Scored for 24 unaccompanied voices, Anonymous Man is an hour-long piece that expands on Michael Gordon’s eclectic approach to composition, layering minimalistic swirls of vocal sound on top of one another to create a hypnotic incantation. Gordon drew inspiration for the piece from his neighborhood in lower Manhattan. “When I moved into my loft on Desbrosses Street, the streets were empty, since few people lived there. But both then and now, there were the homeless. Over time, the neighborhood changed from an industrial warehouse district to a residential area. Anonymous Man is a memoir about my block. The piece is built around my memories of moving in, meeting my future wife for the first time there, and conversations I've had with two men who made their home on the loading dock across the street.” Performing this tour de force is the Philadelphia-based choir The Crossing. Conducted by Donald Nally, The Crossing was formed by a group of friends in 2005 and has dedicated itself to expanding the contemporary choral music experience through commissions, collaborations, community, and performances that are characterized by a distinctive unity of sound and spirit.

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REVIEW:

Michael Gordon's Anonymous Man is a major work from a major composer in the so-called Minimalist camp. It is a personal reflection on home and homelessness, life and death, and being with and without. It has to do with living in his NYC neighborhood from the time it was a largely abandoned industrial zone through to its gentrification. It is about several homeless men who lived across from him there.

It has pulsating sections and others that gently overlap themselves within themselves. The mood is thoughtful. Time passes and backtracks. There is the inexorable, somehow.

The Crossing are the ideal group to make of this music something special. And they do. It is not music that is self-evident or predictable, even if you know Michael Gordon’s music well. It is the opposite of banal, yet it expresses an experience of things filled with a sameness. It is filled with a ruminative facticity that perhaps fits perfectly the mood of current locked-down stasis within a jarring turn of things to pass.

– Gapplegate Classical-Modern Music Review

Rome – the ‘Eternal’ City. Once the capital of a republic and empire which defined the Western world in ancient times and left indelible imprints thereafter both physically and spiritually. A city of unparalleled beauty, a source of learning, and a capital of the arts which has inspired countless pilgrimages. A city which motivated the composers on this album to create some of their finest works including one of the most famous pieces of choral music ever written – Allegri’s Miserere. This album concentrates on that call to Rome which was irresistible for the Flemish composer, Josquin, and the Spaniard, Victoria. Here they sit alongside Felice Anerio and Gregorio Allegri who spent their lives in Rome in the service of the Papal chapels.

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REVIEW:

At their best, The Sixteen and their director Harry Christophers strike an exciting balance between informed historical performance and broad public appeal. The Call of Rome falls into this group, with limpid performances of some Renaissance favorites, including the most favorite of all, the Miserere of Gregorio Allegri. Christophers and The Sixteen inquire into the role of Rome in the music of the later 16th century, setting two native-born Romans, Allegri and the underrated Felice Anerio, with two composers, Josquin Desprez and Victoria, who felt "the call to Rome." The program holds together, and the singing is up to the usual high standard of The Sixteen. The album is a good place to start for those new to The Sixteen and is also worth the time of those familiar with the music of the 16th century.

– All Music Guide (James Manheim)

SOMM Recordings’ historic complete survey of Charles Villiers Stanford’s String Quartets by the Dante Quartet reaches its end with a third volume focusing on Nos. 1 and 2, and the first recording of No. 6. Already acclaimed as a composer of choral music, Stanford came relatively late to the string quartet form, composing his first two at the age of 39 in 1891. Six more followed over the next three decades, including the Op. 122 String Quartet, No. 6 in 1910. This final volume features the early String Quartets, Opp. 44 (No. 1) and 45 (No. 2) which share a concern for meticulous use of individual instrument voices and a leaning towards lyricism. Allusions to Beethoven and Mozart are contained within Stanford’s own beautifully crafted music. Heard here in its premiere recording, the Sixth String Quartet is a work of rich contrasts, restless energy and some of Stanford’s most expressive writing for the medium. Volume I (SOMMCD 0160) was admired as “an excellent disc in every respect” (MusicWeb International), applauded as “most enterprising and thoroughly likeable” (Classical Ear) and acclaimed “a really worthwhile release” (Gramophone). Volume II (SOMMCD 0185) was described as “essential listening... SOMM and the Dantes have broken important new ground with impressive commitment” by Gramophone and by Limelight as being “played with great élan and sensitivity by the excellent Dante Quartet”.

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REVIEW:

The Dante Quartet play splendidly throughout the album, with noticeably clean articulation and gratifying intonation. Unerringly accomplished, these Dante performances, combined with spirited interpretations that breathe vitality and enthusiasm, would pass the most rigorous examination. The engineering team, recording in St Nicholas Parish Church, Thames Ditton, has provided first class sound quality. Stanford biographer Jeremy Dibble has written the booklet notes. Lovers of British music, and Stanford in particular, need not hesitate in acquiring this superb album.

– MusicWeb International

Danish composer Leif Kayser could have been 100 years here in 2019 and we are releasing for the first time on modern technology two rare LP issues, one with the Hindemith-inspired Horn Concerto and the Trio which has strong resemblance to the French school. Most important is a series of piano music performed by the virtuoso composer himself. This album is done using the original master tapes and is probably the most significant example of the art of Leif Kayser, a composer strongly in the line of Nielsen. Leif Kayser was an organist and composer. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music in Copenhagen with Poul Schierbeck and Hilding Rosenberg and with Nadia Boulanger in Paris. He later returned to the Royal Academy of Music in Copenhagen as a teacher. He had extensive concert activities as an organ and piano soloist. His works include orchestral music (four symphonies etc.), compositions and transcriptions for concert band, film music, piano, organ, and chamber works; choral music (five masses etc.) and songs, including children's songs.

Vienna was a magnet for musicians across Europe in the 18th century, and among the most successful and influential were composers from Bohemia. Credited with developing idiomatic piano performance in the city, Leopold Ko�eluch also wrote choral music of considerable individuality. Joseph der Menschheit Segen ('Joseph, Mankind's Blessing') is a powerful Masonic cantata that unusually includes Melodrama, where spoken text is followed by instrumental passages. The two sacred arias are masterful compositions and the Missa in C, though small in scale, is unusually lavish in it's scoring. Klage auf den Todt Marien Theresien ('On the Death of Maria Theresa') possesses a grave and subtle beauty. This new release also features the Naxos debut of the Czech Boys Choir Boni Pueri. Founded in 1982, it has become one of Europe's most famous vocal ensembles and have given more than 3000 performances in Europe, North America and Asia.

Choral music has long been at the heart of the distinguished musical career of contemporary composer Martin Bussey – as a director, a singer, and in writing for the medium. Acclaimed London vocal consort Sonoro, with its co-artistic directors Neil Ferris (conductor) and Michael Higgins (organ), explores a broad range of Bussey’s sacred choral music with this captivating programme of world premiere recordings that at once presents a composer with passion and a unique voice, and whose works have contributed much to the genre. Sonoro, founded in 2016 by Neil Ferris and Michael Higgins, has attracted attention for its warm tone, rich blend of colors and vibrancy in performance. ‘Sonoro’ in Italian means ‘sonorous, voices that are rich and full’ and Sonoro lives up to that name as a choir with a distinctive and perfectly blended sound.

The award-winning London vocal ensemble SANSARA, with Artistic Directors Tom Herring and Benjamin Cunningham, makes it's Resonus Classics debut with a striking programme of works for Advent and Christmas both old and new. This compelling programme explores the anticipation of Christmas through works by masters of the Renaissance alongside pieces by living composers combining to conjure an aura of mystery and excitement. SANSARA is an award-winning vocal ensemble focused on the performance of a cappella choral music. As a collective body of voices, a choir is a living, breathing instrument with unparalleled expressive potential. SANSARA realises this through direct and honest music-making, always striving to conjure compelling atmospheres, communicating with clarity and integrity. SANSARA works as a chamber ensemble without a single director or conductor. The result is a highly engaged and versatile group of professional musicians, working together with a unified voice to express a shared artistic vision.

Released to coincide with his third season as Music Director of the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Robin Ticciati has forged a close and highly successful partnership with his orchestra. This, his fourth recording with DSO Berlin, continues his series of music by French composers (Debussy, Faur�, Ravel, Duparc) with a significant move into choral music: the Durufl� Requiem. Ticciati is joined by mezzo-soprano Magdalena Ko�en�, who has performed Debussy's Ariettes oubli�es and Duparc songs on previous DSO recordings, and the Grammy award-winning Rundfunkchor Berlin. Written in response to Faur�'s own Requiem and with Debussy's influence paramount, Durufl� created one of the most significant sacred works of the twentieth century. Ticciati describes this masterpiece as "a balm for the soul, a score filled with tremendous hope and peaceful searching". Most typically recorded with organ accompaniment, Ticciati has chosen to record Durufl�'s own orchestrated version which allows the conductor to create a unique blend of choral and orchestral colours recalling the sound-world of Debussy and the Impressionists. Fittingly the programme also includes Debussy's Nocturnes, a welcome addition following the critically-acclaimed reception of Ticciati's recording of La mer.

This album is a collection of premiere choral works, all with a social conscience firmly in mind. Chorosynthesis Singers, a professional, project-based 12-voice choir, exists to involve world-class performers and composers in the creation and performance of music that connects the art with community, specifically through the lens of social consciousness. The ensemble performs in world-class venues, partners with other organizations as artists-in-residence and concert series guests, and annually provides new music reading sessions. Recently, the group started an online database of socially conscious choral music and internationally released through Centaur Records, Inc. “Empowering Silenced Voices,” an album of new, socially conscious choral music. They were awarded 2nd place for The American Prize 2018 in the Ensemble (Professional Choruses) Division with a special citation for Extraordinary Commitment to New Music. Chorosynthesis Singers are co-directed by artist-educators Wendy Moy and Jeremiah Selvey, who took 3rd and 1st places respectively for The American Prize 2016 in the Conducting (Professional Choruses) Division.

On this release, Harry Christophers and The Sixteen continue their exploration of Purcell’s stunning music written for royal occasions on the third album in their acclaimed series. King Charles II liked to project a strong, stable, divinely legitimated image. Whilst that image had no basis in reality, the scale of his deception and financial skulduggery did not emerge until 19th-century historians discovered secret treaty documents between Charles and King Louis XIV of France. Purcell had no idea of course, and so all of the music on this album celebrates the political triumphs that he and his colleagues thought they had witnessed. It includes the quite brilliant Welcome Songs 'Welcome to all the pleasures' (with its superb six-part fanfares to St Cecilia in the final chorus) and 'From hardy climes'.

The Memphis Boychoir and Memphis Chamber Choir under the direction of founding director John Ayer, present a program of choral music for Advent and Christmas in the contemporary Anglican choral tradition. Founded in 1988 the Memphis Boychoir is a non-denominational, non-sectarian ensemble, whose purpose is to develop a variety of musical and leadership skills among boys in the greater Memphis community, and to provide a performing outlet for talented young singers. Rehearsals are twice weekly. The boys have been featured in performances with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, the Jackson Symphony Orchestra, and Opera Memphis. The Memphis Boychoir, assisted by the Memphis Chamber Choir, sings monthly services of Choral Evensong at St. John’s Episcopal Church, where both choirs are based. Their musical repertoire embraces a broad range of styles from the sixteenth century to the present.

The Vocal Arts Ensemble of Cincinnati, under the direction of Earl Rivers, present a program of choral music for the Christmas season, spotlighting American and European 20th-century composers. Founded in 1979, for over 30 years VAE has brought the power of spectacular, powerful and thrilling choral performances to audiences of all generations. Their mission: Vocal Arts Ensemble is greater Cincinnati’s premier professional vocal ensemble dedicated to presenting passionate and innovative performances of choral music that raise and nurture the public’s appreciation of the life-enriching qualities of the choral arts. Because of the small size of the choir, as well as the distinctive venues chosen each year across the area, VAE is uniquely able to present diverse performances that engage and enchant a range of music lovers. Works presented each season range from emerging composers to the well-loved pieces of the choral canon, and it is this intimate balance of traditional yet innovative programming, as well as the creativity and passion brought to the stage by Johnson that makes VAE so unique. VAE is committed to the presentation and development of modern chamber music, and new works by internationally-known composers are annually premiered through the “Meet the Composer” series. Additional community engagements throughout the year include appearances with the May Festival and collaborations with area arts organizations.

"This profoundly moving and powerful music bears witness to how ancient Greek and Latin liturgical traditions were richly embellished during the Renaissance on the islands of Crete and Cyprus, all within the shared cultural space of Venetian rule. First performed by Cappella Romana at the Early Music Festival in Utrecht (Netherlands). Vocal ensemble Cappella Romana combines passion with scholarship in its exploration of early and contemporary music of the Christian East and West. Its name refers to the medieval Greek concept of the Roman oikoumene (inhabited world), which embraced Rome and Western Europe as well as the Byzantine Empire of Constantinople (“New Rome”) and its Slavic commonwealth. “A sound world of unique beauty.” (Gramophone) “You’d have to have ice water in your veins to not be moved.” (Willamette Week)

Ko Matsushita, born in 1962, approaches choral music in many ways. He himself composes and arranges for choir and his works are performed worldwide. At the same time, he is active as a conductor and artistic director of numerous choirs, which have always gained recognition for outstanding performances at international competitions. Matsushita has received several awards, including the "Robert Edler Prize for Choral Music" in 2005 - the first Asian conductor to do so. Under the direction of Georg Grun, the KammerChor Saarbrucken, one of Germany's leading chamber choirs, dedicates this recording to Matsushita's sacred works for a cappella choir. In addition, the Lieder cycle op. 6 by Max Reger and the famous choral transcription "I'm Abendrot" by Clytus Gottwald after the Adagietto from the 5th Symphony by Gustav Mahler can be heard.

The Saint Mary's College Women's Choir, under direction of Nancy Menk, present a program of new choral music for women's voices, as recorded in the Church of Loretto on the campus of Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame, Indiana. The Saint Mary’s College Women’s Choir regularly commissions and performs new works for women’s voices. An outgrowth of this emphasis is the publication of the Saint Mary’s College Choral Series, a collection of new works for women’s voices, published by earthsongs of Corvallis, Oregon. The Choir has performed throughout the United States and has appeared before state, division, and national conferences of the American Choral Directors Association. Each November the Choir hosts the annual Saint Mary’s College High School Women’s Choir Festival in which 20 choirs from neighboring states perform for each other and a panel of commentators. The Choir tours nationally every other year, and regularly performs with the University of Notre Dame Glee Club in joint performances of major works with the South Bend Symphony Orchestra.

On this album, Frederick Hohman plays a virtuosic program of his own symphonic organ transcriptions, transcriptions of Edwin Lemare, and standard organ literature upon the Great Organ of the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, New York City. Frederick Hohman is one of the best-known American organists, primarily through the frequent worldwide broadcasts of his concert excerpts and recordings through the radio series Pipedreams, through his popular YouTube videos, and on internet radio where in 2015 he was the most highly rated and most frequently rated organist on the OrganLive! internet channel. In addition to his career as a concert organist, he is also a sought-after classical music audio-video producer-director and engineer. He is also gaining regard a s a composer and arranger of organ and choral music, with over a dozen published scores now distributed under the Wayne Leupold Editions and Zarex Scores insignias.

The music of Asia and the Far East is easily distinguishable. This release is a musical exploration of Asia, taking in cultural treasures from nineteen countries of the world’s largest continent, including energizing Chinese New Year’s music, relaxing Japanese flute, thunderous Korean drums, beautiful choral music from Georgia and more. (ARC Music)

The Choirs of St. Paul's Parish, K Street, in Washington, D.C. under direction of Robert McCormick perform 20th century choral music in the Anglican tradition, with two organ selections played by Robert McCormick. Robert McCormick, a native of Macon, Georgia, is Director of Music at St. Paul’s Parish, K Street, Washington, D.C. At St. Paul’s he holds primary responsibility for conducting the semi-professional Parish Choir, the Choir of Men and Boys, the Girls’ Choir, and the Youth Choir. Prior to this position, he served for seven years as Organist and Music Director at the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, New York City, one of this country’s most celebrated Anglo-Catholic parishes. At St. Mary’s he administered a busy liturgical music program, including conducting one of the city’s most highly regarded professional choirs, a choir of volunteers, oversaw a weekly organ recital series, and played the historic four-manual, 91-rank Aeolian-Skinner organ. He assumed this prominent position at the age of twenty-two.

In his sleeve note to the latest CD by the Cantabile Regensburg ensemble and it's conductor Matthias Beckert, Wolfram Buchenberg writes that it is the "direct emotional access of people to each other through their voices" which fascinates him most and constantly inspires him to compose music for choir anew. The ensemble is particularly committed to exploring contemporary choral music - what a stroke of luck that this led to a collaboration with Wolfram Buchenberg whose compositions are now greatly in demand on the international choral scene. Buchenberg's compositional style, at the same time modern and yet tonal, is characterised by colorful harmonies, soloistic elements, the inclusion of spoken texts and breaking out of traditional rhythmic structures. Elements which are typically found in the choice of works - from folk song arrangements, through "Aber heidschi bumbeidschi", to the Christmas carol "O Freude uber Freude!"

Welcome to The Sixteen's 40th anniversary album. Can it really be 40 years since a fledgling group of singers gave their first concert in May 1979? To celebrate this milestone, we have chosen 40 tracks which have defined this acclaimed ensemble over the last four decades and which display it's incredible versatility, as well as the sheer range of music and styles it has covered. Featuring music from the last 600 years and with personal recommendations from The Sixteen's members both past and present, as well as the longest-serving members of the administrative team, this beautifully packaged album promises to be the must-have collection for all fans of choral music. "Forty years on, The Sixteen's supple, fastidiously nuanced soundworld continues to serve 'ancient' and 'modern' with aplomb." (BBC Music Magazine)

A MusicWeb International Recording of the Year: "This recording was reviewed four times on MWI, and on each occasion, it was nominated as a Recommended recording, once being accorded Recording of the Month status. Now, three of those reviewers have selected it among their Recordings of the Year. With such acclaim, it made the choice of overall Recording of the Year very simple."

The four coronations of the twentieth century were enormous and extravagant. Replete with festive pageantry, these ceremonies were joyful celebrations of British music, employing tremendous forces. Choirs from across London and beyond were marshaled to provide a chorus of over 400 voices; a full-size symphony orchestra was squeezed into Westminster Abbey, whilst bands of fanfare trumpeters led the pomp and celebration- EDWARD VII in 1902, GEORGE V in 1911, GEORGE VI in 1937, and ELIZABETH II in 1953. In the imposing surroundings of Ely Cathedral, Paul McCreesh and Gabrieli bring the history, ceremony and liturgy of these extraordinary events to life. With his renowned creative flair, McCreesh’s painstaking research will provide the springboard for their latest ground-breaking recreation project.

The result will is a joyful celebration of five centuries of choral music, performed with the same vast forces as were heard at the coronation services. Alongside an orchestra of rare early-twentieth century instruments, an extended Gabrieli Consort is amplified by the energetic sound and fresh faces of several hundred young singers from Gabrieli’s choral training programme Gabrieli Roar. The music is interspersed by the coronation liturgy, with Simon Russell Beale speaking the part of the Archbishop of Canterbury.

REVIEWS:

Without precisely recreating any of last century’s four coronations, McCreesh has blended elements from them into a notional kingly crowning. Apart from the splendid ceremonial music, most of the ritual texts are included, with actor Simon Russell Beale enlisted to play the Archbishop of Canterbury. In typical style, McCreesh has assembled a choral mega-force of hundreds of choristers, together with a group of young singers rejoicing in the wonderful name of Gabrieli Roar. Period instruments add to the evocation of time. All these elements together, placed in the grandeur of Ely Cathedral make for a very special encounter with history, ritual and culture.

Although certain musical choices are a given (Parry’s I Was Glad and Handel’s Zadok the Priest) McCreesh has revived some well-crafted but lesser known occasional pieces such as Elgar’s Coronation March and Howells’ The King’s Herald. Generous and forward-looking, he has also commissioned David Matthews to create a new orchestral piece that leads into the National Anthem.

All of the music is delivered with a magnificent sense of occasion. McCreesh deploys his musical army with the precision of a five-star general, making the most of the spatial elements ranging from distant processions to the thunderous, lusty singing of the Old Hundredth in Vaughan Williams’ now revered arrangement. Extracts from the English version of RVW’s serene Mass in G Minor are beautifully sung, contrasting with the punchy drama of Stanford’s Gloria and Walton’s Te Deum.

McCreesh is to be applauded for the breadth and depth of his vision: broad enough to involve large numbers of young people, and new music; admirably deep in attending to performance practice and fine detail. This extraordinary enterprise, involving almost 1,000 performers, will certainly be a benchmark for the next coronation! In the meantime, what will this musical Cecil B. DeMille do next?

-- Limelight

Absolutely top of my list, the huge favourite of the year and one of those releases you really feel privileged to have been able to review, was also one of the most gloriously eccentric. Paul McCreesh brought together music from each of the four coronations of the 20th century and roped in a huge cast of singers and instrumentalists to complement his own Gabrieli Consort. The results are truly spectacular.

-- MusicWeb International

On this new release, Frederick Hohman plays music of Bach and 19th and 20th century French organ masterworks on the Reuter organ of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Springfield, Illinois USA. Since his St. Louis concert debut in 1973, where a critic with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch heralded his pedal technique as "the best you'll ever hear," Frederick Hohman has excelled in many facets of the organ trade: as a concert organist, as a composer, as a creator of organ transcriptions, as a classical music audio-video media producer, and most recently as an instrument designer and an on-line music instructor. Frederick founded the Pro Organo recording label in 1985. Frederick produced over 300 organ and choral music titles under the Pro Organo insignia, with 15 of it's titles featuring his own performances. This is his sixteenth album.

For this new album, Frederick Hohman plays original concert organ pieces by the Victorian Organ Virtuoso Edwin Henry Lemare, upon the Aeolian-Skinner organ of the Church of the Epiphany, Washington, D.C. Since his St. Louis concert debut in 1973, where a critic with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch heralded his pedal technique as “the best you’ll ever hear,” Frederick Hohman has excelled in many facets of the organ trade: as a concert organist, as a composer, as a creator of organ transcriptions, as a classical music audio-video media producer, and most recently as an instrument designer and an on-line music instructor. Concert organist Frederick Hohman is also recognized as a composer of organ and choral music, a creator of organ transcriptions, a modern on-line educator, a musical instrument designer, and a classical music audio-video producer.

Sir John Eliot Gardiner's personal curation of Easter Choral music inspired by his family's annual Easter Play at his home in Springhead, Dorset. A companion to the Monteverdi Choir's 1998 recording Once as I remember, which told the story of the Springhead Christmas Play. Structured around a series of tableaux, narrating through a combination of the different Gospel accounts, it is a dramatic retelling of the Resurrection story, employing disparate musical styles and frequent shifts of focus and perspective, all held together by the creative vision of a Dorset mother and her son. He writes: "This personal selection of music for Easter from the 11th to the 20th centuries tells the story of the Resurrection and Christ's appearances to his disciples. It is based on my experience of compiling and directing the music for a mimed Easter play, performed in village churches in Dorset every year between 1963 and 1984, the brainchild of my mother, Marabel Gardiner, to whose memory this recording is dedicated."

Scandinavian choral music can almost be described as a musical 'trademark' such as Italian opera. If the keyword is used, one has involuntarily certain composer names in mind or even a typical sound in one's ear. The Amadeus Choir under Nicol Matt traces this phenomenon in its recording on Ars Produktion. The high artistic and technical standard of the Amadeus-chor, testified by its interpretations of a cappella choral works and of works for choir and orchestra, in collaboration with famous soloists and orchestras, has allowed it to become one of the most significant amateur choirs of southern Germany.Karl-Friedrich Beringer, who is also conductor of the Windsbacher Knabenchor, created the Amadeus-chor in 1970. Dr. Julian Tolle conducted it from 1994 to 2001. In June 2001, Nicol Matt was appointed new conductor of the ensemble. The choir is comprised of about fifty people from southern and central Germany.