This offering of Tallis’s motets reflects the changing demands on composers during the English Reformation. Henry VIII’s spurning of Catholicism in 1534, along with the taste of the early Reformation leader Thomas Cranmer, had a handsome effect on the composition of sacred vocal music. A syllabic, non-melismatic approach to word-setting was favoured – a trend reflected here in the blazing Mass for Four Voices. This music is full of striking harmonic effects; false relations abound! The spidery conclusion of In Manus Tuas, Domine is deftly handled: artful elegance applied to such dissonances gives the ear time to absorb the harmonic logic. Occasional intonation slips are just noticeable: a sharp soprano in the opening notes of Wipe Away My Sins, reaffirms her sharp inclinations in the otherwise sublime Miserere Nostri. The Cardinall’s Musick takes a rather reserved approach to the music, utterly appropriate to the style. Well-judged, vigorous singing flares up in the Gloria from the Mass for Four Voices. In that work, incredibly stellar chordal writing is intelligently balanced: a clear hierarchy in chordal notes is reflected in the tuning and volume of each note. As though a… Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already…

Kenneth Leighton came to prominence in the 1960s with a unique musical language that suited the times. His output had a ‘mod’ feel: edgy harmonies and propulsive rhythms seemed to proclaim a bold, new outlook that challenged both the musical and ecclesiastical status quo. Looking deeper we discover that Leighton’s music was anchored by a fair weight of musical history. Five years as a boy chorister at Wakefield Cathedral imbued him with a love of the Anglican tradition, whilst his later experience as a student of strict counterpoint, under the stern eye of his teacher Petrassi, ensured he knew what rules he was breaking. Stephen Layton and the Trinity choir have done a magnificent job in bringing out all the colour and drama of this selection of Leighton’s church music. Much of the disc has been recorded at Lincoln Cathedral where the weight of the organ adds to the intensity of the performances, even if it means some detail is blurred. Crucifixus Pro Nobis is splendidly realised with superb attention to the text by Patrick Carey and Phineas Fletcher. Tenor Andrew Kennedy wrings all the pathos from the score… Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe…

Editor’s Choice, Vocal & Choral – August 2015 When one considers Franz Liszt’s rapacious appetite for poetic stimulation, the exalted literary circles in which he moved and his inexhaustible creative drive, it should come as no surprise that he composed over 70 songs, although only a handful will be familiar to most lieder-philes. That may change thanks to this third volume of Hyperion’s latest project in the label’s seeming aim to record the entire art-song repertoire and the bringing on board of Canadian bass-baritone Gerald Finley will broaden its appeal. The album spans some 50 years of Liszt’s career and demonstrates his wide ranging polyglot tastes and searching intellectual curiosity for source material. His harmonic and formal invention can veer from the exploratory to the mundane, but when taken on its own terms and delivered with this level of dramatic intensity it makes for a haunting 75 minutes. Finley takes these songs by the scruff of the neck and gives them all the dramatic gesture and flair he can muster. The Petrarch Sonnets are here, but heard in the substantially revised second edition for low voice, their austere… Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already…

The Song Company’s ex-pat director is planning Bach, birdsong and Billie Holiday for 2016. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Celebrating 25 years on stage, Angela Gheorghiu comes to Australia trailing a reputation as long as a Diva’s train.

With LP nostalgia now playing a major role in classical music purchases, we open our ears to a blast from the past.

Richard Gill believes singing is the best way to acquire a complete musical education. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Could the world could be a better place if more of us learned to sing from the same hymn sheet? Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Angela Cavalieri’s intriguing art brings illumination to Monteverdi’s final opera. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Has classical lost its power to protest? Or was Bernstein at the Berlin Wall, music’s last stand? Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Neat programme makes Gill’s 6×3 add up to rather more than 18. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Dutoit’s technicolor Ravel and Debussy, plus Berlioz with 350 singers! Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in