Martin: Mass; Songs of Ariel

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Unfortunately, this disc isn't the most persuasive argument for Martin's choral music. The Sixteen's performance of the Mass is efficient, clear, and in tune; but it conveys little of the music's breathtaking spirituality. To get the full flavor of this extraordinary work, try the Westminster Cathedral Choir on Hyperion. The "Songs of Ariel" (settings of texts from The Tempest) are persuasive, but the other items here don't come off. Certainly the level of inspiration in these occasional pieces is not as high that found in the Mass, but the major problem is that The Sixteen aren't convincing in French. Their pronunciation isn't wrong, but they don't sound like they mean it--it's as if they learned the text phonetically. --Matthew Westphal

Customer Reviews:

Superb Performances of Major Martin & Messiaen Choral Works.......2005-05-05

The Mass for Unaccompanied Double Choir is now the most frequently recorded work by the great Swiss composer Frank Martin (1890-1974) - testimony to its direct musical & spiritual appeal, and especially astonishing for a piece that had to wait nearly 40 years after its completion (in 1926) for its premiere! The hauntingly beautiful five Songs of Ariel (1950) make up Martin's most important a cappella choral work on profane texts, and his only English-language settings - passages from Shakespeare's Tempest; typically, the longest piece focuses on serious themes of guilt, retribution and mercy. Both works receive exceptional performances here, as do the 2 formidably challenging Messiaen works, again one secular - the wild, unbuttoned Cinq Rechants (1948), with mixed French/invented tongue text referencing Tristan & Yseult, Orpheus, etc. - and one sacred, the brief but moving O sacrum convivium (1937). Conductor Daniel Reuss and the RIAS Chamber Chorus have done themselves and these inspired composers proud. I can't think of another recent disk of great 20th century choral music that has given me more pleasure and satisfaction. Highly recommended!

Martin: Mass / Songs Of Ariel / Cantate / Chansons / Ode A La Musique

Average customer rating:

Reissue of 2 Major & 9 'Minor' Martin Pieces

Martin: Mass / Songs Of Ariel / Cantate / Chansons / Ode A La Musique
Frank Martin , The Sixteen , and Harry Christophers
Manufacturer: Coro
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Cantatas | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Choruses | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Odes | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

A Cappella | Folk | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Frank Martin: Petite Symphonie Concertante
Frank Martin: Complete Music for Piano & Orchestra

ASIN: B0007DBXJM
Release Date: 2005-03-15

Tracks:

Cantate Pour Le 1er Aout
Chansons: Janeton
Chansons: Petite eglise
Chansons: Si Charlotte avait voulu
Songs of Ariel: Come unto these yellow sands
Songs of Ariel: Full fathom five
Songs of Ariel: Before you can say
Songs of Ariel: You are three men of sin
Songs of Ariel: Where the bee sucks
Chansons (1931): Sonnet
Chansons (1931): Le coucou
Chansons (1931): Ode
Chansons (1931): Le petit village
Ode A La Musique
Mass for Double Choir: Kyrie eleison
Mass for Double Choir: Gloria
Mass for Double Choir: Credo
Mass for Double Choir: Sanctus
Mass for Double Choir: Benedictus
Mass for Double Choir: Agnus Dei

Album Description

"A marvellous demonstration of Martin's gifts as a composer of vocal music." -BBC MUSIC

Frank Martin was arguably Switzerland's greatest composer. His shimmering Mass for Double Choir, completed in 1926 as "an affair between God and himself," is one of the finest settings of the twentieth century, yet it had to wait forty-one years to be shared with others in its first performance. This collection of his choral music also includes his cantata for Switzerland's national day (August 1), and the Ode to Music, along with some charming part-songs. Eclectic and technically superb, these pieces display a style that is serenly individual.

Customer Reviews:

Reissue of 2 Major & 9 'Minor' Martin Pieces.......2005-05-08

This is a reissue of a 1996 Collins Classics CD. Here's what I said about that disc, slightly updated:
With the exception of the enormously popular Mass for Unaccompanied Double Choir (1922/26) & the oft-recorded English-language Songs of Ariel (1950) to texts from Shakespeare, Frank Martin's most significant choral music is found in his 4 large-scale oratorios: In Terra Pax (1944), Golgotha (1945-8), Le Mystere de la Nativite (1957-9) & the Requiem (1970-1). This CD gathers together some of the shorter pieces from throughout his career, together with the Mass & Ariel Songs. Some of the performances come off better than others, largely because the various works were written for very different resources. The Sixteen do very well in the challenging 5 Songs of Ariel, composed for the professional Netherlands Chamber Choir; in the 2 occasional pieces, the Cantata for August 1st (1941) & the Ode to Music (1961), one wants more voices & more sheer enthusiasm. Likewise, the charming little folk-like songs would probably carry more conviction with amateur forces - or at least French-speaking ones. (The French throughout is carefully coached but clearly not native.) One programing error: The settings of the Ronsard Ode and Sonnet, sung here in reverse order & interleaved with other songs, were previously thought to date from 1931; they actually come from 1912, & when played together in the right order are far more effective. Overall, I'd recommend this disc primarily to those who already enjoy Martin's music & want to hear the 9 rarer pieces not otherwise available on CD. If you're interested primarily in the Mass & the Songs of Ariel, consider 2 recent CDs, both excellent: On Harmonia Mundi [HMC 901834], Daniel Reuss leads the RIAS-Kammerchor in a coupling with 2 fine pieces by Messiaen - an outstanding release. For an all-Martin program, hunt down Q Disc [Q 97056], where the Netherlands Chamber Choir under Tonu Kaljuste adds an important piece, Et la vie l'emporta (1974), Martin's final composition, a luminous & moving chamber cantata.

Average customer rating:

Martin: Mass; Songs of Ariel

Manufacturer: Collins
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Cantatas | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Choruses | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Odes | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

A Cappella | Folk | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000025VYX
Release Date: 1996-01-01

Tracks:

Cantate Pour Le 1er Aout
Chansons: Janeton
Chansons: Petite Eglise
Chansons: Si Charlotte Avait Voulu
Songs Of Ariel: 'Come Unto These Yellow Sands'
Songs Of Ariel: 'Full Fathom Five'
Songs Of Ariel: 'Before You Can Say'
Songs Of Ariel: 'You Are Three Men Of Sin' - Sally Bruce-Payne
Song Of Ariel: 'Where The Bee Sucks'
Chansons: Sonnet
Chansons: Le Coucou
Chansons: Ode
Chansons: Le Petit Village
Ode A La Musique - Simon Birchall
Mass For Double Choir: Kyrie Eleison
Mass For Double Choir: Gloria
Mass For Double Choir: Credo
Mass For Double Choir: Sanctus
Mass For Double Choir: Benedictus
Mass For Double Choir: Agnus Dei

Average customer rating:

A Martin Choral Miscellany Worth Hearing
Excellent Shakespeare Songs, the Rest a Mixed Bag...

Martin: Mass; Songs of Ariel

Manufacturer: Collins Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Cantatas | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Choruses | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Odes | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

A Cappella | Folk | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000003VZA
Release Date: 1996-04-09

Tracks:

Cantate Pour Le 1er Aout
Chansons: Janeton
Chansons: Petite Eglise
Chansons: Si Charlotte Avait Voulu
Songs Of Ariel: 'Come Unto These Yellow Sands'
Songs Of Ariel: 'Full Fathom Five'
Songs Of Ariel: 'Before You Can Say'
Songs Of Ariel: 'You Are Three Men Of Sin' - Sally Bruce-Payne
Song Of Ariel: 'Where The Bee Sucks'
Chansons: Sonnet
Chansons: Le Coucou
Chansons: Ode
Chansons: Le Petit Village
Ode A La Musique - Simon Birchall
Mass For Double Choir: Kyrie Eleison
Mass For Double Choir: Gloria
Mass For Double Choir: Credo
Mass For Double Choir: Sanctus
Mass For Double Choir: Benedictus
Mass For Double Choir: Agnus Dei

Amazon.com

Unfortunately, this disc isn't the most persuasive argument for Martin's choral music. The Sixteen's performance of the Mass is efficient, clear, and in tune; but it conveys little of the music's breathtaking spirituality. To get the full flavor of this extraordinary work, try the Westminster Cathedral Choir on Hyperion. The "Songs of Ariel" (settings of texts from The Tempest) are persuasive, but the other items here don't come off. Certainly the level of inspiration in these occasional pieces is not as high that found in the Mass, but the major problem is that The Sixteen aren't convincing in French. Their pronunciation isn't wrong, but they don't sound like they mean it--it's as if they learned the text phonetically. --Matthew Westphal

Customer Reviews:

A Martin Choral Miscellany Worth Hearing.......2001-09-21

With the exception of the early Mass for Unaccompanied Double Choir (1922/26), Frank Martin's most significant choral music is to be found in the 4 large-scale oratorios of his maturity: In Terra Pax (1944), Golgotha (1945-8), Le Mystere de la Nativite (1957-9) & the Requiem (1970-1). This disc is a worthwhile attempt to gather together some of the shorter pieces from throughout his career; if some of the performances come off better than others, that's largely because the various works were written for very different resources, & no one choir - even one as accomplished as The Sixteen - can be expected to succeed equally well in all of them. Thus The Sixteen do very well indeed in the challenging 5 Songs of Ariel (1950) - magical, evocative English-language settings of texts from Shakespeare's Tempest - composed for the professional Netherlands Chamber Choir; in the 2 occasional pieces, the Cantata for August 1st (1941)& the Ode to Music (1961), one wants more voices & more sheer enthusiasm. Likewise, the charming little folk-like songs would probably carry more conviction with amateur forces - or at least French-speaking ones. (The French throughout is carefully coached but clearly not native.) One programming error isn't their fault: The settings of the Ronsard Ode and Sonnet, sung here in reverse order & interleaved with 2 other songs, were previously thought to date from 1931; they actually come from 1912, & when played together in the right order are far more effective. Overall, I have enjoyed, & continue to enjoy this disc a lot more than the Amazon reviewer & I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys Martin's music & wants to explore some of the rarer pieces.

Excellent Shakespeare Songs, the Rest a Mixed Bag..........2000-06-13

While not disagreeing in essence with Matthew Westphal's assessment, I have to say I enjoy this disc more that he did. The basic problem is that Martin's shorter & smaller-scale choral works were composed for a wide range of occasions & capabilities. Thus the Five Ariel Songs, an evocative & inspired group written for the Netherlands Chamber Choir, fits the Sixteen's refined professional skills perfectly (as well as being in their native language). The French pieces suffer not only from absence of idiomatic language skills, but from an excess of reserve & a lack of gusto: first-rate amateur or semi-pro performances by committed Swiss singers would certainly bring more conviction to the two "occasional" pieces & to the 2 sets of Chansons (the way a good British choir might to some of Benjamin Britten's minor pieces, or to Percy Grainger's choral works). Even so, the Chansons are tuneful & charming, & some of them - Petite Eglise & the Ronsard Sonnet in particular - are tinged with a touching melancholy. For these, & for the Shakespeare settings, worth considering. Texts & translations.

Track Listings:

Track Listings

track listings

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