The third installment of this trailblazing series again showcases contemporary choral music, and once more, it is mesmerizing – mesmerizingly tonal and aesthetic. Cantonese-born Kong-Yu Wong introduces the album with Three Lyrics of Lu Fang Weng. The work consists of a prelude and three choral works based on poems by the 12th-century Chinese poet, which are so timeless in nature that they might well have been written yesterday. The poetic theme is continued with Gitanjali 1, Scott Anthony Shell's interpretation of spiritual poetry by mystic Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore. William Copper carries on the spiritual subject with his Ave Regina Caelorum, a beautiful example of compositional craftsmanship. Quite a unique take on what could be called a bel canto choral work, it dazzles with impeccable structure and intonation. Deborah Anderson is featured with two sublime compositions. Windows is a work for women's choir, based on a poem by a French priest. Colorado Prayer is scored for mixed choir and based on a text by a traveling minister. Mother of Exiles, written by Theresa Koon, aims not only to address the complex issue of immigration, but to offer a voice to immigrants who lack one. Hans Bakker strikes a philosophical note with Rat (English: "counsel"), based on a life advice-giving poem by little-known German mystic Joseph Anton Schneiderfranken. Even more metaphysical is his second featured work, Ich habe den Menschen gesehen (I have seen Man [in his deepest form]). Santiago Kodela's The Gulag Within may well be the most modernist piece on this album. Music at the Heart of Creation by Christopher J. Hoh aims to portray the centrality of music to both spiritual worship and to Life itself. Garth Baxter rounds off the album with Still Falls the Rain, a lyrical, powerful piece based on one of Edith Sitwell's best- known poems.

Contemporary sacred choral music has been central to the repertoire of Vasari Singers throughout its existence, and to mark its 40th anniversary it has selected a sequence of anthems, mostly with star-based themes, the vast majority of which are by living composers. The rich variety to be heard reflects the choir’s commitment to the genre, whether in the ecstasy of Ēriks Ešenvalds, the serenity of Jonathan Dove, the shimmering harmonies of Eric Whitacre, or the ethereal beauties of Paul Mealor.

John Rutter, Britain’s most successful contemporary choral composer, has written most of his sacred music to commission, and for use in church services. Composed for his first American tour, Gloria was also his first great international success, combining an ethereal quality with moments of exhilaration. Two other popular works are also represented: Pie Jesu from the Requiem, and This is the Day, composed for the wedding of HRH Prince William and Kate Middleton in 2011. John Rutter’s music is eclectic and shows influences of the French and English choral traditions of the early 20th century as well as influences from light music and American classic songwriting. Almost every choral anthem and hymn has an orchestral accompaniment in a more colourful form in addition to the standard organ or piano accompaniment. This new release coincides with the composer’s 75th birthday in24 September 2020 – a perfect moment to celebrate one of Britain’s most successful and internationally well-known composers of choral music.

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REVIEWS:

Rutter’s particular brand of polyphony, bright and optimistic yet surprisingly dense, offers many possibilities, and it is likely that even listeners not particularly enamored of Rutter will appreciate the artistry here. The lion’s share of that artistry comes from the Black Dyke Band, the preeminent member of the shrinking group of British brass bands. There are plenty of popular Rutter pieces here, including This Is the Day, composed for the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton in 2011. The Black Dyke Band ends with a collaboration on Rutter’s first big hit, the Gloria (1974), deploying the ideal Sheffield Philharmonic Chorus.

– AllMusicGuide.com (James Manheim)

Two musical pillars of Christmas in the UK are John Rutter and Salvation Army silver bands. While, with one exception, there are neither John Rutter carols here nor a Salvation Army silver band, we do have a disc devoted to the music of Rutter most of which is performed by one of Britain’s most famous (and finest) bands in arrangements by Luc Vertommen. And, as such, it seems to ooze Christmas, even there is only one item—What Sweeter Music—which has a direct Christmas connection.

The Black Dyke Band under their conductor, Nicholas Childs, plays everything with supreme polish and sensitivity, and exudes a silky smooth warmth and affection. Of particular beauty is their take on The Lord Bless You and Keep You, which has such a velvety softness that it seems almost to breathe with a human voice. Also exuding a truly almost vocal style of delivery is the delightfully creamy cornet of Richard Marshall, in the Pie Jesu. I am not so sure otherwise about this arrangement, with a tinkling glockenspiel adding a slight whiff of the fairground. Indeed, on the whole, Luc Vertommen’s arrangements have a slightly over-orchestrated feel, with his version of All Things Bright and Beautiful really far too fussy and action-packed to match the simple beauty of Rutter’s original. I suspect that without a band of such superlative control to play them, these arrangements would not work anything like as effectively as they do. However, they do work magnificently in this context, and while they hardly stretch the band and have, inevitably, a certain samey quality, the luxury of the playing ensures that the novelty of Rutter on brass never wears too thin. The one exception is Distant Land (A Prayer for Freedom) which takes on a decidedly Copland-esque feel in this instrumental-only arrangement.

Scored for choir, organ, brass and percussion, the Gloria of 1974 is so strongly redolent of Walton that it is sometimes difficult to spot anything distinctive in the music, especially given this performance in which Darius Battiwala is so keen to convey the mood of celebration and festivity that the moments of repose are largely swept away by the sheer exuberance of the music-making. One senses that the church in which this recording was made was possibly a little too small to accommodate such musical enthusiasm, and certainly the men of the Sheffield Philharmonic Choir seem to have pretty much tired themselves out by the time we reach the final Amen. But what the choral singing lacks in polish, is more than amply compensated for by the sheer joie-de-vivre of the performance and the sparkling majesty of the Black Dyke Band.

– MusicWeb International

Purcell’s genius abounds in this, the fourth volume in The Sixteen’s series devoted to the composer. Henry Purcell grew from young childhood to established professional adulthood in the service of Charles II. He identified strongly with the court, but he was well aware of Charles’s unreliability as a patron. Wisely, Purcell made an early decision to diversify, flaunting his court connections while building up the largest possible client base beyond the court. This programme shows that strategy in action and celebrates a diversity of writing for both professional Court musicians as well as amateur enthusiasts. “Christophers creates a vivid sense of celebration and occasion, conjuring blustering trumpet fanfares and drum-rolls from his ensemble.” (Gramophone)

A glorious choral Christmas collection of music from around the world! Through Chris de Silva’s incredible choral writing and inspired instrumental scoring, the themes of Christmas are exquisitely retold – those of light, darkness, shepherds, angels, heaven, earth, fear, wonder, peace, joy, silence, and sound. Chris de Silva’s formal, classical composition training shines through on each piece. From the joyfully powerful “Singing, We Come Singing” to the regal “The Child Is Born in Bethlehem” and the dance-like “Shepherds on to Bethlehem,” each of these eight pieces work beautifully as stand-alone choices for your choir’s Christmas celebrations. Together, the pieces would work well as part of a well-rounded lessons and carols service. For choral music lovers, the Mysterium recording will become one of your seasonal favorites!

The prolific young composer Jake Runestad has won numerous awards for his music, which ranges from opera to works for chamber ensemble. He is particularly valued for his choral compositions which exemplify a desire to write expertly crafted, socially conscious and emotionally potent music. On this album, Runestad explores a profound sea/life journey in The Secret of the Sea, and projects a powerful expression of grief in Let My Love Be Heard. Nature is a recurring theme for the composer and he employs texts that exalt the natural world, as well as finding seldom heard sound combinations in the exhilarating Ner Ner. Jake Runestad is one of the youngest composers ever awarded the Raymond W. Brock Commission from the American Choral Directors Association in 2018- the foremost commission available to composers of choral music in the USA. He is considered ‘one of the best of the younger American composers’ (Chicago Tribune) and this is only the second album of his music to be issued.

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REVIEW:

Each of these 10 works by Jake Runestad, written between 2006 and 2018, has a similar reverence for texts that touch deeply but gently on human issues and benefit from his imaginatively varied toolkit of resources. That he writes well for singers is enthusiastically proved by the all-volunteer Denver-based Kantorei choral ensemble and eight instrumentalists, and some fullblooded recordings.

– Gramophone

The English composer Christopher Wright, born in Suffolk in 1954, declares that he is 'not fettered by fashion, style, ideology or gimmickry or some insatiable desire to be original'; instead, he writes music that aims to communicate directly with the listener - although it can also be thorny and challenging. This first-ever album of his sacred choral music reveals it to be in the British-cathedral tradition of composers like Benjamin Britten, William Mathias, Bernard Rose and Malcolm Williamson: the melodic lines may on occasion be angular and the harmonies sometimes tart, but Wright's concern with immediacy of expression ensures that the 'personal prayers' embodied in these pieces can be readily understood and appreciated.

One of the least explored areas of Beethoven’s compositions is the miscellaneous sequence of canons, early exercises in counterpoint, mature jokes and jeux d’esprit that he wrote over many years. He composed a two-part canon for the composer Hummel in 1816 and in 1823 one for four voices (written in a tavern) for Count Lichnowsky. He also wrote birthday and Christmas greetings for colleagues and friends, and songs that punned on recipients’ names or poked fun at them. Viennese chamber choir Cantus Novus Wiendraws on an extensive repertoire of Baroque, Classical, and contemporary music, including a cappella choral music, oratorios by Handel and Haydn, and requiems by Mozart, Brahms, Verdi, and Fauré. Contemporary music is one of the choir’s focal points, including regular world premieres of commissioned pieces. The choir has been conducted by Thomas Holmes since 2001. Ensemble Tamanial is a vocal quartet based in Vienna, Austria. The ensemble was established to provide a place in which to grow and learn as musicians through undertaking soloist responsibility across a wide variety of musical styles, including Renaissance, Classical, Romantic and also in contemporary works. For these Beethoven recordings the ensemble have been working closely with Thomas Holmes as their musical director and wish to express their deep gratitude.

The Te Deum Chamber Choir was founded by Matthew Christopher Shepard in 2008 to fulfill an expressed need by both singers and audiences in the Kansas City area to present sacred choral music concerts of the highest quality. Te Deum performed its first concert in the spring of 2009. Since then, the chamber choir has built an impressive and varied repertoire that spans centuries of time and wide ranges of compositional style. In the fall of 2013, the chamber choir began its Antiqua Series, offering historically informed performances of repertoire from the twelfth to seventeenth centuries with a smaller roster. In addition to creating compelling performances of early music, Te Deum has been a champion of modern music. The chamber choir regularly commission new compositions, offers world premieres, and makes it a priority to give voice to music of the twenty-first century.

Conductor Paul Spicer and the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Chamber Choir return to SOMM Recordings with a ravishing, centuries- spanning recital of musical portraits of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Rosa Mystica takes its title from Benjamin Britten’s passionate setting of Gerard Manley Hopkins and forms the centrepiece of a programme ranging from the glorious Tudor polyphony of Nicholas Ludford’s motet Ave cujus conception via Bruckner’s dramatically contrasted Ave Maria to the Norwegian Ole Gjeilo’s apparently simple but sophisticated Second Eve, composed as recently as 2012. Two versions of the Magnificat are heard in George Dyson’s bewitchingly peaceful depiction of the Virgin Mary, composed just after the end of the Second World War, and Herbert Howell’s more troubled setting for Chichester Cathedral in 1967. The enduring fascination with and devotion to Mary in the modern era is represented by a diverse array of composers from the austere, hushed, mystical atmospheres of John Tavener’s Mother of God, here I stand, the jazz-Blues-accented Ave Maria of Carl Rütti, rich harmonic and colour palette of Judith Bingham’s Ave Virgo Sanctissima and Trond Kverno’s beautiful, unusual setting of Ave Maris Stella to Cecilia McDowall’s short but highly effective carol, Of a Rose. The RBCCC are joined by Spicer’s student in Birmingham, organist Callum Alger, currently an impressive young organ scholar at Westminster Cathedral. Paul Spicer and the RBCCC’s previous SOMM releases include Partsongs by Sir Charles Villiers Stanford (SOMMCD 0128), hailed by MusicWeb International as “indispensable listening for all lovers of British music” and The Glory and the Dream, choral music by Richard Rodney Bennett (SOMMCD 0184), to which Gramophone respectively extended an “enthusiastic” welcome as well as collections of choral music by John Joubert (SOMMCD 0166), Samuel Barber (SOMMCD 0152) and Herbert Howells (SOMMCD 0140).

Whether in his original home of Vienna, as a conservatoire director in Germany, or as an �migr� in Edinburgh, where he became one of the mainstays of musical life, Hans G�l (1890-1987) championed choral singing as a way of directly involving people in making music: he founded and conducted a number of choirs and provided an extensive output of choral compositions. This first volume in a long-term project to record his choral music presents a rich variety of works for a cappella voices, ranging from demanding eight-part choruses to charming folksong settings.

Beethoven's secular vocal works, many rarely heard today, were composed for a variety of reasons. Some were written for marriages, to mark the departure of a friend or to celebrate a name day, while others allude to Masonic imagery or set the words of great literary contemporaries, such as Schiller. The larger canvas of Mehrstimmige italienische Ges�nge reflects Beethoven's studies of Italian word-setting with Antonio Salieri, revealing insights into Beethoven's achievements during his early years in Vienna. Viennese chamber choir Cantus Novus Wien draws on an extensive repertoire of Baroque, Classical, and contemporary music, including a cappella choral music, oratorios by Handel and Haydn, and requiems by Mozart, Brahms, Verdi, and Faur�. Contemporary music is one of the choir's focal points, including regular world premieres of commissioned pieces. The choir has been conducted by Thomas Holmes since 2001. Ensemble Tamanial is a vocal quartet based in Vienna, Austria. The ensemble was established to provide a place in which to grow and learn as musicians through undertaking soloist responsibility across a wide variety of musical styles, including Renaissance, Classical, Romantic and also in contemporary works. For these Beethoven recordings the ensemble have been working closely with Thomas Holmes as their musical director and wish to express their deep gratitude.

Nobody has here a lasting place. This line from the spoken text of the Totentanz (Dance of Death) op. 12, No. 2 could serve as the motto for many of Distler’s sacred works. In particular, the motets of the “Geistli che Chormusik” (Sacred Choral Music) op. 12 deal pre dominantly with man’s transiency and his hope for salvation. Only three pieces, not included on the present re cording, deal with other themes. What significance does this all too familiar look at the here after, this “solicitation” for an escape from life have for us? Is this turning away from the world to be emulated, considering that it was set to music by someone who suffered badly from periodically recurring bouts of mental distress, by someone who was unable to deal with the political pressures in a time “in which God has apparently relinquished his power to the Evil One” (Distler), and in the end broke under the strain of this life? That it was not just a matter of inspiring hope in some thing unreachably distant can be seen in the text he wrote for his oratorio “Die Weltalter”: “The human being, in spite of all his faults, at the bottom of his heart still good and strong, summons the arms of the gods... Thus, humanity was saved once again from its imminent down fall through the mercy of the powers above, in that they granted mortals insight into the necessity of an unconditional reconciliation of human beings among them selves, between mankind and all living creatures, and above all between mankind and God.”

Günter Raphael was an extremely versatile and fruitful composer. He left behind numerous symphonic works, solo concerts, oratorios (requiem), solo songs, sacred and secular choral music, organ works and a particularly extensive chamber music oeuvre. His work is characterized by the constant creative engagement with tradition. In the course of time he found his style of distinctive idiosyncrasy, the lush sound and the polyphony equally committed. His music radiates a strong concentration, not least due to Raphael's eminent counterpoint and joy in memorable melody combined with rhythmic diversity and a clear sense of form. This seventh part of Günter Raphael Edition offers an insight into Günter Raphael's string quartet work, the composer created ten works in this genre, but only released four of them for publication. The idea for concert performances and recordings of the Raphael string quartets and the associated stay of the Australian Acacia Quartet in Berlin in spring 2017 came about due to the long-standing friendship between the first violinist Lisa Stewart and the founder of the Christine Raphael Foundation Fredrik Pachla, who are based in Cologne studied, and the quartet's long-standing interest in Günter Raphael's music. After intensive preparation in Australia, a stay of several weeks in Europe was realized. The first concerts in Sydney delighted audiences and musicians alike, and after further concerts in Berlin the present recording was made with three of Günter Raphael's string quartets: two early works and his last work of this genre, composed after the Second World War.

The title of the present selection of choral music from countries and epochs, Mirabile Mysterium (Latin for “Wondrous / Astonishing Mystery”), refers to the birth of Jesus Christ, by which nothing less than the incarnation of God is meant: out of love God renounces his almighty power and becomes a weak human being who like us is subject to suffering and death. Spiritual consideration of this mystery of faith, which the whole of Christendom celebrates every year at Christmas, has inspired composers of religious persuasions to write very special works. Along with the works specifically concerning themselves with the Christmas event and qualifying as Christmas songs in the stricter sense of the term, we also find, primarily at the beginning of the program, some genuine Advent songs. Even during what for Christians were pagan times, the word adventus (Latin for “arrival”) designated both the visit of a human ruler and the presence of a deity in his temple. As in the case of the visit of a state dignitary, certain spiritual exercises were undertaken in preparation for the visit of a god. As a result, the idea that an event begins already with its preparation was transferred to the spiritual sphere. The Church borrowed this concept for a period of inner reflection intended to convey an inkling of the incomprehensible gift granted to humankind in the miracle of Christmas. This program spanning six centuries offers us the opportunity to trace the history of the spiritual fusion of the Advent and Christmas seasons in music.

Uta Weyand’s latest album is devoted to music from the year 1892, played on an instrument made that same year. It recreates a very specific historical moment where the instrument and the music can be seen and heard as contemporary. German-born pianist Uta Weyand comes from a musical family. The daughter of a choir conductor and an organist, she grew up with choral music and the organ repertoire. During childhood she expressed her extraordinary musical talent not only at the piano, but also excelled at the violin, voice, and music composition. The Post and Courier (South Carolina) predicted her success, stating, “Weyand is a pianist of genius, who should have a long career.” And the Nuremberg News confirmed, “…especially admirable is her amazing ability to make the great Steinway sing and wrest many captivating colors from it.” After her studies in Freiburg (Germany), Baltimore, and Madrid, with Elza Kolodin, Vitaly Margulis, Leon Fleisher, and Joaquín Soriano, Ms. Weyand has had great international success, giving numerous piano recitals and appearing with orchestras in most European countries, Russia, Brazil, Cuba, and the United States.

Composer Matthew Peterson, nyckelharpist Josefina Paulson and the Uppsala Vocal Ensemble invite you deep into Swedish nature, literally and figuratively. Footprint Records is proud to present Fields of Light – an exploration of Sweden’s folk traditions, its distinctive light from dawn to dusk and the strain of melancholy that lies underneath its national songs and dances. Peterson’s mystical settings of verses by the Finnish poet Edith Södergran (1892-1923) range from nuanced, minor-key nocturnes to frolicking dances, all of them woven with the plaintive, resonant thread of Josefina Paulson’s nyckelharpa – the ‘keyed fiddle’ that is Sweden’s national folk instrument. In between, Paulson’s instrument leads renditions of Swedish folk songs for all seasons, sung in evocative arrangements. Peterson is an award-winning Swedish-American composer known for his work on both sides of the Atlantic. He describes Södergran’s poems as ‘lyrical and free, rich in color and detail,’ an apt description of his own atmospheric and deeply absorbing choral music, which uses much more than the vocal chords to evoke its broad, luminous landscapes. His works are sung here by a radiant, precise and beautifully blended Uppsala Vocal Ensemble under musical director and principal conductor since 2011, Sofia Ågren. In Josefina Paulson, the choir collaborates with one of the most respected exponents of the nyckelharpa and 2016’s World Nyckelharpa Champion. She joined the singers and Ågren in the warm acoustic of Bäringe Church to create a recording that combines atmosphere, resonance and perfection to magical effect.

This recording made by the Royal Holloway Choir celebrates the music of Ben Parry. His compositions and arrangements include the popular Faber Carol Book and a burgeoning catalogue of choral music for Peters Edition and Oxford University Press. He has enjoyed commissions from, among others, St John’s College, Cambridge, The Cathedral Choral Society of Washington DC, VOCES8, the BBC Singers, Chelmsford, Ely, Norwich and Worcester cathedrals, and his music has been heard at the BBC Proms and on the TV and radio. In this recording, he sets the words of poems by Garth Bardsley, who says about Ben’s work “all of my poems stand alone but given the Parry treatment, I know that they take flight.” The Choir of Royal Holloway is considered to be one of the finest mixed-voice collegiate choirs in Britain. Their recordings on the Hyperion label have attracted top reviews from all major music publications. The choir gives 50-plus concerts a year with a particular specialism in collaborating with living composers. The choir has collaborated, performed and recorded with many prestigious ensembles, including The King’s Singers, BBC Singers, London Mozart Players, Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, Onyx Brass, Fretwork, and the Britten Sinfonia.

Rudolf Escher (1912-1980) is without doubt one of the most original, intriguing and successful Dutch composers of the 20th century. In his youth he studied piano, cello, and composition with Willem Pijper in Rotterdam. During the war all his works were destroyed in the Rotterdam bombing. After the war he experimented with electronic music and came into close contact with Pierre Boulez and the serial techniques. In the end Escher developed his own highly personal music language. In Escher's music we hear echos of the Dutch polyphonists, Mahler, Debussy and Ravel. After the war, Escher remained true to his own musical language, never buckling under the force of the latest trend.

Escher had not yet turned 30 when, in the depths of the Second World War, he began the score which would at a stroke make him the most important living composer in the Netherlands. Premiered by the Concertgebouw Orchestra in 1947, Musique pour l'esprit en deuil (1941–3) – ‘Music for the grieving spirit’ – is a 20-minute score of intense, brooding pathos, inevitably overwhelmed by the shadow of conflict and a worthy counterpart to contemporary works such as Honegger’s Liturgique Symphony. Live recordings conducted by Eduard van Beinum and Bernard Haitink have been published, but this beautifully prepared studio recording is the work of their successor as music director of the Concertgebouw, Riccardo Chailly, who did so much to reconnect the orchestra with the music of our time during his tenure.

Musique pour l'esprit en deuil is paired here with the Concerto for String Orchestra (1947-48), which attracted the admiration of John Cage, perhaps more for its surprising points of serenity than its Bartokian passages of tension and exhilarated release.

Choral music occupied a significant place in Escher’s fairly slender output. As a teacher and writer on music, a painter and a poet, Escher first thoroughly absorbed the poetry he was setting to music, then carefully devised his treatment of the words to make them both singable and understandable. His choice of poets – Paul Eluard, WH Auden, Emily Dickinson – is notable for its response to text which makes the language new again. The same is true of Ciel, air et vents, a cycle of three songs to words by the 16th-century French poet Pierre Ronsard.

This 3-CD set is part of the reissue of the most celebrated recordings from the NM Classics label.

It was Stefan Zweig who wrote a particularly colorful description of Georg Friedrich Händel’s “Messiah.” In his “Sternstunden der Menschheit” he creates a living story from the spirit of the work, and in the process allows his readers to glance over Händel’s shoulders whilst he is composing. He revealed the timelessness of one of the most impressive compositions in the history of music. In September 2019, the Gaechinger Cantorey orchestra and chorus under their principal conductor and intendant of the International Bachakademie Stuttgart Hans-Christoph Rademann have recorded this epic work of sacred choral music at St. Margaret’s Church in Gotha, Thuringia, together with an excellent quartet of soloists.

SOMM Recordings is delighted to announce the release of an intriguing new recording, introducing the melodious, rhythmically vibrant choral music and songs of Penelope Thwaites. Featuring 19 premiere recordings, From Five Continents celebrates a lifetime of making music around the world to showcase Thwaites’ distinctive compositional signature. The album’s centrepiece, a moving new Missa Brevis, is coupled with four Psalm settings, songs influenced by the sounds of Indian and African music, folk-styles from the Americas and an evocation of the vast Australian outback. From Five Continents features three outstanding singers venturing into new musical territory. Making their debuts on SOMM are Carolyn Sampson – whose brilliant soprano ranges from shimmering choral solos to guitar- accompanied folk song – and baritone William Dazeley, who vividly conjures the inherent anger of the much-set Fear no more the heat o’the sun, one of five Shakespeare settings. Enveloped by drums and saxophone, tenor James Gilchrist returns to SOMM for a stirring tribute to Nigeria’s second-largest city, Kano. The composer herself provides exceptional accompaniment on piano throughout the album. Also returning to the label is Ex Cathedra under their inspiring conductor Jeffrey Skidmore to demonstrate again a rare versatility and the most beautiful of choral sounds while reveling in the punchy, rhythmic vivacity and telling colors of Thwaites’ music. Thwaites’ previous release on SOMM was the premiere recording of the concert version of her musical co-written with Alan Thornhill, Ride! Ride! (SOMMCD 017) which featured Keith Michell as the 18th-century religious and social reformer John Wesley. “The strength of Alan Thornhill’s libretto and the sheer variety of Thwaites’ music combine to create a compelling aural drama”, said Gramophone.

In celebration of Ludwig van Beethoven's anniversary year, Helmuth Rilling, alongside the Gachinger Kantorei Stuttgart and the Bach-Collegium Stuttgart, present these brilliant recordings of the composer's sacred works- the Missa Solemnis, the Mass in C major, and the Christus am Olberge op. 85. The recordings are some of Rilling's finest interpretations, recorded during the 1990s in Liederhalle Stuttgart, one of the most acoustically pleasing venues in Europe. These individual releases garnered worldwide acclaim and are now available in this special-issue triple album set. Helmuth Rilling, born in 1933 in Stuttgart, is a conductor, teacher and ambassador for Bach's music throughout the world. In 1954 Helmuth Rilling founded the G�chinger Kantorei, followed in 1965 by the Bach Collegium Stuttgart as it's instrumental partner. His intensive study of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach dates from this period. He has also contributed to the rediscovery of Romantic choral music and promotes contemporary music by regularly commissioning compositions.

Fresh from Navona Records comes QUOTATION OF QUERIES, featuring the students of Hong Kong Baptist University under the direction of Professor John Winzenburg. This collection of choral music explores notions of culture throughout the course of human civilization. It features traditional compositions, recent works, and even three debut recordings by prominent composers from Hong Kong and the United Kingdom. The album opens with “Prelude,” the first movement of Quotation of Queries by composer Chan Hing-Yan. We hear the knocking of a piano, and the sudden, vigorous vocalizations of the Cantoría Hong Kong. The music, which is set to classical Mandarin poetry, pairs Chinese folk traditions with dissonant modern sonorities. The translations of these “queries” include “What do you think human life is like here or there?” and “When can I just ignore the encumbrance?” Next comes John Browne’s setting of Aeschylus’s The Suppliant Woman, which borrows from both classical Greek drama as well as modern theater, with the chorus assuming the role of the story’s protagonist. Later on, we hear excerpts from Brahms’s 11 Zigeunerlieder (Gypsy-Songs), Op. 103, which offers a 19th century take on the challenge of blending of cultures through music. These are just a sampling of the album’s stylistic range. Those who listen to QUOTATION OF QUERIES will find themselves immersed in a deep pool of cultural and musical traditions, as curated by Professor John Winzenburg. These recorded expressions of powerful emotion told through a myriad of musical scales and languages, perhaps counterintuitively, confront the listener with our common humanity across time and space. Listeners should be warned, however, that they too may be left with more questions than answers.

Imagine a vision too wondrous for eyes alone – ‘the lady more brilliant than the sun’. ‘The lady’ is the Virgin Mary, and The Sun Danced is an ecstatic choral celebration of the Miracle of Fatima commissioned by the Shrine of Fatima for the celebration of the Centennial of the Apparitions in Portugal. Celebrated British soprano, Mary Bevan, features on this, the premiere recording. It’s no secret that James MacMillan’s profound religious belief drives his creativity, but music this powerful conveys a universal message, and the title of his new symphony Le grand Inconnu suggests many possible interpretations. Harry Christophers writes: ‘By calling his new Symphony ‘Le grand Inconnu’ James has given himself that freedom to explore the mystery of the subject matter and, with repeated listening, we, the listener, discover more and more within the music… From the barely audible breathing at the start of the symphony to the first forte that is so sudden and ecstatic that it produces one of those heart pounding moments. Everything is drawn together by James into a cornucopia of sheer virtuosity and brilliance.’

This outstanding program contains all of Edward Gregson’s significant works for Symphonic Brass, including the seminal Brass Quintet, the Symphony in two movements and Music of the Angels. (Chandos)