Choral Music

Tuur: Canticum Canticorum Caritatis

This album contains a selection of key a cappella choral works by Erkki-Sven Tüür. For the Estonian composer born in 1959, words and music are intimately linked. Triglosson Trishagion (2008), indebted to the Orthodox tradition and sung in Estonian, Russian and Greek, and Wanderer’s Evening Song (2001) complete this programme, which is characterised by a meditative, interiorised approach to the composer. (Alpha)

1CD# ALPHA917 $18.99

Coleridge: Requiem

“Composers have been setting the Requiem texts to music since the late Middle Ages, and it was to these early settings that I was drawn when writing my own offering: with simple, flowing melodic threads combined to create a richer fabric. My thanks to Rupert Gough and the vibrant young voices of the Choir of Royal Holloway.” – Matthew Coleridge (Convivium)

1CD# CVI081 $16.99

Ligeti: Complete Works for a Cappella Choir [2 CDs]

In addition to his popular compositions such as orchestral works and chamber music, György Ligeti also wrote vocal music, among them numerous and demanding a cappella choral works. Awardwinning Yuval Weinberg has been the chief conductor of the SWR Vokalensemble since the beginning of the season 2020/2021. (SWR Classic)

2CD# SWR19128CD $26.99

Bach: Motetten / Tölzer Knabenchor

Under Michael Hofstetter, who has been the choir’s first guest conductor since this summer, the Tölzer Knabenchor now presents – for the first time on the Christophorus label – an album with motets of the Bach family. This selection brings together motets by the Bach family in the 17th century, beginning with Johann Bach, the great-uncle. (Christophorus)

1CD# CHR77467 $18.99

Arias of Love & Sorrow / Gevorg Hakobyan

Gevorg Hakobyan is a rising star on the international operatic stage. Drawing from favorite operas such as Verdi’s Otello and Tchaikovsky’s Queen of Spades, Arias of Love & Sorrow joins recent Delos releases including Oksana Dyka’s In Questa Reggia, Oksana Volkova’s Poison D’Amour and Kristian Benedikt’s Tenore di forza in bringing new and captivating voices to fans of opera.

(Delos)

1CD# DE 3572 $16.99

Grigorjeva: Music for Male-Voice Choir

The choral music of Galina Grigorjeva – born in Simferopol in Ukraine in 1962 and based in Tallinn, in Estonia, since 1994 – is deeply rooted in the traditions of the Orthodox Church and in ancient Russian and Slavonic folklore. Although clearly by a contemporary composer, her works have a timeless, even hypnotic.

(Toccata Classics)

1CD# TOCC0679 $18.99

A third Hyperion release from topnotch Portuguese choir, Cupertinos, maintains the exceptional standards already set by the first two. This collection of sacred music by Pedro de Cristo includes five first recordings and marks animportant addition to the composer’s burgeoning discography.

(Hyperion)

1CD# MOB283937 $19.99

Bruckner Spectrum / Zurich Chamber Singers

These pieces allow a singular access to Bruckner’s musical development and personality, as well as his religious psyche. In this program Anton Bruckner’s motets are presented in a careful sequence combining them with works by Palestrina and Burkhard Kinzler. The latter feature as a commentary that both hearkens back ‘ad fontes’ and towards the twenty-first-century present. (Berlin Classics)

1CD# 0302806BC $18.99

Van Gogh in Me / Netherlands Chamber Choir;

Dukstra

With Van Gogh in Me, the Netherlands Chamber Choir presents an experience in which the paintings of Vincent Van Gogh and Gustav Klimt come to life to the music of the great Romantic and early 20th century composers such as Debussy, Saint-Saëns, Mahler... and, in a world premiere, a transcription for a cappella choir of Satie’s first Gymnopédie. (Alpha)

1CD# ALPHA638 $18.99

All Angels – Choral Works by George Arthur [2 CDs]

Explore this new album of choral works by British composer, George Arthur, performed by The Choir of Royal Holloway. He has been commissioned by various cathedrals and chapel choirs at home and overseas and his music is regularly performed around the world. He has had works broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and 4 and on BBC television. (Convivium)

2CD# CVI078 $19.99