Sisto Reina is one of the many musicians from the Order of the Friars Minor Conventual who have greatly enriched the history of music. The diffusion of his music greatly exceeded the boundaries of the regions in which he was active: works of his are present in the archives of several Italian cities, and in Austria, Germany, Poland, Switzerland and England. The Armonia ecclesiastica, by Sisto Reina, published by Carlo Camagno in Milan in 1653 and dedicated to princess Angelica Luigia Mariana Gonzaga, nun in the convent of S. Paolo in Milan, is exemplary as regards the variety of forms, styles and languages that were typical of Italian seventeenth-century music, particularly in Lombardy. Michelangelo Gabrielli, Renaissance and Baroque repertoire specialist, directs the Concentus Vocum ensemble (from the Como Conservatory of Music) bringing this work to light in a world premiere recording.

Louis Spohr’s only mass is one of the most important works of post-classical church music. In this unaccompanied mass, Spohr combines in a harmonious way the contemporary interest in Baroque compositional techniques and his own search for an individual, modern compositional style. The Kammerchor Stuttgart under its conductor Frieder Bernius succeeds in bringing to life the numerous facets of the work in a particularly impressive way. As well as the mass, this release also includes the Three Psalms op. 85. These two works by Spohr have been interleaved for the first time in a recording: the three Psalms have been inserted in the relevant places, representing the positions of the Introit, Gradual and Offertory, resulting in a truly impressive experience for listeners.

The music of J.S. Bach's "St. John Passion", which the composer wrote for Holy Week in 1724, immediately after his appointment as cantor of St. Thomas's Church in Leipzig, still retains all its freshness and vitality nearly 300 years later, and is a true Baroque delight. The two main choruses "Herr, unser Herrscher" and "Ruht wohl, ihr heiligen Gebeine" form the beginning and culmination of a large-scale orchestral and vocal structure in which Bach reveals his absolute mastery of polyphony. Inwardly reflective chorales are as much interwoven into the events of the Passion as the haunting arias which comment on the biblical texts of the Gospel of St. John. Throughout this solemn Passion oratorio, there is a constant emphasis on Baroque musical magnificence. What makes this live recording of the concert version in March, 2015 so special? The fresh voices of the young and excellent vocal soloists, the regularly praised "astonishing three-dimensionality" and "crystalline clarity" of the Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks under the direction of Peter Dijkstra and, of course, the renowned period instrument ensemble Concerto Köln.

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.

Christmas carols are indeed numerous, ranging from church hymns from the Middle Ages to naïve children’s songs, pastoral pieces and festive Lutheran chorales all the way to spirituals and even pop songs. The repertoire is vast and constantly expanding- as is also clear from the wealth of requests received every year by the Office for Christmas Carols in the city centre of Graz, Austria. During Advent, and for over 25 years now, the Styrian Centre for Folk Music has provided valuable support and advice, helping people fill gaps in texts or remember forgotten melodies, and providing information on all issues concerning Christmas customs. The current album, with the Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks and the Munich Rundfunkorchester conducted by Howard Arman, is full of festive Christmas music. It contains a compilation of all kinds of different carols and songs from Poland, Greece, and Germany, as well as compositions by Vivaldi, Bach, Handel, Mendelssohn and Berlioz. Whether popular, traditional, sophisticated, or closer to pop music, the songs and the melodies radiate all the power and the charm of Advent and Christmas- bringing festive magic and a solemn grandeur to our modern, enlightened times.

Awarded a Golden Tuning Fork by Diapason Magazine!

Valentin Silvestrov is probably the best-known Ukrainian composer, and his Requiem for Larissa, now released on album by BR-KLASSIK, was written in response to the unexpected death in 1996 of his wife, the music and literature scholar Larissa Bondarenko. She had stood by his side from the very beginning of his artistic career. It was in 1999, shortly before the turn of the millennium, that Silvestrov was finally able to complete his Requiem.

He did not set a drama of the Last Judgement to music, as Mozart, Berlioz or Verdi had done before him, but rather wrote a lament - in seemingly endless, world-forlorn repetitions. The composer stepped out of the present and into the past, commenting on his life with Larissa with memories of music that had inspired her, and with profound allusions, retrospections and epilogues of the most personal nature. Silvestrov set the words of the Latin mass for the dead to music, yet he did not compose a mass in the sense of a liturgically close or ecclesiastically compatible piece of music. In his seven-movement requiem, the theological order of the Catholic requiem mass is irrevocably dissolved. As if religious gravity had been suspended, isolated words drift about freely and forlornly. The work begins and ends with "Requiem aeternam". At the end, only the wind rushes out of the synthesiser – and, at the very end, an echo of the wind.

REVIEWS:

Perhaps there’s never been a more apposite time for a Ukrainian Requiem. Composed in 1999, the piece is as deeply personal as it gets, being a response by the composer to the death of his wife, three years earlier. As such, it would be improper to seek to reappopriate the work as some kind of surrogate ‘Requiem for Ukraine’. Yet it’s difficult if not impossible, amid the ongoing violence to which Ukraine pointlessly continues to suffer, to listen to any Ukrainian music, particularly music expressing mourning, without some simultaneous reflection on a wider sense of loss.

The work is a refreshingly unusual take on what has become a bit of a hackneyed, even rather vainglorious concept. Silvestrov’s Requiem sidesteps the usual drama and pseudo-spiritual histrionics, for the most part showing disinterest to the familiar Latin text.

Of course, such a mindset stems from a vast, inconsolable mix of emotions, and signs of this manifest in the following Tuba mirum, where the pent-up tension turns volatile, causing turbulence. The words continue in a semi-disoriented stream, articulating an angry Kyrie not so much directed at a deity as hurled in its face. We soon become aware that, though the music is so tragically entrenched, we’re nonethless progressing through the conventional Latin text at surprising speed: less than halfway through this second section we’ve already heard Requiem aeternam, Kyrie, Dies irae, Tuba mirum, Rex tremendae, Recordare and Lacrimosa, each one reduced to a truncated utterance petering out in ellipsis.

...the subsequent Lacrimosa – how heard in its entirety – is a soft-edged return to reality, but again its language is pained, the solo soprano progressing one phrase at a time. There’s the distinct impression of an attenuated music, physicality hobbled, pulse fibrillated, coagulating into rising choral clusters as the bass sags and drags downward. We’ve moved into another form of stasis, cycling round and round, rising and falling. Again that paradoxical duality of infinity and the infinitesimal: of being locked into a single “day … of weeping”, stretching on forever.

The central movement, ‘Prochai svite, prochai zemle’ (Goodbye, o world, o earth, farewell), setting words by renowned Ukraininan poet Taras Shevchenko, both sits outside this traumatised immobility and also serves as another instance of imaginary escape from reality. Its blend of folksong- and chant-like melodic writing sounds dream-like, but is again articulated one phrase at a time, evidently still as pained and doom-laden as everything that preceded it, and its closing moments are an ominous indication that we are in precisely the same place as we were before.

The remainder of Requiem für Larissa, its final three movements, reinforce the same all-pervading stasis of grief. The Agnus Dei offers illusory evocations of Mozart that, drifting and drenched in reverb, sound even more hauntological than that glimpse of a memory in the Lacrimosa.

We’re back in darkness, and the final two sections fixate, again elliptically, on the Requiem aeternam text. The work’s conclusion, in keeping with its immobility, presents music heard previously: that radiant memory from the Lacrimosa, as lovely as it is heartbreaking, slowly evaporating, via timpani rolls and lone string phrases, into a blackness without end.

Performed by the Munich Radio Orchestra with the Bavarian Radio Choir, conducted by Andres Mustonen, this is a live recording from June 2011. It’s good that it’s not a studio recording, polished and honed; don’t get me wrong, it’s an absolutely superb performance, but a work like Requiem für Larissa benefits immensely from the vibrancy and tension that permeate the live experience. It’s not the first recording of the work, and i’m sure more recordings will come, but everything about this sounds definitive.

-- 5 Against 4

A remarkable piece, [here] handled with great delicacy and control.

-- Choir & Organ

The composition of the Requiem was a necessity for Silvestrov to come to terms with the unexplained death of his wife Larissa. That is why his work became a lament and not a drama of the Last Day. The endless, world-forlorn repetitions may be heard as a commentary on their life together, peppered with reminiscences, retrospectives and personal epilogues. Meanwhile, one may hear the work of this Ukrainian composer more generally also against the background of the war of Putin and the Russian army against the brother country with connotations of senseless murder.

For a good half century Silvestrov has had an independent style, which he himself calls meta-music and which one might locate close to Western neo-romanticism or post-modernism. The sweeping gestures still show mourning and the time of processing loss rather than reconsideration. The five-part chorus, rounded out with a basso profundo in the low register, and the soloists who come from it, make this mood, which lets nothing but dejection be heard, impressively clear.

In this recording of a concert that took place back in 2011, the orchestra finds more of an underlining role, where accents are also added. In some sections, including those in which a synthesizer is added, natural sounds such as wind, are also imitated, as well as the old, ideal world with Mozart sounds. Andres Mustonen keeps all participants in contact with the necessary freedom with good coordination in such a way that a very dense and impressive music becomes audible, which nevertheless does not let despair arise despite all the pain. The recording, produced by the Bayerischer Rundfunk technical department, together with the informative booklet, therefore offers a high-quality rounding off.

-- Pizzicato

After two successful albums on Signum Records, the American vocal ensemble Cantus present their first Christmas album, Into The Light.

The “engaging” (New Yorker) low-voice ensemble Cantus is widely known for its trademark warmth and blend, innovative programming and riveting performances of music ranging from the Renaissance to the 21st century.

REVIEWS:

“Into the Light” reaches into pockets of brightness and the anticipation of a happier New Year as the sun anxiously arcs back to longer days.

Cantus, an a cappella ensemble featuring the deeply rich resonances of eight distinguished male voices, ushers in the holidays most unconventionally. Though several favorites are represented, the status quo is turned upside down. A heavy investment of arrangements and adaptations surfaces and in the most extraordinary way. Rhythmic textures also cut across a wide range of grains, providing an irresistible élan. Note cutoffs, dynamics and tempos are immaculate while chording is uniquely contemporary and full of positivism…this is what adds such special luminescence.

As an example, Cantus captures the pulsating essences of Aguinaldo Carols with its jazzy verve. Christmas is nuanced inside Joni Mitchell’s 1971 bittersweet River which leans to the heavier gravity of the album, including the nostalgic We Toast the Days, penned by Minnesotan Linda Kachelmeier. A special treat is Chris Foss’ World Premiere take of Clement Clarke Moore’s epic poem that sparkles with quixotic notes and unusual vocal dynamics...this piece holds the listener in deep fascination, and it renders big smiles and a chuckle or two! On another dimension Reginald Bowens tips his hat to I Saw Three Ships, giving the traditional English melody a sassy Manhattan Transfer‑like lilt that lifts the piece onto the page of modernity. Traditional music from around the world is also respectfully represented. Occasionally Cantus utilizes an instrumental accompaniment, such as the guitar (and energized Children Go!) or the percussive woodblock (a spirited Mensaje de Paz) that adds to the album’s variety.

Cantus brings thoughtful reminder of hope and happiness as we glance inside the portal of the future. Though a minuscule light beams at this time of year, the apex will broaden as we ring in 2023.

Cantus is a shining, pulsating octet…perfect in precision, innate in integration.

-- ConcertoNet

Their fourth Christmas release, BBC Music Magazine Award winning choir Tenebrae return under the expert direction Nigel Short with a sumptuous album of Carols, Hymns and other celebratory works for Christmas.

Tenebrae is regularly engaged with the world’s finest orchestras – appearing regularly with the Academy of Ancient Music and Aurora Orchestra – and has performed at major festivals and venues including the BBC Proms, Edinburgh International Festival, Leipzig Gewandhaus (Germany) and Melbourne Festival (Australia). ‘Passion and Precision’ are Tenebrae’s core values. Through its continued dedication to performance of the highest quality, Tenebrae’s vision is to deliver dramatic programming, flawless performances and unforgettable experiences, allowing audiences around the world to be moved by the power and intimacy of the human voice.

REVIEWS:

The variety of carols is enchanting: Tenebrae includes pieces by authors from the twentieth century (such as Ralph Vaughan Williams, Benjamin Britten, Elizabeth Poston and Herbert Howells), from the nineteenth century (such as Edward W. Naylor) or contemporary (such as Owain Park , Joanna Marsh, Joseph Phibbs and Joanna Forbes l'Estrange), all well-contrasted samples of Christmas music. Short — who presents a new version of Britten's work, A Ceremony of Carols op. 28, a piece full of charm perhaps because of the mystery of the ancient texts—he has done an exceptional job with the musicians in his choir, accompanied by Camilla Pay's harp.

Highlights include the delicate That Yongë Childe ('That little boy'), with a solo of Joshua Davidson—former chorister of the St. John's College—as well as an exquisite duet of soloists Grace Davidson and Martha McLorinan in Spring Carol and the enchanting This Little Babe, in a lyrical and dynamic interpretation of the female voices to the rhythm of the harp. Pay's imaginative and personal interpretation of the interlude deserves a commendable mention. The voices of the choir have been very successful in performing Advent music, such as Marsh's In Winter's House, composed in 2019 for the tenors and basses of the Tenebrae Choir, and the beautiful Advent 'O' Carol by the composer Forbes l'Estrange. Likewise, the version of the traditional Christmas carol The Truth Sent from Above, arranged by Ralph Vaughan Williams, has the splendid baritone Joseph Edwards as soloist.

With his plurality of perspectives, Nigel Short offers a very coherent proposal not only for his varied repertoire but also for the rigor with which he synthesizes the knowledge he has acquired at the head of the Tenebrae Choir.

-- Sonograma

Cappella Amsterdam and its artistic leader Daniel Reuss present their third Pentatone album with a recording of Alfred Schnittke’s Psalms of Repentance. Schnittke composed the piece in 1988 to commemorate the Christianisation of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus in 988, and based it on anonymous Russian texts from the 16th century about guilt and repentance. It is one of the most impressive large-scale works for a cappella choir written in the twentieth century, setting intensely emotional texts to equally expressive music, and approaching centuries-old Orthodox musical traditions through the lens of late twentieth-century music. This recording uses the original manuscript, which differs in multiple ways from the published score, resulting in an interpretation that aims to be closer to the composer’s intentions. Since its foundation in 1970, Cappella Amsterdam has shown an exceptional mastery of contemporary and early vocal music, with acclaimed excurses to Romantic repertoire as well. Daniel Reuss has been Artistic Leader of Cappella Amsterdam for over three decades now, and has worked with several renowned choirs and ensembles. Their PENTATONE debut album In Umbra Mortis (2021) won an Edison Klassiek Award, and was followed by David Lang: the writings in 2022.

A fantastic collection of American choral classics ranging from Thompson’s sublime Alleluia to the terrific choral arrangement of Gershwin’s Summertime from Porgy & Bess. Conductor Robin White’s excellent arrangement of the traditional Shenandoah balances the programme nicely along with Copeland’s "I bought me a cat". This is a surprising and entertaining collection. Alban Voices is a chamber-choir formed over 20 years ago by Robin White and his late wife, Freda, originally as a relief choir for services in St. Albans Abbey. It has always been an ad-hoc grouping, drawn together as and when required: many of the current members sing regularly in London’s top symphonic choirs. Among other appearances, it featured most notably in a pivotal episode of the BBC TV soap opera EastEnders in December 2003. More recently, the group’s recording of Robin’s original Christmas song, Light of the World, accompanied by the Royal Ballet Sinfonia, has been well received, and was played on Scala Radio and Classic FM in the run-up to Christmas 2022.

Robin White trained at Imperial College, London and the Royal College of Music, studying conducting with Vernon Handley and orchestration with Bryan Kelly. He has conducted open-air, pop-classics concerts at National Trust and other venues across the south-west of England and the midlands. He has also worked with leading soloists such as John Lill, Christopher Warren-Green, Alexander Baillie and Emma Johnson in concerts in Bristol and the Channel Islands. His 1992 recording of Edwardian light music for Chandos Records was played extensively on Classic FM.

The MDR Leipzig Radio Choir and its artistic director Philipp Ahmann present a collection of Felix Mendelssohn’s choral music, which arguably represents the pinnacle of German nineteenth-century religious music. Ranging across psalm settings, motets, Latin verses, the Deutsche Liturgie as well as the ethereal chorus Denn er hat seinen Engeln befohlen, which was later adapted and incorporated into his oratorio Elijah, the album highlights the unique stylistic range and expressive power of Mendelssohn’s choral output. A unique addition to the programme is the world premiere recording of Heilig, MWV 47. The music on this album seamlessly integrates stylistic traits of Palestrina and Bach, remnants of Jewish cantor practices, as well as the Romanticism of Mendelssohn’s time.

Generally considered one of the best choirs in the German-speaking world, the singers of the MDR Leipzig Radio Choir are proficient in this repertoire, written by a local musical giant whose music is deeply ingrained into the cultural soil of their city. The MDR Leipzig Radio Choir and its aristic director Philipp Ahmann return to Pentatone with this a cappella album following their acclaimed recording of motets by Anton Bruckner and Michael Haydn (2021). The choir has also taken part in a Pentatone release of Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis (2017), as well as numerous opera recordings released by the label. A San Francisco Classical Recording Company production in association with MDR Klassik.

REVIEW:

The Leipzig Radio Choir gives us 16 choral works like 16 suns, all consisting of sacred music...some of [Mendelssohn's] works were intended for the Protestant church, such as Op. 78, and others for the Catholic church, when he was in Rome, and some more for Anglican services, such as Op. 69. Taking as models Bach and Palestrina, all his work has something grandiose, and even more so when he combines the choir with the soloists, or writes for eight voices. The album offers, along with works with more versions available such as those published during the author's lifetime with an opus number, other works that are worth listening to because they do not detract in quality, such as Die Deustsche Liturgie MWV B 57, a sung mass with his Kyrie for double choir, Gloria for double choir and four soloists, and a Sanctus (Heilig) also for double choir.

The versions are wonderful, with the addition that the soloists are members of the choir itself. The balance of the voices, and how Ahmann allows the music to breathe so that it is intelligible, manage to make listening a delight, even when there is a reasonable doubt about how many voices the ideal choir should have for this style. And, as an added gift, a world first is included: a Heilig MWV B 47, for eight voices.

-- Ritmo

Chorus sine nomine, founded in 1991 by Johannes Hiemetsberger, is one of the most distinguished and innovative concert choirs in Austria. On this CD, the choir presents motets by Anton Bruckner. Bruckner simply called them sacred choruses, as the reason for their composition can usually be traced back to a liturgical occasion. The six works on the CD correspond to such liturgical interludes: Graduale (Christus factus est, Locus iste, Os justi, Virga Jesse), Offertorium (Ave Maria) and a hymn for the Good Friday liturgy (Vexilla regis). As an organist, Bruckner was admired above all for his improvisations. He was particularly admired for his high contrapuntal skills, in which he demonstrated his craftsmanship in fugue and imitation. The style of the fugal parts of his improvisations was based on Baroque patterns (such as Handel), while in other, more imaginative parts the tonal language of his organ playing became increasingly typical of Bruckner. Martin Haselbock establishes this connection to Bruckner with his organ improvisations.

Svend Simon Schultz (1913-1998) is one of the most remarkable Danish composers and as a conductor he made a significant contribution to Danish songs, not least during his 30 years as head of the Danish Radio Chamber Choir. He was constantly composing and wrote music for movies, chamber ensemble and especially for choir. Svend S. Schultz made a stamp on Danish choral music which is still beaming today. His songs are known by every Dane and his production probably one of the most encompassing of all Danish composers. This is the third CD of a project to record all his nearly 90 choral songs, all of them musically and technically on the highest possible level.

With this new album, the Euridice Choir, Bologna achieves a major objective with regard to the divulgation of some choral works by two authors, Ildebrando Pizzetti (Parma 1880 - Rome 1968) and Giorgio Federico Ghedini (Cuneo 1892 - Genoa Nervi 1965), who are at the top of the history of 20th century Italian choral music; unfortunately most of these masterpieces seldom find place in concert programs and are, by consequence, little known. These compositions are set on very different stylistic sides) but their musical quality outlines a clear profile of the expressive depth and aesthetic consistency of Italian choral music from the early 1900. The imposing polyphonic structure of Pizzetti's Requiem and the "neo-Madrigalism" (as defined by Massimo Mila) adopted by Giorgio Federico Ghedini are based respectively on the suggestions of Gregorian chant and on the stylistic modules of the Renaissance compositional heritage, whose recovery constitutes the founding cornerpiece of this music.

Armonico Consort present their next instalment of works by Franceso Scarlatti, this time his only surviving oratorio 'Il Daniele nel Lago de'Leoni' or Daniel in the Lions' Den. Scarlatti's Daniele conforms in all general aspects to the typical Sicilian oratorio of the late-seventeenth century, which was itself closely modelled on Roman practice: four or five singers inhabit character roles, without a separate narrator, together with a chorus often consisting of the soloists singing in ensemble.

Coming soon

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 phrase 'Baltic music' is not just a label, but a key that unlocks the rich creativity of composers living around the Baltic Sea. However, it is more than a specific style, mood, or aesthetic. It is about a diverse landscape of Baltic music, each piece being a unique story of individual experience, desire, and reflection of identity. The Baltic identity manifests itself in the most diverse ways, as a cultural tapestry that is both engaging and intriguing. The album Baltic Prayer opens up part of this landscape, united by the motifs of peace, and a conversation with oneself, others, or God. Works by the Lithuanian composers Anatolijus senderovas and Jurgis Juozapaitis, by the Latvian composer Peteris Vasks, and by the Estonian composer Arvo Part, are presented. Next to them are some stylistically close compositions by the Norwegian star of choral music Ola Gjeilo, the British composer John Tavener, and the Ukrainian Myroslav Skoryk.

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

Tuma was a renowned mid-18th-century Vienna musical figure. He was primarily lauded for his sacred works, written either in the strict polyphonic stile antico or in the more modern figural style. The current album, a new instalment in Czech Ensemble Baroque's series of Tuma recordings, focuses on specific types of liturgical pieces from the composer's later creative period. The lustre of the vespers and litanies (Vesperae de confessore, Litaniae Reginae martyrum), designated for performance on major feast days, is enhanced by natural trumpets and timpani. The album includes one of Tuma's eight surviving settings of the famous medieval sequence Stabat Mater. Furthermore, the composer wrote a great many instrumental pieces in which he applied elements of the modern galant style, while also embracing techniques characteristic of Italian and French music. The grandiose and lavishly instrumented Ouverture in C contrasts starkly with the more modest Sinfonia in d, based on the Neapolitan opera sinfonia, and the Partita in g, which, just like Stabat Mater, have survived within a music collection in Vienna. The pieces Tuma wrote during his late creative phase provide ample proof of his compositional mastery and ability to blend the old and new stylistic trends, with the result being remarkable sacred and instrumental music. With the exception of Stabat Mater, Czech Ensemble Baroque present all the works featured on this album in modern-day premiere. Tuma's meridian sacred and instrumental pieces - more gems in modern-day premiere

Composing for voice is a passion for me, and as a result the largest part of my catalogue is music for voice. The human voice - possibly the most subtle, complex, and fragile yet forceful carrier of musical ideas and meanings - has always been an inspiration for my musical thinking. I strive for craft, clarity, and passion. The carefully sculpted music and poems of Far Past War develop a labyrinth of musical interrelationships and connections that showcase the choir and musicians in a virtuosic display of their emotional palette, strength, clarity, and majesty. The opportunity to collaborate with my sister, Cammy Thomas, has been a highlight of my life. Music's eternal quality is it's capacity for transformation and renewal. Together, we have created a work that celebrates the unsurpassed power of nature, and it's potential to move us toward peace.

The last album with the current line-up, The King's Singers present a new album of choral music from the early 20th century, with a feature from sopranos Grace Davidson and Victoria Meteryard. "Such stuff as dreams are made on is an exploration of European choral music from the early 20th century (and a bit either side), much of it shaped and scarred by the spectre of conflicts that dominated the continent in that period. For us, the album has been a chance to develop and exercise new and different colours in our singing, to dive deeply into text-centric interpretations and historical context, to savour and cherish the four languages in which we sing here, and - in one instance - even to expand our forces a little. " - The King's Singers PRAISE FOR SIGCD912 CLOSE HARMONY 5 stars "The current line-up of King's Singers demonstrates their continued pre-eminence with these outstanding recordings of often very difficult arrangements. The Singers deliver with their usual mix of charm and skill" - Choir & Organ

This new album by the award-winning Latvian Radio Choir conducted by Sigvards Klava - recently hailed by the New York Times as 'astonishing', 'superlative' by the BBC Music Magazine, and 'perhaps the finest chorus singing today' by NPR - is focused on the sacred choral works by one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era, Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847). This recording of the Psalms also includes the world premiere recording of Ehre sei dem Vater published by Carus Verlag in 1997.

In an age of resurgent conflict and frenetic demands on our attention, Angel of Peace offers a slice of tranquillity in many forms courtesy of luminous, purifying music traversing six centuries. This album centres on the power and beauty of poetry in music, bringing together the exquisite simplicity of the songs of 12th-century Abbess Hildegard of Bingen with John Taverner's joyous large scale antiphons composed some 400 years later. Leap forward to more recent times and we hear new settings by Will Todd and Anna Clyne of words by Cardinal Newman and Rainer Maria Rilke. Commissioned for solo violin with choir, both works heighten the intensity of the poetry through the fascinating musical dialogue between strings and voice. Arvo Part, marking his 90th birthday, brings us full circle with his serene clarity. These timeless voices resonate with our deepest need for stillness and with each work we hope to share a moment of peace and connection through the timeless language of music.

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.