The eight-voice Mass in D major which Giacomo Antonio Perti wrote in 1683 may be considered a typical example of music used during a solemn celebration in the Bailica of San Petronio in Bologna. The Basilica was one of the most important institutions of its time, being known for its acoustics (which result from its vastness) and for its tastes and tendencies toward excellence: more than a hundred performers were employed during major occasions. During Perti’s long term as music master of San Petronio, the institution experienced its most mature period, enjoying performances by instrumentalists, singer and composers of the highest quality. Perti’s mass reflects the traits of the mature language of the Baroque. Sections of the mass are written in an imitative-counterpoint style, inc ertato style, and in solo style. This youthful work was later reworked by the composer. The performance on this album was recorded live in the Basilica of St. Petronio; the performers were placed in the choir stalls (which took up the entire presbytery) just as the composer had indicated in the original score.

Classical Music

GRAMMY Award-winning composer Michael Daugherty explores three icons of 'The Greatest Generation', a turbulent period of adversity and achievement in the United States of America spanning the Great Depression of the 1930s through the Second World War. Mount Rushmore is a dramatic oratorio inspired by the monumental sculpture of four American presidents carved into the Black Hills of South Dakota. Radio City is a symphonic fantasy on the legendary Arturo Toscanini, who conducted the NBC Symphony Orchestra in live radio broadcasts heard by millions across America. The Gospel According to Sister Aimee is an organ concerto inspired by the rise, fall and redemption of religious celebrity Aimee Semple McPherson. Under the masterful baton of Music Director Carl St. Clair, the renowned Pacific Symphony is joined by Pacific Chorale, one of America's greatest choirs, and GRAMMY Award-winning organist Paul Jacobs.

Caroling is a tradition that goes back hundreds of years as a joyful part of the winter holiday season. Since the Eisenhower administration, the Singing Sergeants have been caroling at the White House each December for guests from around the country and throughout the world. In the spirit of that tradition, this album contains some of the band's favorites, including songs that tell the Christmas story, celebrate the Hannukah tradition, and inspire hope, peace and joy. All of the songs are performed in the a cappella tradition. Caroling, directed by Captain Chad A. Steffey, is dedicated to all of the men and women of the United States Air Force who are away from home during the holiday season.

This recording brings together eleven leading composers whose origins in or strong associations with Canada are manifest in their central position in Canadian musical life. In a program through which the power of tradition and faith flows strongly, themes are explored ranging from paradise and heavenly fulfillment to tragic loss; and from timeless hymn and psalm texts to an exploration of the brevity of human existence in the title work, I Saw Eternity. One of the finest chamber choirs in Canada and beyond, the Elora Festival Singers' 'must-have' (Gramophone) program of Eric Whitacre (8.559677) is just one of their many acclaimed recordings.

One of JS Bach’s most famous and loved masterpieces with the Portland Baroque Orchestra conducted by Monica Huggett. The double-CD package includes full texts and translations. (Avie)

Little is known about the life of Italian composer Niccola Monti, and unfortunately, much of his catalogue has been lost. This recording is the world premiere of all of his work that has stood the test of time. His high level of ability is seen in these works. Both of these works are connected to the Holy week, especially the “Miserere” which has been passed down orally from choir to choir, and is a unique heirloom of the community of Penne.

Winner of a 2022 Edison Klassiek Award!

‘A tribute of respectful affection, the expression of my sorrow.’ -Verdi about his Messa da Requiem

The Munich performances of Verdi's Messa da Requiem in October 1981 were concert events that have hardly been equaled since, let alone surpassed – so powerful were the chorus and orchestra, so strictly did the maestro keep his eye on the interpretation, and so superb were the renowned soloists - singers of international renown who gave their all to achieve the best possible result. And they all succeeded brilliantly.

Finally – four decades later - BR-KLASSIK can now present this absolute pinnacle in the performance history of Verdi's MESSA DA REQUIEM on album. The audience was spellbound and totally captivated, and there was glowing praise from the critics: the powerful work, they said, had hardly ever been heard like this on this side of the Alps; Riccardo Muti had demonstrated how Verdi's Requiem should sound; this performance of Verdi's requiem mass was authentic, frightening, tender and terrifying, providing a timid yet hopeful glimpse of transcendence; all in all, a truly resounding success. Wolf-Dieter Peter, a reviewer for the Mittelbayrische Zeitung in Regensburg (see booklet), was there at the time and reported how the extra trumpets positioned in the gallery of the Herkulessaal “blasted a glistening jet of metallic sound across the stalls, almost as if from the afterlife”. It was something, he said, that had "never been seen, heard or experienced like this before... simply unforgettable."

This recording won the 2022 Edison Klassiek Award - equivalent to the GRAMMYs in classical music in the Netherlands - in the category The Document, for an outstanding recording from the past brought forth in the present.

REVIEWS

This brilliant performance of Verdi's Requiem from 1981 voices heaven and hell, love and fear in a sublime synchronicity of conductor, choir and soloists. This live recording lets us hear what happens when everything comes together in an optimal way, namely eternal beauty.

--2022 Edison Klassiek Award Citation

At 35 José Carreras was nearly in the prime bloom of his voice; he sings the “Ingemisco” with style and no signs of operatic excess. Baltsa is also memorable for her musical, totally sincere performance. Nesterenko might not show much comprehension of the text, but he is vocally magnificent.

Jessye Norman is the revelation of the Munich performance. In the soft music she sings with tender delicacy, ravishing tone, and a total lack of the grand manner that would eventually develop. Her “Libera me” is completely secure—it strikes me as the equal for vocal glamor and thrilling high notes of the young Leontyne Price under Fritz Reiner (Decca). Norman doesn’t sound especially Italianate, but that’s a minor consideration, and in the “Libera me” Muti contrasts her intense emotion with hushed mystery from the chorus.

This all adds up to something unexpected, a new addition to the discography of this much-recorded—and much revered—work that deserves to stand beside the classics from any era. That it sounds so splendid is more than welcome, perfectly rounding out a must-listen that no lover of the Verdi Requiem should miss.

 -- Fanfare

BR Klassik has released this live recording of Verdi’s Messa da Requiem to mark the forty years since its performance in October 1981 in the Herkulessaal, Munich. Riccardo Muti’s set of performances conducting the Chor und Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks was greatly acclaimed by audiences and critics alike and were the maestro’s first appearances in the Bavarian city. One does wonder why such an outstanding recording wasn’t released much earlier.

For this performance, Muti assembled an impressive roster of soloists. At the time, the late American soprano Jessye Norman was completing the first phase of her career that had been predominantly based in Europe and had mainly involved oratorios and solo recitals. In 1981, Norman was in her mid-thirties and still a year off making her first USA opera appearance. She excels in the Requiem, her soprano sounding fresh and clean with an unaffected purity and an uncommonly focused projection. Concluding the work is the lengthy Libera me, rather like a complete opera scena. Norman convincingly intones the prayer for absolution followed by the chorus imploring the merciful Lord for his forgiveness on that awful day of judgement with the wrath to come. In particular, the section Requiem aeternam dona eis with chorus is beautifully achieved by Norman, gloriously soaring seraphically to her high notes without strain and ending in a hushed whisper.

A late replacement in the part, Spanish tenor José Carreras was also then in his mid-thirties and in his prime. Featuring in many Verdi opera performances and recordings, Carreras is noted for his passionate expression and the beauty of his voice. In the Ingemisco the tenor implores God that on the last day of judgment, He will forgive his sins and grant him mercy. With his voice in such splendid condition Carreras might well be singing an opera aria, yet he delivers the sacred text with dedication, retaining reverential conviction.

Renowned Greek mezzo-soprano Agnes Baltsa was no stranger to Munich, having undertaken part of her training in the city. In 1980 she was honored with the title of Kammersängerin of the Wiener Staatsoper. Under Muti’s baton, in the Liber scriptus section of the Sequentia, the resolute Baltsa gives her all, standing out in a performance of real passion.

The bass role is taken by the Moscow-born Yevgeny Nesterenko. A member of the Kirov, in 1971 Nesterenko joined the Bolshoi, becoming renowned as a leading bass in the company. A greatly experienced singer, his unaffected voice isn’t as weighty and voluminous as many basses, yet it can produce color and displays a talent for expression.  He is best heard in the Confutatis maledictis where his grayish tone attains a fulfilling level of menace that isn’t overplayed. Prepared by British chorus master Gordon Kember, who was new in the role, the glorious-sounding and well unified Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks provides an invaluable contribution.

Muti’s conducting communicates a palpable sense of occasion, producing a performance that achieves at turns extreme beauty, bitter sorrow, fierce intensity, and sacred awe. Striking in magnificent opening of the Dies irae, the large forces come together for a compelling and full-blooded depiction of Judgement Day.

Recording in the renowned acoustic of the Herkulessaal the sound engineers provide splendid clarity and balance, astutely capturing an atmosphere that feels ideally suited to the sacred text. (By the way, additional trumpets were positioned at the rear of the hall gallery). There is an essay ‘Intensely Gripping’ by Wolf-Dieter Peter, and a summarized version of a conversation between recording producer Wilhelm Meister and recording engineer Martin Wöhr. Latin texts with English translations are included in the booklet.

Overall, this 1981 Muti performance of Verdi’s magnificent Messa da Requiem has convincing impact. Standing out is the spine-chilling dread of the Dies Irae that contrasts markedly with the inspiring and consoling elements of the score. It is simply top drawer.

--MusicWeb International (Michael Cookson)

Claudio Merulo is an interesting and significant Renaissance figure. In his lifetime, he was perhaps best known as a fine organist and an innovative composer. In 1557, having already been organist at the Old Cathedral of Brescia, he became organist at St. Mark’s Venice, where he remained until 1584. In 1587 he was appointed organist at Parma cathedral, where he is buried.

His organ works are innovative often contrasting sections of contrapuntal writing with passagework. There is something very vocal about his organ pieces – he was a close student of madrigals. Works published in his lifetime were principally organ pieces.

The masses on these discs are dominated by the organ. Short choral sections are interspersed with longer pieces for organ solo – this is no mere accompaniment. The schola sings largely in cantus firmus, that is, without polyphony. Think in terms of a modification of plainchant and you are close to the sound. This permits text to emerge clearly. An oddity is the use of tropes, for example in the Gloria of the Missa Virginis Mariae. This is an addition to the prescribed text of the liturgy and is historically interesting. The Council of Trent would forbid such additions, and Gregory XIII, in the revised Missal of 1577 upheld the ruling. That said, this mass seems to come from 1568, so we have an example here of practice at an important transitional point in liturgical history.

Performances here are interesting, with a certain stark beauty. The acoustic of Verona Cathedral gives some depth. The organ is rather closely recorded, but one is very aware of the mechanism – the sound has an authenticity. The performances by Federico Del Sordo are thoughtful with some lively playing. The two choral groups, The Nova Schola Gregoriana (eight male singers) and In Dulci Jubilo (eight female singers) sing separately, each with understanding and precision. A slight oddity is some difference in pronunciation. In the opening of the Kyrie of the Missa Apostolorum, the men sing the Kyrie Eleison as ‘el-ay-ee-son’, while the women in the Missa Virginis Mariae prefer ‘el-eye-ee-son’. In both cases, diction is clear throughout. Both groups have appropriate reverence for the meaning of the text.

There are other recordings of Merulo Masses, notably on Naxos (Naxos 8.553420-1 8.553335-6 and 8.553420-1), two 2-disc sets, both with Spanish forces, and coupled with other works. The current recording does not lose in the comparison. There is no scholarly agreement about how to reconstruct these works, and it is valuable to hear alternative ways of reconstructing these scores. This recording provides a fine experience and, at Brilliant Classics prices, is well worth exploring.

– MusicWeb International (Michael Wilkinson)

This recording arguably contains the best representation of the Anglican hymn tradition that's possible to include on one 76-minute CD. Yes, there are hundreds of other candidates--a couple of my favorites are "missing"--but for anyone who knows and loves this vast and varied repertoire that's carried congregations and individual souls through centuries of life's trials and triumphs, prayers and celebrations, private moments and public sharing, these 21 selections will please the ear and stir countless emotions. The list is too long to mention all the hymns here, but among them are "O God, our help in ages past", "The King of love my Shepherd is", "When I survey the wondrous Cross", "A mighty fortress is our God", "Christ the Lord is risen today", "Be thou my vision", "Morning has broken", "Amazing grace", "Christ is made the sure Foundation", and my all-time favorite, "Love Divine, all loves excelling". A pleasant surprise is a hymn with words and music by John Rutter himself. Titled "Eternal God", it was composed in 1999 "with the aim of augmenting the meager stock of hymns that make mention of music . . . as gifts of God." It's a beauty, and it should easily find a home in the standard repertoire. In familiar Rutter programming fashion, the hymns are grouped in categories, such as "Hymns from the Psalms", "Invocations", "Passiontide and Easter", "Folk Hymns", and "Evening Hymns". There are several chants--"Pange lingua", "Veni Creator Spiritus", and "Let all mortal flesh keep silence"--and the arrangements by Rutter are imaginative and appropriate to each hymn's message and musical character. Some are a cappella, some use harp, others are accompanied by brass and/or organ, timpani, and percussion. Rutter's acclaimed Cambridge Singers are in top form and the acoustics of the Church of St. Alban the Martyr, Holborn, are generously responsive. Sing ye heavens, indeed. This is heavenly singing--and heavenly music. --David Vernier, ClassicsToday.com

William Mathias was one of the foremost British composers of the 20th century and one of the very few of his generation from Wales who established an international reputation. The lively Christmas sequences Ave Rex and Salvator Mundi contrast with the splendor and tenderness of the rarely-performed anthem An Admonition to Rulers. Also included are the joyful Wassail Carol, the popular organ solo Toccata Giocosa, and premiere recordings of All Thy Works Shall Praise Thee and The Lord's Prayer - respectively the composer's first and last choral works.

This lovely performance from the Taylor Festival Choir presents two very different but both profoundly spiritual arrangements of the Catholic Mass. Both of these works display their composers’ strong Celtic roots. Celtic Mass by Michael McGlynn includes sections in Irish Gaelic between the traditional Latin phrases. Mass by James MacMillan sets the movements in English, and includes other liturgical texts that make the work acceptable for a stand-alone service. The Taylor Festival Choir, conducted by Robert Taylor, has earned itself a strong reputation for being one of America’s most prestigious professional choirs.

Verdi begun composition on his Messa da requiem on the occasion of Gioachino Rossini's death and finished it following the death of nationally revered writer Alessandro Manzoni; It received a full performance in 1874 and was an instant triumph. The work itself is stylistically varied, dramatically operatic in some parts and tending toward sacred polyphony in others. This classic recording features the excellent Rundfunkchor Leipzig conducted by the famed operatic and symphonic conductor, Giuseppe Patane.

I’m sorry to say it but these days my heart usually sinks when I receive a disc that includes Allegri’s Miserere. I’m sure it’s an irrational and unfair prejudice on my part but I find the piece repetitive and it’s definitely over-exposed on CD. However, there are two reasons for making an exception here and welcoming its inclusion on this new disc by the Vasari Singers. The first is that it’s very well sung. The second is that’s it’s an integral part of an especially well thought-out programme.

This is a programme of connections, one of which is the commissioning, by Harry Christophers and The Sixteen, of a setting of the Miserere by James MacMillan specifically to complement the Allegri setting. MacMillan succeeds brilliantly in fulfilling the request for his piece to be complementary and it’s very good to hear the two settings side by side, as here. Allegri uses three different choral strands in his setting: the full choir, plainchant verses sung by one or more male voices, and a distant semi-chorus. Some recent recordings I’ve heard opt to have the chanted passages sung by a lone male cantor and that works very well, providing extra contrast. Jeremy Backhouse adopts the more usual approach and has a group of men singing these verses: they do so with impressive unanimity. The semi-chorus is ideally distanced and very impressive they are. The top soprano ornaments some of the phrases. She does so tastefully and these decorations add variety. This is a very successful performance.

James MacMillan didn’t seek to replicate Allegri’s three-strand approach – wisely, I think; that would have risked pastiche. However, he does vary his choral textures most resourcefully during the setting. His piece is expertly imagined for the voices and the music is very responsive to the sentiments expressed in the text. I like very much the way that several times MacMillan writes passages that remind us of Allegri’s setting – yet he writes these sections without compromising his own compositional voice. This is a fine homage to the earlier setting and the Vasari Singers do it very well indeed.

The Allegri and MacMillan pieces are linked, albeit across the centuries. There’s a link also – and one that is much closer in time – between the pieces by Pizzetti and Malipiero that open the programme. They had been good friends but had fallen out – the fault lay with Pizzetti, it seems. In 1937 they patched up their quarrel and, as a gesture of reconciliation, they agreed both of them would write a setting of the De Profundis, each dedicating his piece to the other. Malipiero composed his eloquent setting for a solo baritone accompanied by viola and piano. In this performance an organ is used instead of a piano and, quite honestly, I find it hard to imagine that a piano would be preferable, given the nature of the music and the organ’s sustaining power. Here the baritone is Matthew Wood, a member of the Vasari Singers. He’s very impressive; his voice is well-focused and pleasing in tone and his diction is admirably clear. I enjoyed listening to him very much and the husky tone of Jon Thorne’s viola makes a very attractive addition to the texture. The other interesting feature of the accompaniment is an optional part for bass drum. It’s a very discreet part but Daniel Burges, a member of the choir, gauges the part perfectly so that it adds an unexpected colouring to the piece without intruding.

Pizzetti’s setting, for which he uses a shorter and somewhat different version of the text, is for seven-part unaccompanied choir. It’s very beautiful and Jeremy Backhouse and his singers do it full justice. We should divert for a moment from Pizzetti’s music to consider the small piece by Puccini, which I don’t recall hearing before. It was composed in 1905 to mark the fourth anniversary of the death of Verdi. It’s for chorus accompanied by viola and organ. The viola adds a plangent tone to the texture, which is most effective. It’s a short and largely unassuming piece and, in a programme of links, it merits its place because the second time the piece was heard was at a 1924 memorial service for Puccini at which Pizzetti delivered the eulogy.

It’s Pizzetti who provides the most substantial work on this disc in the shape of his 1922 Requiem for unaccompanied choir. This very beautiful piece is something of a rarity in performance though it’s been recorded at least once before. That recording is a superb Hyperion version by the Choir of Westminster Cathedral and James O’Donnell, made as long ago as 1997 (CDA67017). I don’t see that Hyperion disc as a competitor to this new Naxos recording; rather, the two CDs are complementary. One reason is that the programmes differ: The Westminster Choir, who also include Pizzetti’s De Profundis, offer music by Frank Martin as the remainder of their programme. The other, more important factor is that the two choirs offer very different – and equally valid – listening experiences. The Westminster choir is all-male with trebles on the top-line and they’re recorded in the spacious acoustic of Westminster Cathedral. So by listening to them and to the Vasari Singers we can get two nicely contrasting views of Pizzetti’s eloquent Requiem.

There is a pronounced flavour of plainchant in the music and that’s evident right from the start of the Introit. From the basses’ chant-like opening phrases the music soon flowers into lovely polyphony, which is beautifully sung here, the sopranos radiant. There’s a full setting of the Dies Irae and the tone of a lot of the music may come as a surprise. The opening, which is again chant-inspired, is very subdued, basses and altos singing the text while the tenors and sopranos float wordless melismas over the melody. These melismatic phrases recur several times during this movement, which is by some distance the longest in the work. There are several impassioned outbursts when the words justify such treatment but the prevailing mood is that of a prayer for forgiveness. The concluding lines, ‘Pie Jesu Domine, dona eis requiem. Amen’, are set to the most gentle music imaginable. This deeply affecting though brief passage is tenderly sung.

Pizzetti divides his choir into three four-part groups - one female, two male - for the Sanctus. This is memorable, the complex textures creating a ‘buzz’ of sound. The ‘Hosannas’ are ecstatic. The music for the Agnus Dei is texturally much simpler; it’s a gently prayerful setting which the Vasaris sing with great sensitivity. Unlike, say, Fauré or Duruflé, Pizzetti chooses to end not with a setting of In Paradisum but with Libera me. This predominantly dark text is marked to be sung ‘with profound fervour’. This is troubled, unsettled music though there is a serenely beautiful passage at the words ‘Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis.’ The very end of the work sets words about God judging the world by fire; a far cry, indeed, from the vision of the angels leading the departed soul into Paradise with which a number of Requiems conclude.

Pizzetti’s Requiem is a work of great beauty and sincerity and it deserves to be far better known than it is. This sensitive and expertly sung performance by the Vasari Singers can only help its cause.

Over the years I’ve heard quite a number of recordings by this choir and I’ve been consistently impressed. However, I fancy this disc may be just about the best thing they’ve ever done. A thoughtfully conceived and interesting programme has been flawlessly executed. The singing not only gives consistent pleasure but also prompts admiration. The recording has been produced by Adrian Peacock and engineered by Will Brown; they have achieved excellent results. Finally, Brenda Moore’s notes are very good indeed. I hope it will not be long before the next Vasari Singers disc and in the meantime I urge you to try this one, especially if you don’t know the Pizzetti Requiem – or even if you do.

– John Quinn, MusicWeb International

Classical Music

Conducted by Christopher Bell, Chicago’s Grant Park Chorus, “as fine a symphony chorus as any to be found anywhere in the nation” (Chicago Tribune), makes its a cappella CD debut with an all-American program of eight imaginative, moving, and sometimes whimsical works written between 1975 and 25, including four world-premiere recordings. Premieres include Abbie Betinis’s Toward Sunshine, Toward Freedom: Songs of Smaller Creatures. Lee Kesselman’s Buzzings: Three Pieces about Bees offers vignettes based on Emily Dickinson poems. Paul Crabtree’s Five Romantic Miniatures is a set of affectionate tributes to characters from The Simpsons animated TV series. The chorus made its commercial recording debut performing with the Grant Park Orchestra on the 211 Cedille Records release The Pulitzer Project, which attracted international attention. Chicago’s New City said the CD “spectacularly showcased” the chorus’s “remarkable transparency and flexibility.”

Classical Music

Three original works by contemporary American composers, Andrea Clearfield, Jennifer Higdon and James Primosch, all based in Philadelphia, are featured on the new CD recording of performances by Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia. All three works were commissioned by Mendelssohn Club and premiered in concert with the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia over the past five years.

Under the dynamic leadership of artistic director Alan Harler, Mendelssohn Club has demonstrated a major commitment to new music, commissioning nearly fifty choral works over the past two decades. METAMORPHOSIS is the first recording of all original commissions in the 138-year history of the chorus.

Classical Music

Import Hybrid-SACD pressing.

Choral Concert: William Ferris Chorale – HOVHANESS, A. / COH

This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.

By Bach's time, the Reformation had fundamentally altered the traditional forms of church service, and in German churches Latin had yielded to the country's own language. To a limited extent, however, the Latin mass text did remain in use in the Protestant church – in particular the Kyrie and Gloria sections, which were often set to music as an entity in their own right. Albeit incomplete, this form of mass setting was termed ‘Missa’, a name it retained even in Bach’s day. Nowadays, to differentiate them from complete settings, these pieces are often referred to as 'Lutheran Masses'. Bach's famous Mass in B minor, later expanded into a complete mass, began its existence as a work of this type, and four other examples from Bach's pen have survived. They all make extensive use of earlier compositions, and the two masses on the present disc consist entirely of so-called parodies: reworkings of arias and choruses from cantatas, in which Bach demonstrates his skill in adapting existing music for new uses. Performed by Bach Collegium Japan – who under the direction of Masaaki Suzuki have already recorded the original settings as part of their acclaimed cantata series – the Missae BWV 235 and 236 are here combined with four separate settings of the Sanctus, another section of the traditional mass that in Bach's time could be heard in the churches of Leipzig during important feast days. Two of these are original compositions, whereas BWV 241, and possibly also 240, is an arrangement of a setting by another composer. The 'Kyrie – Christe' BWV Anh. 26 is also an example of how Bach in his task of providing the music for church services used music by other composers. In this case he turned to a movement from a mass by his contemporary Francesco Durante from Naples, but adapted it for his own purposes by composing a new setting – a duet for soprano and alto – of the Christe eleison section, labelling it 'Christe di Bach' in his autograph.

Review:

Suzuki's solo 'A team' are out in force and generally deliver excellent and communicative quasi-arias...The choruses are perhaps a touch less well-heeled and defined than usual, in both consistency and balance, but Collegium Musicum Japan compellingly advocate both Masses as well as the festive Kyrie and Sanctus settings.

– Gramophone

Classic Thanksgiving: Songs of Praise, It's Thanksgiving Day as I write this. The music on this CD is great for Thanksgiving, or any time of the year. "Praise My Soul," "Immortal, Invisible," and "Ave Verum Corpus" are particularly well done. The Halifax Choral Society has a nice, clear sounds. My only criticism is the omissions; how could you not have "We Gather Together" on a Thanksgiving CD?! "Now Thank We All Our God" would have been apposite as well. On the other hand, there are very few CDs devoted exclusively to Thanksgiving, where Christmas CDs are a dime a dozen, so this is a must-own. In addition, fans of Holiday music, English hymns and Baroque concertos will enjoy it at any time of the year.

Much decorated by his native country, António Pinho Vargas, originally best known for his jazz performances, is now one of Portugal’s leading classical composers. His instrumental and film music has won numerous awards, and his chamber works have been performed by some of the world’s leading ensembles. In turning to the sacred, Pinho Vargas has crafted music of moving declamatory power. He has organized Judas into five specific scenes with an epilogue, whilst the Requiem is a very personal and powerful reply, in the composer’s words, ‘to a history of numerous works of the past’.

Thierry Lancino' vast Requiem is a challenging and eloquent contemplation on human mortality which the composer describes as 'both an epic fresco and sacred ceremony'. in a paradox which brings the Christian into dialogue with the Pagan, Lancino presents.