MAss Archive
JANACEK: Lord, Have Mercy on Us; Diary of One Who Disappeared; Glagolitic Mass – Czech Philharmonic Choir/ Czech Philharmonic/ Vaclav Neumann – Praga Digitals
JANACEK: Lord, Have Mercy on Us; Diary of One Who Disappeared; Glagolitic Mass – Jadwiga Wysoczanska, soprano/ Marie Mrazova, alto/ Beno Blachut, tenor/ Dalibor Jedlicka, bass/ Petr Sovadina, organ/Brass Section of the Prague Symphony Orchestra/ Jiri Pinkas (Lord)/ Miroslav Frydlewicz, tenor/ Vera Soukupova, alto/Soloists of the Pavel Kuehn Chamber Chorus/ Radoslav Kvapil, piano (Diary)/ Gabriela Benackova, soprano/ Vera Soukupova. Alto/ Frantisek Livora, tenor/ Karel Pruesa, bass/ Jan Hora, organ/ Czech Philharmonic Choir/ Czech Philharmonic/ Vaclav Neumann (Mass) – Praga Digitals PRD 250 382, 78:50 [Distr. by Harmonia mundi/PIAS] ****: Three visceral works from Leos Janacek testify to his deep Moravian roots. Recorded on 28 March 1964, the chant Lord, Have Mercy on Us stands as the oldest Czech song. A paraphrase of the Kyrie Eleison of the liturgy, the music moves as a responsory whose Slavonic origins date back to the Tenth/Eleventh centuries. The text proceeds as a simple plea in eight verses, though Janacek’s harmonization achieves a blazing, inner light. Janacek conceived his cycle of songs, The Diary of One Who Vanished between 1917-1919. The cycle is set for tenor, alto, three female voices, and piano, here recorded May 1970. The poems responsory—which tell the story of a village […]
“Pange lingua: Music for Corpus Christi” – Choir of Clare College, Cambridge/ Michael Papadopoulos, organ/ Graham Ross – Harmonia mundi
“Pange lingua: Music for Corpus Christi” – Choir of Clare College, Cambridge/ Michael Papadopoulos, organ/ Graham Ross – Harmonia mundi HMM 907688, 75:19 ****: A fine historical selection of the Corpus Christi through the centuries. It was Thomas Aquinas who composed the hymn Pange lingua, used on the Maundy Thursday procession in the Roman Catholic Church. And Aquinas is the chief of the medieval poets who solemnized this feast, ancient in the west, and still present even in some Anglican churches, though it was abolished there in 1548 (today it is the “Day of Thanksgiving for the Institution of Holy Communion”). Originally however, the institution of Corpus Christi as a feast resulted from work on the part of Juliana of Liège, a 13th-century Norbertine canoness (b. 1191) in Liège, Belgium. Her devotion to the Blessed Sacrament was enhanced by a vision of the Church under the appearance of the full moon having one dark spot, which signified the need for this celebration. She had the vision for the next 20 years but she kept it a secret. Finally, after petitioning the bishop, in 1246 a celebration of Corpus Christi was appointed to be held in the local diocese each year […]
Marcel TYBERG: Masses – Christopher Jacobson (organ) South Dakota Chorale/Brian A. Schmidt- Pentatone
Marcel TYBERG (1893-1944) ; Mass No. 1 in G Major for Mixed Chorus and Organ (1934) Mass No. 2 in F Major for Mixed Chorus and Organ (1941) ; Christopher Jacobson (organ) South Dakota Chorale/Brian A. Schmidt- Pentatone PTC5186584 SACD TT: 64:36 – (1/15/16) ****: Pentatone provides an opportunity for us to honor the music of a forgotten composer who died in the Nazi concentration camps This new SACD disc from Pentatone gives us two masses from Marcel Tyberg, While not a prolific composer, he wrote some powerful and memorable music, and these two masses are perfect examples. Marcel Tyberg was born in Vienna in 1895. In the years immediately before the Second World War II, Tyberg was a promising young composer whose Second Symphony had been premiered in the 1930s by the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Rafael Kubelík. Part Jewish, but a practicing Catholic, his family did it’s best to dodge the Nazi’s increasing interest. Thinking he would at some point be arrested, he entrusted his music to friends. For many years he was thought to have committed suicide, but in fact he was exterminated at Auschwitz. The Mass No. 1 was written in 1934, for Mixed Chorus and Organ. It’s an ethereal work, […]
Bobby Previte – Mass – RareNoise
Bobby Previte puts the massive into a Mass. Bobby Previte – Mass [TrackList follows] – RareNoise RNR072, 69:27 [11/8/16] ****: (The Rose Ensemble – 11-member chamber vocal group conducted by Jordan Sramek; Stephen O’Malley, Jamie Saft, Don McGreevy, Mike Gamble – electric guitar; Marco Benevento – pipe organ, Rheem organ, electronics; Reed Mathis – electric bass; Bobby Previte – drums, electric guitar, pipe organ, combo organ, synthesizer bass, Farfisa organ) Taking medieval-era music and incorporating it into modern songcraft is nothing new. Examples: British blues revival group the Yardbirds fused Gregorian chants into one of their singles; goth rock duo Dead Can Dance blended music from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance into their popular ambient alt-pop; and psychedelic pop band HP Lovecraft closed their 1967 debut LP with a version of the “Gloria Patria.” Drummer Bobby Previte (one of the stalwarts of the NYC downtown jazz scene) has taken the notion of coalescing choral music from the Middle Ages into a modern arrangement to a whole new (and heavy) level on his RareNoise album, Mass. Basically, Previte has used 15th century composer Guillaume Dufay’s choral mass, Missa Sancti Jacobi, and re-imagined it as a 70-minute transformation which melds a […]
MONTEVERDI: Messa a Quattro voci et salmi of 1650; CAVALLI: Magnificat – The Sixteen/ Harry Christophers – Coro
A terrific start to a new two-part series. MONTEVERDI: Messa a Quattro voci et salmi of 1650 (Vol. 1); CAVALLI: Magnificat – The Sixteen/ Harry Christophers – Coro Cor 16142, 71:29 ****: After Monteverdi’s death in 1643 at the age of 76, his publisher thought highly enough of some of his unpublished pieces to put them out in print. Though his two large collections of secular (Madrigali guerrieri et amorosi) and sacred (Selva morale et spiritual) music from the last five years of his life represent a major summing up of 30 years of work as the choirmaster of the Doge’s chapel at San Marco, this overflow of creative work that didn’t make it to the printed page is evidently as worthwhile and moving as anything he ever wrote. The collection emanated from the composer’s own stock of manuscripts, and contain a variety of psalm settings, vespers, a litany, and a mass. You might notice that the very title of this collection is “mass”, and none is to be found on this disc; that’s because The Sixteen have committed to two discs from this collection, and the Mass will be available on Volume 2. Many of these works include instrumental […]
TAVERNER: Mater Christi Sanctissima; Missa Mater Christi sanctissima; Mass ‘The Western Wynde’ – Westminster Abbey Choir/ James O’Donnell – Hyperion
Wonderful readings of two standards. TAVERNER: Mater Christi Sanctissima; Missa Mater Christi sanctissima; Mass ‘The Western Wynde’ – Westminster Abbey Choir/ James O’Donnell – Hyperion CDA68147, 58:36 [Distr. by Harmonia mundi] *****: John Taverner was one of those transitional composers who straddled the fence from Catholicism to Protestantism, but unlike his confrere William Byrd, his tendencies leaned naturally to the latter. Therefore, when he was accused of Lutheran leanings when he composed his Western Wynde Mass to the tune of the same name, eyeballs were raised from the then Catholic ruling powers. However, since not much credence was given to what artists said or thought, no penalties were allocated. “Western Wynde” was of course a very secular song, and at this point of time the idea of incorporating the vagaries of the world into such a sacred text was something questionable from many sources. However, Taverner, far from being wrong in this, was to set a trend that would carry over with many other composers, when secular songs became fair game for religious inspiration. The standards are more in place with the Christi Sanctissima Mass, based not on a song but on a polyphonic motet. Both it and the Western […]
“Into Great Silence” (2007)
A magnificent and entrancing glimpse into the sounds of silence. “Into Great Silence” (2007) DISC ONE, THE FILM Director: Philip Gröning Actors: The Carthusian Order Studio: Zeitgeist Films Z1094 (10/23/07) Video: 1.85:1, 16:9 transfer, created from hi-def elements Audio: English, French, Latin DD 5.1 Subtitles: English Region 1 coding Extras: U.S. theatrical trailer DISC TWO, THE EXTRAS: The Making of Into Great Silence : With behind-the-scenes footage, Location photos and handwritten notes from monks Additional scenes, including a segment on the preparation of the Carthusian’s world-famous Chartreuse liqueur; Night Mass The Carthusian Order: An informative guide to the rules, architecture, and daily schedules of the monks and the monasteries; Photo, poster, and press kit galleries Producer: Shannon Attaway Video: for 16:9 screens, color, no music or narration (2 DVDs) Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 Subtitles: English No region code Length: 162 min., Extras: 53 min. Rating: ***** B000OYNVOY The Carthusians have always been one of the most esoteric and mythical of all the western religious orders. For those who aren’t familiar with them, they were founded by Saint Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and include both monks and nuns. They are a Catholic religious order of enclosed monastics that combines both seclusion […]
TAVERNER: Dum transisset; Dum transisset Sabbatum II; Missa Corona Spinea – The Tallis Scholars/ Peter Phillips – Gimell
An astoundingly innovative and virtuoso setting of the mass. TAVERNER: Dum transisset Sabbatum I; Dum transisset Sabbatum II; Missa Corona Spinea – The Tallis Scholars/ Peter Phillips – Gimell CDGIM 046, 62:07 [Distr. by Harmonia mundi] ****: Written for the new Cardinal College at Oxford, and probably premiered before Henry VIII himself, Taverner’s Missa Corona spinea is one of the greatest of all Renaissance choral pieces, often sounding like a concerto for treble voices. Taverner extended the range to amazingly high voices, and the two sopranos that tackle the piece for Peter Phillips are sumptuous and marvelously adept at their art. The sonorities that Taverner achieves are nothing less than thrilling, and the high wire act that stretches to B-flats for a long period of time are unlike anything you will ever hear in this most prodigious and creative of periods. The accompanying Dum transisset Sabbatum I & II, while worthy in and of themselves and make for decent filler, in no way compare to the mass setting. No matter, as these performances have to be ranked among the best in the catalog, another star in the Tallis firmament. —Steven Ritter
CPE BACH: Die Letzten Leiden des Erlösers (The Last Sufferings of the Savior) – Soloists/ Hartmut Haenchen – Berlin Classics (2 CDs)
C. P. E. Bach’s oratorio-in-all-but-name builds in color and intensity as it progresses.
LISZT: Missa Choralis; KODALY: Agnus Dei; Psalm 114; Psalm 121 – Elisabeth Thomann, soprano/ Elfriede Jahn, alto/ Stafford Wing, tenor/ Eishi Kawamura, bass/ Harald Buchsbaum, baritone/ Josef Nebois, Organ/ Vienna Chamber Choir/ Hans Gillesberger (Liszt)/ The Whikehart Chorale/ Lewis Whikehart – Tuxedo Music
Two major Hungarian composers make distinct contributions to the liturgical music of their respective times.
“Mass & Motets” = BRAHMS: Missa canonica; Motets (2); other Motets (2); Motets (3); Fest- und Gedenksprüche; Swedish Radio Choir/ Peter Dijkstra – Channel Classics SACD “Choral Works” = BRAHMS: Warum ist das Licht gegeben?; Intermezzo in B minor; Gesänge (5); Schicksalslied; Motets (3); Fest- und Gedenksprüche; Drei Quartette – Philip Mayers, Angela Gassenhuber (piano)/ Cappella Amsterdam/ Daniel Reuss – Harmonia mundi
Two superb examples of Brahms’s choral expertise.
“Mass & Motets” = BRAHMS: Missa canonica; Motets (2); other Motets (2); Motets (3); Fest- und Gedenksprüche; Swedish Radio Choir/ Peter Dijkstra – Channel Classics SACD “Choral Works” = BRAHMS: Warum ist das Licht gegeben?; Intermezzo in B minor; Gesänge (5); Schicksalslied; Motets (3); Fest- und Gedenksprüche; Drei Quartette – Philip Mayers, Angela Gassenhuber (piano)/ Cappella Amsterdam/ Daniel Reuss – Harmonia mundi
Two superb examples of Brahms’s choral expertise.
GOUNOD: Requiem in C Major; DVORAK: Mass in D Major – Anne Bretschneider, sop./ Christine Lichtenberg, alto/ Holger Marks, tenor/ Georg Witt, bass/ Hye-Lin Hur, organ/ Rundfunkchor Berlin/ Polyphonia Ensemble Berlin/ Risto Joost – Carus
Two deliberately under-stated choral works testify to the faith, pious and artistic of two choral masters.
BRAHMS: “Mass & Motets” = Missa canonica; motets; Fest und… – Swedish Radio Choir/Dijkstra – Channel ClassicsBRAHMS: “Choral Works” = 8 total – Soloists/ Cappella Amsterdam/ Reuss – Harmonia mundi CD
Two superb examples of Brahms’s choral expertise.
BRAHMS: “Mass & Motets” = Missa canonica; motets; Fest und… – Swedish Radio Choir/Dijkstra – Channel ClassicsBRAHMS: “Choral Works” = 8 total – Soloists/ Cappella Amsterdam/ Reuss – Harmonia mundi CD
Two superb examples of Brahms’s choral expertise.
PATRICK HAWES: Lazarus Requiem – Soloists/ Exeter Phil. and Cathedral Choirs/ Royal Scottish National Orch./ Patrick Hawes – Signum
A fine modern requiem with a new twist in its emphasis on the Lazarus story.
GEORGE WALKER: Mass; other works; BRAHMS: Concerto for Piano No. 2 – eorge Walker, p./Baltimore Sym./Eastman Philharmonia/Hanson/ others – Albany
Fine music marred by a bad recording.
BACH: Mass in b – Hana Blazikova, sop./ Sophie Harmsen, mezzo-sop./ Terry Wey, countertenor/ Eric Stoklassa, tenor/ Tomas Kral & Marian Krejcik, bass/ Collegium Vocale 1704/ Collegium 1704/ Vaclav Luks – Accent (2 CDs)
Bach as he was meant to sound in a performance of admirable quality and visceral excitement.
“The Ottomans at the Gates of Vienna in 1683” = JOHANN KASPAR KERLL: Mass; Sonata; Ama cor meum; Triumphate sidera; Passacaglia; Tota pulchra es Maria; Canzona; Admiramini fidelis; Angelorum esca – Rosenmuller Ens./ Arno Paduch – Christophorus
An almost unknown composer who fits into history in interesting ways.
“Times go by Turns” = BYRD: Mass for Four Voices; BENNETT: A Colloquy with God; PLUMMER: Missa sine nomine; ANDREW SMITH: Kyrie: Cunctipotens Genitor Deus; TALLIS: Mass for Four Voices; GABRIEL JACKSON: Ite missa est – New York Polyphony – BIS
New York Polyphony continues to claim a spot as one of the finest small vocal groups performing today.
The Phoenix Rising = Works of BYRD, MORLEY, TALLIS, GIBBONS, WHITE, TAVERNER – Stile Antico – Harmonia mundi
Another winner from Stile Antico, this time probing the riches of the Tudor Church Music Project.
LEOS JANACEK: Glagolitic Mass (Missa Solemnis) (Orig. Version); Taras Bulba – Rhapsody for Orchestra – Radio Sym. Orch./ Mark Janowski; Soloists/Radio Choir Berlin (in Mass) – PentaTone
A rousing hi-res surround reading of two important Janacek works.
Stereotypes Audio
Cembal d’amour
Pure Pleasure / Speakers Corner
Cedille
