Peace: A Choral Album for Our Times

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
One very noticeable quality of this CD is the remarkable dynamic range of the choir: performing a cappella throughout, their training and commitment allows them to sing through the entire dynamic spectrum from pianissimo to fortissimo with all the gradations in between, thus giving the music, which is uniformly serene, even greater variety than is inherent in its several nationalities and styles. Victoria's "O magnum mysterium" has just the right spooky piety while the same text, set by the contemporary composer Morton Lauridsen, remains faithful to antiquity while injecting some new colors. Rachmaninov's flavorful "Blazen muzh" reaches a fine intensity; the crescendo and de-crescendo in Randall Thompson's six-minute meditation on the single word "Alleluia" is beautifully handled; Barber's vocal arrangement of his "Adagio for Strings," is, as ever, gorgeous, and Tavener's "Song for Athene" is one of his least annoying works, handsomely sung here. Schoenberg's somewhat thorny "Friede auf Erden" makes one sit up and think twice, while Gorecki's "Totus Tuus" remains a simply ravishing meditation on the Virgin Mary. Works by Elgar and Delius round out the program. The accompanying notes by conductor Llewellyn announce that he hopes that the singers are "contributing to Peace on Earth" with this CD, and while that's quite a goal, what I can tell you is that the 65 minutes of music here is intensely calming and floats above and through the listener. A glorious CD which makes a great gift for a friend---or to yourself. --Robert Levine

Tracks:

O Magnum Mysterium
Alleluia
Blazen Muzh, Op.37
O Magnum Mysterium
Angus Dei
Song For Athene
Friede Auf Erden Op.13
Totus Tuus
To Be Sung Of A Summer Night On The Water
Lux Aeterna ('Nimrod')

Amazon.com

One very noticeable quality of this CD is the remarkable dynamic range of the choir: performing a cappella throughout, their training and commitment allows them to sing through the entire dynamic spectrum from pianissimo to fortissimo with all the gradations in between, thus giving the music, which is uniformly serene, even greater variety than is inherent in its several nationalities and styles. Victoria's "O magnum mysterium" has just the right spooky piety while the same text, set by the contemporary composer Morton Lauridsen, remains faithful to antiquity while injecting some new colors. Rachmaninov's flavorful "Blazen muzh" reaches a fine intensity; the crescendo and de-crescendo in Randall Thompson's six-minute meditation on the single word "Alleluia" is beautifully handled; Barber's vocal arrangement of his "Adagio for Strings," is, as ever, gorgeous, and Tavener's "Song for Athene" is one of his least annoying works, handsomely sung here. Schoenberg's somewhat thorny "Friede auf Erden" makes one sit up and think twice, while Gorecki's "Totus Tuus" remains a simply ravishing meditation on the Virgin Mary. Works by Elgar and Delius round out the program. The accompanying notes by conductor Llewellyn announce that he hopes that the singers are "contributing to Peace on Earth" with this CD, and while that's quite a goal, what I can tell you is that the 65 minutes of music here is intensely calming and floats above and through the listener. A glorious CD which makes a great gift for a friend---or to yourself. --Robert Levine

Product Description

''No praise can be too high for the singing of the 32 Handel and Haydn choristers.... [T]heir work is magnificent in tone, balance, diction, and feeling, and there is no sense of strain in even the most demanding, high-flying passages.'' -- Richard Dyer, Boston Globe, April 30, 2004 PEACE | a choral album for our times is one of the 21st century's most acclaimed and best-selling CDs of a cappella choral music. Peace offers a rich collection of popular a capella works including the popular Agnus Dei of Samuel Barber; John Tavener's Song for Athene; Randall Thompson's Alleluia; Elgar's Lux Aeterna (Nimrod); and compositions by Rachmaninoff, Schoenberg and American composer Morten Lauridson. PEACE provides over one hour of beautiful and inspiring music.

Customer Reviews:

Cold Porridge.......2005-07-15

The choral singing is crude and sloppy throughout this album. The whole product has the sound and look (is that an alien on the cover?) of something hastily and cheaply produced. Indeed, opportunism seems to have ruled over musicianship, as it appears the product was rushed to market to coincide with the outbreak of war in Iraq. Grant Llewellan is a fine musician and capable of producing so much more. What went wrong? Are the musicians in Boston just not up to snuff, or is the board and administration just painfully parochial? This is an ensemble that became leaders in baroque music under Christopher Hogwood. So what makes them think they should be performing Schoenberg, Barber, Delius and Gorecki?

Stunningly Beautiful.......2004-10-08

Glorious Indeed! Robert Levine's above review is 'right on'.
Morten Lauridsen's chill-provoking 'O magnum mysterium' brought me to this project after hearing it on public radio at 2AM. Choice of material, quality and sensitivity of performance, and Grant Llewellyn's masterful direction make this a 'must have'.
I rarely buy choral music, but this one I will give at Christmas with a wish for the 'Peace' this music inspires.

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