Composer: Samuel Barber, Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland
Performer: Corydon Singers
Conductor: Matthew Best
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Hyperion
Catalogue: CDA66219
Release: 1987
Size: 182 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Bernstein: Chichester Psalms
01. I. Psalm 108:2 – Psalm 100
02. II. Psalm 23:1-4 – Psalm 2:1-4 – Psalm 23:5-6
03. III. Psalm 131 – Psalm 133:1
04. Barber: Agnus Dei
05. Copland: In the Beginning
Copland: Four Motets
06. I. Help us, O Lord
07. III. Have mercy on us, O my Lord
08. IV. Sing ye praises to our king
Half of this programme is devoted to unaccompanied choral music by Copland: In the Beginning, a striking 15-minute ‘Creation’ for mixed four-part chorus and solo mezzo (which is eloquently executed by Catherine Denley) written in 1947, and three of four short motets he composed in 1921, while studying with Nadia Boulanger in Paris.
The performance of the Chichester Psalms recorded here uses Bernstein’s own reduced (but very effective) instrumentation of organ, harp and percussion, but follows the composer’s New York precedent in employing a mixed chorus – although the illusion of a cathedral choir is persuasively conveyed.It’s very impressive.
The singing of the Corydon Singers under Matthew Best is very fine, and the vivid recording, which gives the voices a pleasant bloom while avoiding the resonance of King’s College Chapel, reproduces the instrumental accompaniment, notably the percussion, with electrifying impact. Best’s soloist is Dominic Martelli, and very sweetly he sings too. The disc is completed by Barber’s setting of the Agnus Dei from 1967 and is an arrangement of the famous Adagio for Strings.
This imaginative and enterprising programme is extremely well sung and vividly recorded.