In our time, there has been no greater advocate for singing music than Alice Parker. Recipient of six honorary doctorates and the Smith College Medal, Parker has widely influenced choral music in America as a composer, conductor and teacher. She began composing early, and wrote her first orchestral score while still in high school. After graduating from Smith College with a major in music performance and composition, she completed a master’s degree from The Juilliard School where she studied choral conducting with Robert Shaw. Her arrangements of folksongs, hymns and spirituals with Robert Shaw form an enduring repertoire for choruses all around the world. She continues composing in many forms, from operas to cantatas, sacred anthems to secular dances, song cycles to string quartets. She has been commissioned by such groups as the Vancouver Chamber Chorus, the Atlanta Symphony Chorus and Chanticleer. Parker has published books on melodic styles, choral improvisation and ‘Good Singing in Church.’ Her detailed analysis, The Anatomy of Melody, was released in 2006. In 2010, as a part of the Melodious Accord 25th anniversary celebration, The Melodious Accord Hymnal was introduced. She has been recognized by Chorus America, the American Guild of Organists, the American Choral Director’s Association, The Hymn Society and Choral Arts New England for her lifetime contributions to choral music.

Joonas Kokkonen is one of the most important Finnish composers of the twentieth century. His music radiates warmth and light, but also contains moments of grandeur and rhythmic energy. His Requiem, written in memory of his first wife, is both a powerful choral symphony and a tender, moving embodiment of consolation. Originally scored for large orchestra, the Requiem is heard here in a new version for organ intended to bring the work within the reach of smaller forces. This first recording is complemented by the first complete recording of Kokkonen’s four works for solo organ. Suvi Vayrynen, soprano, has quickly emerged as one of Finland’s most exciting young singers after winning first prize in the female category at the Lappeenranta Singing Competition, Finland’s premier vocal competition. She also appeared in the first episode of the BBC4 documenary Bright Lights, Brilliant Minds: A Tale of Three Cities, released in the UK in August 2014. Joose Vahasoyrinki, baritone, completed a M. Mus. degree in church music at the Kuopio department of the Sibelius Academy, and in spring 2010 he completed the level A examination in voice with excellent marks. Jan Lehtola can be heard on more than 30 commercial recordings. For Toccata Classics he recorded an album of the complete organ music of William Humphreys Dayas, and another or music for organ and piano. Heikki Liimola has conducted several distinguished choirs, and was nominated Choral Conductor of the Year in 1998. One of the main aims of the Klementi Institute Chamber Choir is to promote new and rarely performed choral music.

Cappella Romana, a vocal chamber ensemble renowned for its ''robust and intriguing music'' (Washington Post), releases its latest recording ''Live in Greece.'' Its previous release ''Music of Byzantium'' sold over 14,000 copies. A 1000-year journey from Constantinople to California, ancient Byzantine chants are followed by musical encounters with Crusaders and Venetians, including Greek and Latin polyphony from Renaissance Crete. East meets West again at St. Sophia Cathedral in Los Angeles, where Frank Desby founded a tradition, continued by his Californian peers of Greek-American choral music.

With The Rhythm of Life, the Ulmer Spatzen Choir under the direction of Hans de Gilde offer an insight into their extensive repertoire. On the one hand, numerous works belonging to the classic choral repertoire, originating from composers such as Purcell, Pergolesi, Mendelssohn, Brahms und Humperdinck, are to be heard. On the other hand however, the young singers between the ages of 12 and 19 demonstrate their ability also in various pop and jazz standards as well as in film music. Moving interpretations of simple folk songs carry us off into other countries and times. The individual pieces are accompanied by either a band, a piano, or an organ. A colorful kaleidoscope of choral music!

My Soul’s Repose is a collection of choral works from the twentieth century (except for the Faure) sung beautifully by the Orpheus Chamber Singers. Featured composers include Stephen Paulus, Rene Clausen, Franz Biehl, Eric Whitacre, and more. The Orpheus Chamber Singers is a professional chamber choir of 25 mixed voices in Dallas, Texas. Artistic Director Donald Krehbiel’s reputation for producing stellar performances of a wide variety of choral repertoire is unmatched in North Texas. Orpheus Chamber Singers has offered exceptional choral music experience to audiences for sixteen years, performing repertoire from across the centuries and around the world. As a pillar of the Dallas arts community, Orpheus is committed to the success of Dallas’ expanded Arts District and also brings performances to Plano, Richardson, Allen and beyond.

Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy and Frieder Bernius - these names are often mentioned in one and the same breath. Bernius's complete recording of Mendlssohn's sacred choral music with the Kammerchor Stuttgart, which has won many prizes, is a major feat of both interpretation and editing, and has extensively contributed to Mendelssohn's complete oeuvre becoming part of the concert repertoire, a fact which today is taken for granted. On the occasion of his 70th birthday in June, 2017, Frieder Bernius has now produced a recording of the high quality associated with him of Mendelssohn's most well-known secular choral songs under the title of ''Liedern im Freien zu singen''.

Communicating an essential and universal message of the transforming power of grace and love this recording includes arrange of 20th and 21st century sacred and secular compositions. This recording is the first such project produced by the University of Georgia’s premiere choral ensemble, the international award-winning UGA Hodgson Singers. In 2014 the ensemble was the Grand Prix winner at the International Choral Competition Ave Verum in Baden, Austria, where it also won prizes for outstanding interpretation. Dr. Daniel Bara is the Professor of Music at the Hugh Hodgson School of Music at the University of Georgia (Athens) overseeing seven university choral ensembles and the graduate choral conducting program. The international award-winning UGA Hodgson Singers was formed by E. Pierce Arant Jr. in the late 1970s as the UGA Concert Choir, and serves as the premiere ambassadorial choral ensemble of the Hugh Hodgson School of Music at the University of Georgia. Comprising UGA’s most gifted and talented vocalists, membership in the Hodgson Singers is contingent upon absolute excellence in musicianship, vocal artistry, and dedication. The ensemble provides vibrant, pre-professional ensemble training for the next generation of singers, choral music educators, and talented choral enthusiasts and performs noteworthy choral repertoire from throughout the Western Music canon, with emphasis on unaccompanied works, recently composed works and baroque and classical masterworks.

The compilation of works on this release is intended to provide a reasonably comprehensive view of the unaccompanied sacred choral music of the Romantic era while confining itself to German-language composers from a wide variety of backgrounds and disciplines. The chronological order of the composers and the consideration of a number of central works aims to show the interrelationships of the choral music scene over a period lasting more than a century. The young singers of the Jugendkonzertchor (the youth choir of the Dortmund Choral Academy) engage in intensive rehearsal work and supplementary voice training, their principal focus being the unaccompanied choral music of all periods. The ensemble’s broad repertoire also encompasses oratorio and choral symphonic works and popular music for choir. The Ruhrnachrichten newspaper praises the “perfectly homogenous overall sound and the admirably well trained soloists” of the jugendkonzertchor, who “fill the space around them with a power of their fresh young voices” to create a “luxury sound” : this is a choir of which “great things can be expected in the coming years.”

In his later years often described as the grand old man of Finnish modernism, Erik Bergman (1911-2006) was among the first in Finland to use compositional methods such as twelve-tone technique, serial music, choral Sprechgesang and aleatory counterpoint. His specialty was choral music, and a large part of his huge production involves a choir in some form. This recording focuses primarily on his works for mixed choir that have not appeared on disc before, and gives a broad picture of his production for the medium over a period of more than 60 years. Born to a Swedish-speaking family, many of Bergman's settings were of poems in Swedish, but he was a true internationalist and this two-disc set also includes works with texts in Italian, Norwegian, English, German, and naturally, Finnish. These are here performed by the Helsinki Chamber Choir, Finland's only professional chamber choir, under its artistic director Nils Schweckendiek.

Ondine continues its series of works by Baltic composers wtih a new exciting release. This album features Moorland Elegies, a nine-part cycle for mixed choir and string orchestra, is a crowning achievement of its composer Tõnu Kõrvits's magical impressionism. The work was premiered by the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir and the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra at Tallinn's St. John's Church in October, 2015. Tõnu Kõrvits works belong to the repertoire of the most important Estonian orchestras, choirs and artists. In recent years hi smusic has been performed more and more outside of his native Estonia. Beside Beljo Tormis's shamanistic spells, Erkki-Sven Tüür's energetic explosions and Arvo Pärt's religious contemplations, Kõrvits's sound world stands out as highly poetic, full of visionary fantasies. His music carries the lsitener along on hypnotic journeys through the landscapes of nature and folk tradition, human soul and subconscious. His oeuvre includes all traditional genres from orchestral and instrumental music to choral music and operas.

Continuing their ongoing series with Resonus Classics, the Saint Thomas Choir of Men & Boys, Fifth Avenue, New York, and conductor John Scott release an album of celebrated as well as more recent American choral music. Featuring music from the last seven decades, this engrossing recording celebrates the very best of American choral works with music from Leonard Bernstein, Randall Thompson, Aaron Copland, Nico Muhly, Samuel Barber, Daniel Castellanos, Ned Rorem, and former Saint Thomas music director Gerre Hancock. World premiere recordings from Muhly (Bright Mass with Canons) and Daniel Castellanos (Eternal Light) are featured on this release. The Saint Thomas Choir of Men and Boys is considered by many to be the leading ensemble of its kind in the Anglican choral tradition in the United States. The Choir performs regularly with Orchestra of St. Luke’s or with the period instrument ensemble, Concert Royal, as part of its own concert series. Its primary raison d’etre, however, is to provide music for five choral services each week. Live webcasts of all choral services and further information including recordings can be found at www.SaintThomasChurch.org.

Although the symphony was the most prestigious instrumental genre of his time, Brahms avoided it for many years. In 1872, when he was already more than forty years old and was widely acknowledged for his chamber and choral music, he observed: ‘I will never write a symphony! You can’t imagine what it’s like to hear a giant treading behind you.’ The giant was of course Beethoven, at once an inspiration and a source of intimidation for composers of Brahms’s generation. Fortunately, however, he went back on his promise a few years later with his First Symphony, followed by three more composed between 1876 and 1885. The two works presented here are the Second Symphony, sometimes sombre, sometimes radiant, and the Fourth, a genuine masterpiece of the genre. This disc, recorded on period instruments under the masterly direction of Philippe Herreweghe, is released to coincide with a double anniversary: as a prelude to the Flemish conductor’s seventieth birthday, it also celebrates the twenty-fifth year of existence of one of his favourite ensembles: the Orchestre des Champs-Élysées.

Few living composers communicate with the emotional directness of Sir James MacMillan and his belief that "beauty is at the heart of our Christian faith" is profoundly present in his new setting of the Stabat mater. Arguably one of the most powerful poems in the liturgy, only a small number of composers have tackled the Stabat Mater in the last 30 years and the musical world has waited a long time for a substantial setting. In James MacMillan's version we are witness to a new and intensely personal work which encapsulates the power of the poem in a way no other composer has done to date. Harry Christophers writes: "James digs deep underneath the surface of this 13th century Marian hymn meditating on Mary's suffering as she stands at the foot of the cross. He speaks of 'a painful world of loss, violence and spiritual desolation' and the score is packed to the full with those intense feelings. Our collaboration with the Britten sinfonia on this project has been a marriage made in heaven - both groups have had long associations with James's music and both give of their all in bringing this score to life." Sir James MacMillan writes: "It was a great delight and honour to respond to The Sixteen...I regard Harry Christophers' choir as one of the great choirs of the world and their standards of vocal brilliance and blend are unsurpassed."

Somm's celebration of John Joubert's 90th birthday brings to the catalogue yet more new riches, this time no less than seven premiere recordings fo his choral music. South of the Line was recorded last June at the Birmingham Conservatoire and poignant is the fact that it was commissioned from the composer for the opening of the Adrian Boult Hall and the last music heard there for this recording, before its demolition. Choirs are at the heart of John Joubert's music and it is by his choral music that he seems to communicate most directly with audiences. He once commented. 'Communication is important to me. I want to be understood, enjoyed and used.' It's perhaps for this reason, this capacity for dramatic articulation of meaning, that his choral music holds such a certain place in the listeners' hearts. Indeed he has composed choral music throughout his career winning, in 1952, a Novello Anthem competition with O Lorde, the Maker of Al Thing set to a poem by Henry VIII. The lullaby-like There is no Rose is another work with af irm place in the English choral repertoire, and another setting of an ancient text. Incantation, Pilgrimage Song and Three Portraits as well as Sonnet, This is the Gat eof the Lord, Autumn Rain and Be Not Afeard, his most recent work a commission for Novella honouring the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death, are all first recordings.

The Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks can be heard here performing highlights of sacred choral music dating from the Baroque period to modern times. Even today, three hundred years later, the large oratorio choirs by Bach and Handel are as vivid, realistic and captivating as ever. Haydn succeeded in preserving this for the sacred music of the Wiener Klassik era, which reached its peak in Beethoven's Missa solemnis. The heartfelt masses composed by Schubert are typical of early German Romanticism, Gounod's St. Cecilia Mass is the French equivalent here, and Dvořák's Stabat Mater represents Bohemian Romanticism of the mid- to late 19th century.

Verdi's famous Messa da Requiem testifies to the close relationship between Italian opera and Italian church music. The Mass written just before the end of World War II by the Hungarian composer Kodály is still Late Romantic in its musical language, while in his Berlin Mass, written shortly before the start of the 20th century, the Estonian composer Arvo Pärt maintains the Tintinnabuli style that informs and inspires his work. This representative cross-section of well-known and some less well-known choral numbers spans a period of almost three hundred years, impressively demonstrating not only what gives choral music its special character and aura, but also what has changed over the centuries and what has remained largely similar. Furthermore, it testifies to the unique choral culture of the Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks and to the "crystal clear sound" and "immense plasticity" of its performances, which are regularly praised in the highest terms, along with supreme artistic quality of its interpretations.

If there is a country famous for its reservoir of extraordinary musicians and its significant composers in particular, then it's Finland, which is all the more astonishing when you consider the size of its population - Finald has 5.5 million inhabitants. The country's distinguished tradition of music-making is fundamental to this reputation for artistic excellence. Finland can be rightly called a "country of singers". Even when it comes to contemporary compositions, traditional music always plays an essencential role in the pieces, contributing to their accessibility. This collection of Finish choral music includes works by renowned composers of the last century: Jean Sibelius, Einojuhani Rautavaara and Kaija Saariaho. This album provides a definitive and entertaining cross-section of the most important Finish choral music, it also coincides with the 100th anniversary of Finland's independence.

British composer and conductor Richard Harvey is a BAFTA award winner, a respected orchestral conductor and a virtuoso performer on a wide range of Western and exotic instruments. Richard has written several large-scale choral works, including his Te Deum, a complex Magnificat and the popular Kyrie for the Magdalene that formed a highlight of the music for the film of The Da Vinci Code. “Kyrie for the Magdalene is a stunning plainsong-inspired liturgical lament which the internationally celebrated modern choral composer John Tavener would be proud to call his own.” (Movie Music UK) This collection of original choral music is beautifully performed by the Latvian Radio Choir and the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir. Esteemed soprano Amy Haworth performs as soloist on the first, fourth, and eighth tracks.

Jack Stamp is currently adjunct Professor of Music at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls where he teaches conducting and composition. Prior to this appointment, Dr. Stamp served as Director of Band Studies at Indiana University of Pennsylvania for twenty-five years. In addition, he served as chairperson of the music department for six years. While at IUP, he was awarded Distinguished University Professor, the highest award granted to a faculty member by the university. Choral music at Vanderbilt University can be traced back to 1895, when teh Vanderbilt Men's Glee Club toured and gave concerts throughout the country. The Vanderbilt Chorale was formed in 212 to create a bridge between students in the Blair School of music and highly qualified non-music majors from other disciplines. This ensemble is dedicated to authentic, expressive performance of a variety of musical styles.

The German National Youth Choir is a select national ensemble of highly talented and ambitious choir singers. Since its creation in 1999, the ensemble has given young musicians between the age of 16 and 27 the opportunity to work on demanding choral music at the highest artistic level as well as become acquainted with a wide range of repertoire. The project-related professional work attracts gifted young singers to come together in their free time for work phases at different locations six to eight weekends each year. The intensive work with the choir enables the ensemble to develop its own choral sound that is characterized by pure intonation, uniformity and a high sense of transparency. Through their collaboration with professional ensembles and their choir directors, as well as composers, music publishers, music archives and conservatoires, they are continuously expanding their horizons.

The musical mosaic of Velsesia’s historical organs is here enriched by two new and interesting tesserae: the organ of St. Margherita’s parochial church in Balmuccia, rebuilt by Alessandro Mentasti in 1900, and that of St. Euseo’s Sanctuary in Serravalle Sesia, built by the Ragozzi brothers in 1748. The program offered by the present release is specifically intended to emphasize the qualities of the timbres and the sonorities of both of these magnificent instruments. Organist Mario Duella studied at the Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi of Milano, where he received diplomas in Choral Music and Conducting, Organ, and Organ Composition. He is organist, professor, and choir director in Milan, and at the parish church of Portula.

In an exciting new collaboration, Oxford’s Christ Church Cathedral Choir, one of the world’s oldest and best-known cathedral choirs, joins forces with soloists from The Sixteen and Oxford Baroque on this new recording of Francesco Durante’s Requiem Mass in C minor. Despite its enduring popularity in the 18th century this beautiful and majestic work was never published but survives through over 50 manuscript copies scattered across Europe. It is a remarkable work which can justly be described as one of the most important orchestral Requiem settings of the 18th century. This is the premiere recording of Stephen Darlington’s new edition of the work which shows durante to be a composer of considerable skill and invention, who combined his mastery of counterpoint with an elegance of melody, a richness of harmony and an imaginative instinct for structure. This album also features Durante’s exquisite Organ Concerto in B flat major- a rare example of an Italian keyboard concerto of the period- performed by celebrated organist Clive Driskill-Smith. Although 500 years old, Christ Church Cathedral Choir is justly famous for the youthfulness of its sound and its daring and adventurous musical programming. Unique in the world as both Cathedral and college choir, the intimate acoustic of its musical home, Oxford’s 12th century Cathedral has given it a relationship with early sacred music and the rhythm and vigor of contemporary idioms which is second to none.

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REVIEW:

Francesco Durante’s never-before published Requiem in C minor is revealed in all its 18th-century glory. Darlington conducts the elegant, richly melodic score with unique understanding. The soloists are uniformly excellent, and the string playing crisp and alert.

­– The Observer (UK)

Listen to the Naxos Podcast to learn more about this release

James Whitbourn is a Grammy® nominated composer whose music is internationally admired for its direct connection with performers and audiences, The Observer describing him as "a truly original communicator in modern British choral music." Carolae is a fusion of the great Christmas traditions at King’s College Cambridge and Princeton University Chapel, with the Missa Carolæ at its heart. Whitbourn’s love of medieval musical language is reflected in his clever use of original melody with famous carols such as Noël Nouvelet, combined with skillful new arrangements of seasonal favorites such as The Coventry Carol.

"By chance, been enaged to a small pupil in Richard Andersson's music school in the autumn of 1891. Her name was Signe. Result: Gillet på Solhaug. In his autobiogrpahical sketch from the early 1920's, Wilhelm Stenhammar summarizes, in this way, the origin of the opera Gillet på Solhaug. He was twenty-one years old when he starts the work, but what experience did have have of larger music drama? Stenhammar embraced his inexperience and got to work. One can very well see Stenhammar's Gillet as one of many Nordic endeavors to link the Wagnerian music drama with the national romantic tradition.

"What a refreshing musical gift this is! Those familiar with the Gloriae Dei Cantores singers know what a sterling ensemble they are; they deliver all the goods here. Seagull Seven's jazzy arrangement of "Deck the Hall" really rocks! In these and all else, the singers exude joy and cheer through artful, infectious performances that are immaculate and engaging. The rich warmth of tone is balanced by vibrancy and energy. This is musical merriment that will bring great cheer at Christmas time–or any time!"
—James Hildreth, The American Organist

"Here's a joyful and beautifully sung album of seasonal specialties ......this ensemble can claim many choral strengths, but their most remarkable attribute is their spiritual intensity and sincerity. Sound quality is beyond reproach; notes and texts are laid out in a colorful and festive booklet."
—Lindsay Koob, American Record Guide

"The choral artistry for which Gloriae Dei Cantores has become known can be heard in each selection. The ageless and profound wonder of Christmas comes alive with the singing of each word and the playing of each note."
—Wallace Cheatham, Christianity and the Arts

“I adore well-executed choral music for the holidays, and Gloriae Dei Cantores certainly fills the bill. Sing Noel is an outstanding. . . moving release of intensely lovely seasonal music.”
—Christmasreviews.com

“One of the finest crafted, best blended, and innately musical ensembles with which I have had the pleasure to work.”
— Keith Lockhart, Conductor, Boston Pops