singers, conducted by Robert Shaw

EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 185 Mb | Scans included
Classical, Choral, Sacred | Label: Telarc | # CD-80236 | Time: 00:52:02

Robert Shaw leads the Robert Shaw Festival Singers in these powerful works of Francis Poulenc. Poulenc experienced a spiritual crisis which led to the composition of his powerful Mass in G major, which is dedicated to the memory of his father. Paired with this work are his Four Motets for Christmas, Four Motets for a Time of Penitence, and Four Short Prayers of Saint Frances.

The Choir of Westminster Abbey, James O'Donnell, Robert Quinney - A Christmas Caroll From Westminster Abbey (2008)

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The Choir of Westminster Abbey, James O'Donnell, Robert Quinney - A Christmas Caroll From Westminster Abbey (2008)

A Christmas Caroll From Westminster Abbey (2008)
The Choir of Westminster Abbey, conducted by James O'Donnell; Robert Quinney, organ

EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 253 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 169 Mb | Scans included
Classical, Choral, Sacred, Christmas | Label: Hyperion | # CDA67716 | 01:03:34

This seasonal offering from The Choir of Westminster Abbey presents a delightful and unusual selection of music for Christmas. It encompasses many of the diverse themes of Christmas which have inspired composers across the ages: light shining in darkness; the tenderness of mother and child; the fulfilment of promise; and the warm merriment of corporate celebration. An excellent selection of contemporary carols features the composers Jonathan Dove and Bob Chilcott among others. The richness of twentieth-century church music is illustrated in works by Poulenc, Walton, Mathias and Leighton, and by the heartbreakingly lovely piece The little road to Bethlehem by Michael Head. Skilful arrangements of the traditional carols Silent night, In dulci jubilo and I saw three ships, complete this attractive seasonal release.

Stile Antico - A Wondrous Mystery: Renaissance Choral Music for Christmas (2015)

Posted By: Designol
Stile Antico - A Wondrous Mystery: Renaissance Choral Music for Christmas (2015)

Stile Antico - A Wondrous Mystery: Renaissance Choral Music for Christmas (2015)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 292 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 172 Mb | Artwork included
Label: Harmonia Mundi | # HMU807575 | Time: 01:12:55
Classical, Choral, Sacred, Renaissance

Stile Antico's 2015 release on Harmonia Mundi, A Wondrous Mystery, is a sublime collection of Renaissance choral music for Christmas, presented in a pleasant mix of familiar German carols and a mass, with tracks interspersed for the sake of variety. This makes sense in consideration of the group's broad audience, which may know such popular hymns as Michael Praetorius' Ein Kind geborn in Bethlehem and Es ist ein Ros entsprungen, or Johannes Eccard's Übers Gebirg Maria geht and Vom Himmel hoch, yet be somewhat at a loss with the motet and Missa Pastores quidnam vidistis by Jacobus Clemens non Papa, a composer beloved by early music specialists but not exactly a household name for lay listeners. However, the a cappella performances are consistently beautiful and soothing throughout, and the quietly joyous mood of the music fits the album's title perfectly. The 12-voice choir's blend is well-balanced and transparent, and the ambience of All Hallow's Church, Gospel Oak, London gives an ideal resonance for the group's small size and close miking.

Baroque Christmas: George Frideric Handel, Johann Sebastian Bach (2011)

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Baroque Christmas: George Frideric Handel, Johann Sebastian Bach (2011)

Baroque Christmas: George Frideric Handel, Johann Sebastian Bach (2011)
Lucia Popp, soprano; Brigitte Fassbaender, contralto; Robert Gambill, tenor; Robert Holl, bass
Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart; Sir Neville Marriner, conductor; Sudfunkchor
Dame Janet Baker, contralto; Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, baritone; Choir of King’s College
Cambridge Academy of St Martin in the Fields; Sir Philip Ledger, conductor

EAC | FLAC | Tracks (Cue&Log) ~ 380 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 187 Mb | Scans included
Genre: Classical, Choral, Oratorio | Label: EMI | # 50999 6 78165 2 1 | Time: 01:14:56

The peal of church bells, the scent of Christmas trees and gleaming lights in every window: now all that's missing to complete the Yuletide mood is Christmas by great Baroque composers. This CD contains the most moving arias and resplendent choruses from Bach's Christmas Oratorio and Handel's Messiah - the perfect music to celebrate Christmas with.

King's Singers - Christmas (2003)

Posted By: Designol
King's Singers - Christmas (2003)

King's Singers - Christmas (2003)
EAC | FLAC | Tracks (Cue&Log) ~ 260 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 165 Mb | Scans included
Classical, Choral, Holidays | Label: Signum Records | # SIGCD502 | 01:10:47

Five centuries, seven languages, and six singers with 35 years of remarkable experience inform this rare collection of choral music. In the world-renowned King's Singers resplendent voices, ancient and modern choral music comes to life with all the blazing immediacy and timeliness of the gospel of the nativity. With 25 pieces of music–ranging from familiar works such as "Coventry Carol" to the obscure Tchaikovsky piece "The Crown of Roses"–the King's Singers move through this hallowed and festive set with the vocal mastery that only three-and-a-half decades of accomplished work together is capable of creating. A number of contemporary carols written in the last century by composers such as John McCabe, Philip Lawson, John Rutter, and others are balanced by pieces by Bach and a host of traditional works. Lawson's "You Are the New Day," performed with a string quartet, stands out as one of the more notable performances. Like most of their music throughout Christmas, it reminds listeners that the art of music often interprets divine aspects gladly realized here on Earth.

The Choir of Westminster Abbey, James O'Donnell - 'Rejoice, the Lord is king!': Great Hymns from Westminster Abbey (2014)

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The Choir of Westminster Abbey, James O'Donnell - 'Rejoice, the Lord is king!': Great Hymns from Westminster Abbey (2014)

'Rejoice, the Lord is king!': Great Hymns from Westminster Abbey (2014)
Robert Quinney, organ; The Choir of Westminster Abbey; James O'Donnell, conductor

EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 326 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 160 Mb | Scans included
Genre: Classical, Choral | Label: Hyperion | # CDA68013 | Time: 01:08:46

This 2014 Hyperion collection of 22 hymns sung by the Choir of Westminster Abbey is a straightforward presentation of familiar versions for choir and organ. For the most part, the arrangements are conventional four-part settings, with occasional interpolations of seldom-heard harmonizations and descants, and the performances by the men and boys are appropriately reverent and joyous. The majority of selections are hymns of praise, including Praise, my soul, the king of heaven; Thine be the glory; and Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, though Drop, drop slow tears; I bind unto myself today; and Let all mortal flesh keep silence bring a more somber and penitential mood to the program. The recordings were made in late 2012 and early 2013 in Westminster Abbey, so the sound of the album is typically resonant and spacious, and the choir has a well-blended tone, though the trade-off for the glorious acoustics is a loss of clarity in some of the words.

Maxim Rysanov, Liepaja SO, Maris Sirmais - Giya Kancheli: Styx; John Tavener: The Myrhh-Bearer (2007)

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Maxim Rysanov, Liepaja SO, Maris Sirmais - Giya Kancheli: Styx; John Tavener: The Myrhh-Bearer (2007)

Giya Kancheli: Styx; John Tavener: The Myrhh-Bearer (2007)
Maxim Rysanov, viola; Liepāja Symphony Orchestra; Kamēr… Choir; Māris Sirmais, conductor

EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 341 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 202 Mb | Scans included
Classical, Contemporary, Choral | Label: Onyx | # ONYX 4023 | Time: 01:17:55

Rysanov’s ONYX debut is of two extraordinarily beautiful and haunting works for viola and chorus/orchestra: both written for Bashmet, and the Tavener is a world-première recording! Giya Kancheli’s Styx is already renowned as a choral masterpiece for the 21st century, The River Styx in Greek mythology separates the living from the dead and the solo viola mediates between the two. John Tavener’s The Myrrh-Bearer is another epic, this time based on the Troparion of Cassiane, a Byzantine poet and composer. Here the viola represents the sin of Mary Magdalen. Both works were recorded in the amazing Dome Cathedral in Riga, Latvia, the largest medieval church in the Baltics, has just the right expansive acoustic for this music.

Paradisi Gloria - Stabat Mater: Francis Poulenc, Karol Szymanowski, Krzysztof Penderecki, Wolfgang Rihm (2004)

Posted By: Designol
Paradisi Gloria - Stabat Mater: Francis Poulenc, Karol Szymanowski, Krzysztof Penderecki, Wolfgang Rihm (2004)

Paradisi Gloria - Stabat Mater: Poulenc, Szymanowski, Penderecki, Rihm (2004)
Munich Radio Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Chorus, Soloists
conducted by Marcello Viotti, Krzysztof Penderecki, Helmuth Rilling

EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 271 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 184 Mb | Scans included
Classical, Choral, Sacred | Label: Profil | # PH04035 | Time: 01:06:02

This 2004 survey of modern settings of the medieval sequence Stabat Mater Dolorosa is part of conductor Marcello Viotti's project to record the little-known but worthy sacred works of the twentieth century, in conjunction with the Munich Radio Orchestra and the Bavarian Radio Chorus for their concert series Paradisi gloria. The four works by Francis Poulenc, Karol Szymanowski, Krzysztof Penderecki, and Wolfgang Rihm are dramatically different in conception and musical content, and may be regarded more as reflections of personal faith than as practical works for ecclesiastical purposes.

Gachinger Kantorei, Bach-Collegium Stuttgart, Helmuth Rilling - Wolfgang Rihm: Deus Passus (2001) 2CDs

Posted By: Designol
Gachinger Kantorei, Bach-Collegium Stuttgart, Helmuth Rilling - Wolfgang Rihm: Deus Passus (2001) 2CDs

Wolfgang Rihm - Deus Passus (Passions-Stücke nach Lukas) (2001) 2CDs
Juliane Banse, soprano; Iris Vermillion, mezzo-soprano; Cornelia Kallisch, alto
Christoph Prégardien, tenor; Andreas Schmidt, baritone
Gächinger Kantorei; Bach-Collegium Stuttgart; Helmuth Rilling, conductor

EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 308 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 206 Mb | Scans ~ 21 Mb
Classical, Choral | Label: Hänssler Classic | # CD 98.397 | Time: 01:30:24

Deus Passus is one quarter of the Passion Project 2000, which celebrated not only the turning of the millennium but also commemorated the 250th anniversary of Bach’s death. German conductor Helmuth Rilling honored this occasion by commissioning Passions from four disparate composers: Wolfgang Rihm, Tan Dun, Sofia Gubaidulina, and Osvaldo Golijov. Deus Passus is a setting of the Passion according to St. Luke, and it is a marvel of a piece for many reasons. For a full hour and a half, with music that is mostly slow and largely atonal (in the sense that Berg’s music is atonal), the twisting, aching, unpredictable harmonies are totally captivating. Rihm chooses a straightforward setting, a simple, dramatic telling of the story, and it is in his capacity for restraint that the true brilliance of the piece lies. He uses the chorus sparingly, mostly for dramatic purposes, having it portray the angry rabble bent on crucifying Jesus (as it often does in Bach’s passions).

Eric Ericson, Rundfunkchor Stockholm, Stockholmer Kammerchor - European Choral Music (2014) 6CD Box Set

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Eric Ericson, Rundfunkchor Stockholm, Stockholmer Kammerchor - European Choral Music (2014) 6CD Box Set

Europäische Chormusik - European Choral Music (2014) 6CD Box Set
Eric Ericson, Rundfunkchor Stockholm, Stockholmer Kammerchor

EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 1.48 Gb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 942 Mb | Scans included
Classical, Choral | Label: Warner Classics | # 825646261505 | Time: 06:49:27

The great recordings of the "Nordic choral marvel": Swedish choral conductor Eric Ericson was one of the true legends in his field. When he died in 2013 at the age of 94, he had spent decades working to place his two Stockholm choirs among the international musical elite. His recordings from the 1970's enjoy real cult status – unique interpretations of a cappella works from the Renaissance to the 20th century, from Gesualdo to Penderecki, released here for the first time in a single box.

Alamire with Fretwork, David Skinner - Thomas Tallis: Queen Katherine Parr & Songs of Reformation (2017)

Posted By: Designol
Alamire with Fretwork, David Skinner - Thomas Tallis: Queen Katherine Parr & Songs of Reformation (2017)

Thomas Tallis: Queen Katherine Parr & Songs of Reformation (2017)
Alamire with Fretwork, directed by David Skinner

EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 340 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 181 Mb | Artwork included
Classical, Renaissance, Choral | Label: Obsidian | # CD716 | Time: 01:15:36

English composer Thomas Tallis witnessed dramatic changes of religion under four monarchs, and his career accordingly represents the development of polyphonic church music in Renaissance England. Along with his student and fellow Roman Catholic, William Byrd, Tallis was one of the earliest composers to publish music under royal patent in England, and his works demonstrated the shifting doctrines and styles of liturgy in the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary I, and Elizabeth I. This 2017 Obsidian release features one piece with a text by Henry VIII's sixth and last wife, Katherine Parr, which gives the album its title, though the mix of Roman Catholic and Anglican pieces on the program suggests that "songs of Reformation" may be seen as one-sided. In any case, the performances by the vocal ensemble Alamire and the viol consort Fretwork put the emphasis on Tallis and his varied output, rather than on the theological preferences of royalty. The result is a well-balanced portrait of Tallis, and his choral music is given transparent textures and clear diction by the 14-voice choir, which maintains independence of parts while offering an evenly blended tone.

Capella Alamire, The Woodman Consort of Viols, Peter Urquhart - Nicolas Gombert: Motets; Chansons; Magnificat (2006)

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Capella Alamire, The Woodman Consort of Viols, Peter Urquhart - Nicolas Gombert: Motets; Chansons; Magnificat (2006)

Nicolas Gombert: Motets; Chansons; Magnificat (2006)
Capella Alamire; The Woodman Consort of Viols; Noël Bisson, soprano; Peter Urquhart, director

EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 290 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 160 Mb | Artwork included
Classical, Choral, Renaissance | Label: Naxos | # 8.570180 | Time: 01:08:15

It's always great to encounter the recording that can "crack" a composer open, making his or her music accessible to a general listening public. And it's all the better when such a recording comes from beyond the usual quarters, as, for example, with this American recording of Renaissance polyphony. Nicolas Gombert was a Flemish Renaissance composer, a successor (and possibly a student) of Josquin who entered the service of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. His music, especially in his masses, tends to present itself as a dense, unbroken flow of polyphony. Gombert is one of the composers music history students tend to slog through in hopes of getting to the good stuff. One noted Renaissance scholar used to refer to him, Adrian Willaert, and Giaches de Wert as "the Ert brothers." All that could change with this disc of Gombert motets and chansons. These works are less dense than his masses, but not by much, and they are considerably less limpid than Josquin's pieces in the same genres. But here it is the performances that clarify them. The Massachusetts ensemble Capella Alamire (the name is a pun on an aspect of an old solmization system) under director Peter Urquhart, recording in a church in Portsmouth, NH, slows the motets down slightly and addresses them with a group of eight singers – the black belt of choral singing.