Handel's Messiah needs no introduction. This mighty yet majestic masterpiece is the most popular oratorio ever written and includes, arguably, the most famous chorus of all time-the iconic Hallelujah! Handel was a master chorus writer and for Messiah he certainly pulled out all the stops, placing the choir front and centre throughout. Although it has become synonymous with Christmas, Messiah was originally written as an Easter offering, bursting onto the stage of the Musick Hall in Dublin in April 1742. Taken from it's Award-winning 2008 complete recording of Messiah (COR16062), this collection from The Sixteen celebrates the wonderful choruses that have given so many singers, both amateur and professional, such joy and inspired an enduring love for this epic work.

Like his Pulitzer-winning work the little match girl passion, David Lang's 'poor hymnal' tries to get to the core of what a religious experience can be. "What I love about hymnals," the composer writes in his liner notes to the CD, "is that they're a catalog of things a community of worshippers can agree on - a catalog that can be sung. And what the worshippers are singing about matters." 'poor hymnal' is a concert-length work written for the multiple GRAMMY Award-winning chamber choir The Crossing, conducted by Donald Nally. Lang constructed the text by stitching together lines, phrases and poignant utterances from sources as varied as the Old Testament, Mahatma Gandhi and Tolstoy - to name just a few. As Lang explains: "This piece is trying to say: The reason we are coming together is to remember how important we are to each other, and to remember how important it is that we take care of each other."

Rodney Lister's Choral Works: A Journey Through Text, Harmony, and Expression Rodney Lister's choral compositions represent a remarkable synthesis of literary sensitivity, harmonic sophistication, and an abiding commitment to vocal expressivity. This recording offers a collection of Lister's works composed over several decades for the chorus of Greenwood Music Camp, a summer program with which he has been deeply involved as a composer, pianist, and mentor. The repertoire featured here provides a rare and illuminating perspective on the evolution of his choral writing, spanning from early diatonic and modal explorations to later works of greater harmonic intricacy. Lister's deep engagement with text is evident throughout this collection. Drawing upon poets such as Wallace Stevens, Gertrude Stein, and others, his settings bring out the rhythm, colour, and nuance of the language in ways that feel both natural and revelatory. Early works embrace clarity and directness, allowing the shape and syntax of the poetry to guide musical decisions, while later pieces exhibit a denser harmonic language that reflects his affinity for figures like Virgil Thomson and even the chromatic daring of composers such as Gesualdo. Throughout, his choral textures remain vibrant and varied, capable of both luminous transparency and rich complexity. A defining characteristic of Lister's music is his ability to balance tradition and innovation. He employs familiar harmonic structures yet subtly subverts expectations, allowing triadic formations to shift and realign in ways that create an ever-changing sense of musical space. The result is music that feels both grounded and pleasingly unpredictable, continually engaging the listener in an unfolding dialogue between stability and transformation. His approach to choral writing is informed by his experience as both a composer and pianist, ensuring that every line is singable, every phrase thoughtfully shaped, and every harmonic progression imbued with a keen sense of dramatic pacing. This recording not only highlights Lister's distinctive compositional voice but also captures his deep personal investment in the choral medium. His long-standing association with Greenwood Music Camp and other ensembles has allowed him to refine his craft in a setting that fosters both artistic rigor and communal engagement. The performances here reflect that intimate understanding between composer and ensemble, bringing his works to life with clarity, warmth, and expressive depth. For those interested in contemporary choral music that bridges past and present, intellect and emotion, structure and spontaneity, Lister's choral works offer a rewarding experience.

The first album from the Choir of St John's with their new music director - Christopher Gray. Leaning into the college's well-established tradition of championing new music, at the heart of the programme are two triptychs: James MacMillan's Cantos Sagrados, composed 35 years ago, and Joanna Marsh's Echoes in Time, commissioned by the College in recent months. There is also a new choral work by Helena Paish and a new organ work by Martin Baker alongside existing works by Roxanna Panufnik and Dobrinka Tabakova. The commissioned works were conceived with the distinctive environment of St Johns' Victorian chapel (designed by George Gilbert Scott and consecrated in May 1869), it's organ and it's fine, world-famous choir which has done service since it's post-Restoration establishment in the 1670s.

The Bevan Family Consort return with a selection of choral works celebrating the season of lent and passiontide, including a world premiere recording of of the six-voice Lamentations by Alfonso Ferrabosco the Elder. The programme follows the liturgy from the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday to the darkness of Holy Saturday. For each day of Tenebrae, they've included a setting of a Lamentation. "Recording an album with the family is always moving, but this one was especially so because of the theme of the music... Like previous albums, this one contains well-worn family favourites beside newly-discovered or un-recorded rarities, thanks to our in-house editor and arch-polyphony enthusiast, Francis... We hope you enjoy our selection and that it can be a prayerful accompaniment to the Lenten season." - Michael Bevan

Their fifth release on Signum Classics, the "engaging" (New Yorker) men's vocal en- semble Cantus present a collection of songs cycles by contemporary and living com- posers, exploring different kinds of journeys through song. "These contrasting song cycles share an embrace of change, growth, acceptance and renewal, and through the collective experience of their journeys - great and small, painful and magical - we gain a clearer picture of life and of ourselves" - Cantus

The three short movements in "Aspects of Snow" are united by the theme of snowy landscapes depicted in the poems and also share concentrated musical material. The piece was written in 2012 and premiered the same year by the Malmo Academy of Music Chamber Choir under the direction of Mats Paulsson. Else Lasker-Schuler (1869-1945) was one of the leading German writers in the decades after the turn of the century. She became famous for her expressionist poetry and her colorful performances. After the Nazis took power, she was persecuted and abused but managed to escape via Switzerland to Jerusalem, where she settled for the rest of her life. The short poem "Die Dammerung holt die Sichel" can here surround the prose sketch "Nachtregen" ("The Night Rain"). The work is written for choir a cappella and solo viola, which functions as a wordless voice in the vocal folds. The work was composed in 2018 and is dedicated to Erik Westberg and his vocal ensemble. The suite "Seelenherbst" ("Autumn of the Soul") for mixed choir and percussion was composed in 2021-22 and is based on a selection of poems by Luise Buchner (1821-1877). During her time, Buchner was a noted author of novels, short stories, and poetry. However, she probably became best known for her debate book "Die Frauen und ihr Beruf", which was printed in several editions during her lifetime. She also worked to ensure that the works of her late older brother Georg Buchner, including "Wozzeck", would be published. Luise Buchner's poetry has a personal romantic- symbolist touch where nature, special places, and environments reflect and relate to people's inner experiences and changing moods. Sometimes the picture expands with questions about the individual's place in the universe. The chosen poems form a suite of five movements, where the two outer move ments that frame the work depict a jour ney from winter to autumn, while the three middle movements are evening and night moods of different characters. This work is also written for and dedicated to Erik West berg and his vocal ensemble. "Långt i forsvunna tider" ("Far in By gone Times") takes it's starting point from three songs by Wilhelm Sten hammar, "Stjarnoga", "Flickan knyter i Johannesnatten" and "Vore jag ett litet barn". I selected these songs because they were more open to new musical angles due to their close connec tion to the Swedish folk song. Stenhammar 4 is here himself both freer in his use of har mony and in his part-writing, something I have underlined and partly reinforced. I have also placed the songs in surround ing wordless material as contrast and musi cal reflection, and here and there gaps also open up inside the songs when new material is used as contrast. Swedish Radio commis sioned the work for the 150th anniversary of Wilhelm Stenhammar in 2021 and the Swedish Radio Choir premiered it under the direction of Erik Westberg. / Staffan Storm

The concepts of Romanticism and Late Romanticism steer our thoughts towards musical epochs, but the selection on this CD is based on a word art that encompasses romantic notions and experiences such as sorrow, joy, love, anxiety, despair, expectation, and longing that have existed in all times. This CD features, for the first time, recorded works by the young composer Alvin Vikman's five-movement piece The Japanese Seasons, Agneta Skold's Dar blaklinten slog en bro, and a bouquet of songs by composers active from the mid-1800s, Laura Netzell and Valborg Aulin. For over two hundred years, the interest in choral singing has inspired choral compositions of many different kinds. It has laid the foundation for the utilization of words and tones for the human voice, which has fostered cohesion, community, and musical innovation. Therefore, the compositions of Ludvig Norman, Jorgen Jersild, and Alvin Vikman show a continuity in humanity's need for words and tones to collaborate, regardless of the epoch, giving us n

The Living Fire is a celebration of choral music written for or associated with Jesus College, Cambridge. Featuring several premiere recordings of contemporary choral works by emerging composers, this album highlights the artistry within the College whilst honouring it's rich musical legacy. At the same time, it looks forward: the impetus behind this project was to provide a platform for emerging artists from within the College community to showcase their work. This project holds particular significance for several Choir members since, among the lyricists and composers, are former ensemble members. Their deep connection to the group has allowed for the creation of choral works uniquely suited to individual voices and our corporate strengths, making these world premieres all the more fitting. Many of the other contemporary works on this album are staples of Choral Evensong, beloved by the Choir and heard in Chapel services for many years. This album is a celebration of the bright future of music at Jesus College, the Choir's integral role in this special community, and it's broader contribution to the development and enjoyment of choral music globally. © Benjamin Sheen

This production is dedicated to the works of two American composers, of whom Morten Lauridsen is certainly the better known in Germany. His choral work O magnum mysterium (1994) in particular has become one of the hits of contemporary choral literature in recent years. Lauridsen (born 1943) grew up in Portland, Oregon, the son of Danish immigrants. The songs of Jerome Kern, Cole Porter and Richard Rodgers were very present in his home. He initially studied English and history and worked as a fireman. He then turned his attention entirely to music and moved to the University of Southern California, where, after graduating, he taught music theory and later became a professor of composition. As a creator of primarily vocal music he received many awards, including the National Medal of Arts in 2007. From 1994 to 2001, he was composer in residence with the Los Angeles Master Chorale, one of the leading professional choirs in the USA, which also premiered his Lux aeterna. All five movements of this cycle refer to the "Eternal Light". While Lauridsen was setting the underlying liturgical texts to music, his mother was dying - but the words about light as a universal symbol of all-encompassing enlightenment gave him consolation. Jake Runestad is one of the latest additions to the list of great American composers and is in the process of securing his place in US music history. Born in 1986 in Rockford, Illinois, he grew up in a family that sang a lot. There was also a piano, and during his primary school years he began to play little melodies on it - also teaching himself Scott Joplin's The Entertainer. From 2009 to 2011, he studied at the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University, after which he quickly gained recognition, especially in the field of choral music. However, his catalogue of works also includes operas, orchestral pieces and chamber music. He has received commissions from the Washington National Opera, the vocal ensemble VOCES8 and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, among others. His first album, The Hope of Loving, was immediately nominated for a Grammy Award. A keen mountaineer and camper, Runestad finds nature a great source of inspiration. In his Earth Symphony, Mother Earth herself is given a voice; the five interrelated sections deal with her destruction, her sorrow, her healing, and also her hope for humanity.

My enthusiasm for Volume 1 in the Bach Collegium Japan's cycle of Bach's cantatas continues here in a program that includes a work (BWV 131) based on conductor Masaaki Suzuki's favorite psalm, number 130. (In the notes to the first volume Suzuki candidly declares how important his Christian convictions are to his interpretations, and describes his relationship to Bach as "fellows in faith"). Though thematically based on the depths and multitudes of sin, Bach's settings here are not entirely solemn--nor are Suzuki's spirited renderings. The opening selection, Gott ist mein König, begins with a striking choral "Gott!" followed by enough resounding brass and percussion to simultaneously excite the layman and instill joyous consolation among the faithful. Bass Peter Kooy's more somber though equally compelling fourth-movement aria "Tag und Nacht ist dein" couldn't be more lovely; as the singer muses over God's omniscient reach, he's partnered by a lingering melody that anticipates the composer's famous Sinfonia in C. Likewise countertenor Yoshikazu Mera shines in his brief aria "Durch mächtige Kraft", accompanied only by a trio of trumpet, organ, and timpani.


Arguably one of Bach's most angst-ridden cantatas, Aus der Tiefe rufe ich Herr, zu dir gets a reading that equals if not surpasses Günther Ramin's legendary 1952 account (a statement heretofore unimaginable). Though nearly as dramatically slow in tempo as Ramin, Suzuki often subtly mutes the choir, which heightens the overall impression of humility, misery, despair, and lifelong repentance. Also unlike Ramin, who unfortunately had only less-than-accurate editions at his disposal, Suzuki includes an additional soprano (Midori Suzuki) whose sublime laments beautifully complement Kooy's second-movement aria.


From Bach's so-called "Mühlhausen period" (where he held the post of organist at Mühlhausen's Church of St. Blasius) his Actus Tragicus funeral cantata (Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit) remains his most popular and oft-recorded work. While long-standing favorite recordings include such diverse readings as Karl Richter's grand Munich Bach Orchestra modern-instrument performance and the Collegium Aureum's much more intimate original-instrument account, Suzuki again successfully combines the best of both approaches. The famed opening instrumental sonatina couldn't be more graceful and appropriately suggestive of another world. As well, tenor Gerd Türk and countertenor Yoshikazu Mera deliver exceptionally lovely performances, particularly in the third-movement choral. This Actus Tragicus surely is one of the best, if not the best currently available (both of the recordings mentioned above are scarce imports). BIS again complements Suzuki's achievement with state-of-the-art sonics and engaging and informative booklet notes by Suzuki and Tadashi Isoyama. Highly recommended. [3/5/2003]
--John Greene, ClassicsToday.com

The Washington National Cathedral Choir (comprised of the Choir of Men and Boys, and the Choir of Men and Girls) is one of the few cathedral choirs in the United States with an affiliated school in the English Tradition—and this is their first recording on Gothic with their new director, Michael McCarthy. Appointed in 2003, McCarthy was the founding director of the London Oratory School Schola. The Schola recorded for the film scores of both The Lord of the Rings film trilogy and the Harry Potter film series. McCarthy brings a fresh approach to Benjamin Britten's Ceremony of Carols, and delightful readings of many other Christmas carols. One of America's finest Anglican choirs! - Gothic Records

Benjamin Britten: A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28
Britten: A Hymn to the Virgin
Richard Rodney Bennett: Suanni
arr. Robert Lucas de Pearsall: In dulci jubilo
arr. John Stainer: What child is this
Kenneth Leighton: Lully lulla
arr. Sandys, Bramley & Stainer: I saw three ships
Morten Lauridsen: O magnum mysterium
John Rutter: There is a flower
Peter Warlock: Bethlehem Down
Peter Wishart: Alleluya! A new work is come on hand