Kansas City Chorale, Phoenix Bach Choir - Eternal Rest - Phoenix Bach Choir, Kansas City Chorale
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Artist: Kansas City Chorale, Phoenix Bach ChoirComposer: Jaakko Mantyjarvi
Composer: Frank Ticheli
Composer: Frank Martin
Composer: Rene Clausen
Conductor: Charles Bruffy
Edition: Music CD
Format: Hybrid SACD - DSD
CD Release Date: 2006-11-21
Music Label: Chandos
Soundtracks:
- Andante, Rubato. 'Lux Aeterna Luceat Eis, Domine' - Andante Pesante. 'Domine, Miserere, Domine - Andante Pesante. 'Domine, Miserere, Domine' Con Moto...
- Tempo Rubato
- Kyrie. Lent
- Gloria. Calme Sans Tratner
- Credo.
- Sanctus
- Agnus Dei. Andante
- Sostenuto
Music reviews of Eternal Rest - Phoenix Bach Choir, Kansas City Chorale
Music Review: The Best Choral CD I've Heard This Year
Rating: 5 Stars
There is little question that I'll run out of superlatives before I get to the end of this review. I was so taken by this CD that features the combined forces of the Phoenix Bach Choir and the Kansas City Chorale that I was actually daunted by the prospect of writing a review that would do it justice. I finally decided I had to jump in and let the plaudits fall where they may, even if the review risks sounding breathlessly sophomoric.
If nothing else this disc proves the assertion that one doesn't have to live in the largest metropolitan centers to hear absolutely top-rank choral singing. Both these professional choirs are directed by Charles Bruffy who, over the last twenty years, has made a real name for himself in American choral circles. This CD can do nothing but elevate his and the choirs' status further.
The disc contains four relatively unknown works. Probably the best known, but hardly known for all that, is the Mass for Double Choir by the Swiss composer Frank Martin, written when he was fairly young and before his harmonic language became more advanced. It is a half-hour work that magically combines Renaissance polyphony with post-impressionist harmonies. It was obviously written with the resonant acoustics of a cathedral in mind; harmonic motion is generally slow, with the ethereal harmonies hanging in the acoustic space and occasionally blurring ecstatically. The Gloria is especially striking in this regard; instead of being a spirited song of praise, it is a musing, introspective meditation on the glory of God. The 'et incarnatus' section of the Credo is mystical, hushed, ecstatic. The Sanctus is quiet, incorporating a haunting descending figure on the words 'sanctus, sanctus, sanctus' ('holy, holy, holy') but when the text reaches 'pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria tua' ('Heaven and earth are full of your glory') the choral sound, rarely above a mezzo forte up to this point, bursts forth in exuberant praise, all the more effective for the previously sparing use of loud dynamics. The beginning of the Agnus dei has a medieval ars antiqua feel that becomes, at 'miserere', a veritable wail of pain, before it resolves into quiet acceptance at 'dona nobis pacem.' This is a powerfully effective work that deserves to be better known. It must be exceedingly difficult to sing, however, partly because it is a cappella (as is all the music on this CD), harmonically difficult to tune (although very easy for the listener to grasp), and requiring extraordinary breath control, especially for the lower voices who much of the time provide an organum, a harmonic plane supporting the sometimes seemingly disconnected upper harmonies. This is a gorgeous performance; it is hard to imagine it being bettered. I had heard a performance of the Martin Mass only once before, many years ago, and it made a lasting impression. I am thrilled to become reacquainted with it.
The CD begins with the Canticum Calamitatis Maritimae by Finnish composer Jaakko Mäntyjärvi (b 1963). It commemorates a 1994 Estonian maritime disaster in which 852 lives were lost. The work, 13 minutes long, combines the Latin words from Psalm 107 ('They that go down to the sea in ships') with words from the Requiem Mass and a Latin translation of a news report concerning the tragedy. This first track on the CD starts with over twenty seconds of silence out of which grows the quiet voice of a single woman's voice (alto Kira Z. Rugan) intoning what sounds like an Estonian folksong of mourning. Again, harmonic motion is extremely slow and the dynamic generally quite soft; the ability of the combined choirs to maintain pitch, centered tone and extremely long note values is eerily expert. A haunting work.
René Clausen is a choral composer and conductor well-known in American choral circles. His 'In Pace' concludes the disc. It is an eight-minute work honoring the victims of 9/11 [Correction: It was written to commemorate victims of the Holocaust]. The opening line, sung in Latin, is 'In peace I shall lay me down and take my rest' from Psalm 4, followed by 'If I surrender my eyes and eyelids to slumber, I shall sleep and rest' from Psalm 132. Harmonic language is not all that different from that of the Martin and the first time I listened to the CD I was not aware that the Martin had ended and the Clausen begun.
For me the most immediately appealing work (after the Martin) on the disc is Frank Ticheli's 'There Will Be Rest', written in 2000 after the death of the child of some friends. Its text is a lyrical poem by Sara Teasdale and Ticheli has used consolingly lush harmonic language. It is an immensely popular work these days, having aready been recorded several times. I am familiar with the recording of the Austin, Texas choir called Conspirare (whose most recent disc was just nominated for a Grammy) and I have to say that I much prefer the performance presented here by the Kansas City and Phoenix choirs largely because the work requires subtle blending and unending breath support at very soft dynamics, which these choirs provide in abundance. Indeed, one of the amazing things about these combined choirs is that even at the softest dynamics their tone always has body, a center and a spin, a very hard thing to do consistently. [In checking the Internet for more about Ticheli, I noted this from the composer about the present performance: 'Of the half dozen or so recordings of my piece, "There Will Be Rest", this is by far the best of them.']
Finally, a word about the sound on this hybrid SACD from Chandos. The engineering here is absolutely first-rate. In SACD the sound is spectacular, possibly the best choral sound I've ever heard on disc, and frankly sound on the plain stereo layer is not discernibly inferior to the SACD sound. I'm delighted to note that these two choirs are now recording for Chandos because one can rely on the label to give them top-notch production values. I understand that they will have a new release of music by Gretchaninov coming out some time in the next few months. Given the glorious blend (and the marvelous basses, particularly, so necessary for Russian choral music) of these combined choirs, I can only imagine it, too, will be marvelous.
Urgently recommended.
Scott Morrison
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Description of Eternal Rest - Phoenix Bach Choir, Kansas City Chorale
Category: Music » Classical Music » Various Format: CD Learn more about the CD format using Tower WIKI. Release Date: November 21, 2006 Label: Chandos RecordsClassical CDs
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