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Te Deum - Music by Engel • Kreek • Bach • Nystedt

 
Te Deum - Music by Engel • Kreek • Bach • Nystedt-Choral and Organ-Choral Collection
ID: GMCD7245 (EAN: 795754724523)  | 1 CD | DDD
Ausgefolgt: 2002
LABEL:
Guild GmbH
Kolektion:
Choral Collection
Subkolektion:
Choral and Organ
Komponisten:
BACH, Johann Sebastian | ENGEL, Joel | KREEK, Cyrillus | NYSTEDT, Knut
Ensembles:
Estonian Phiharmonic Chamber Choir
Dirigenten:
ENGEL, Paul
Andere Infos:

Franz Hauk, org; Art of Brass Vienna, Estonian Phiharmonic Chamber Choir/ Paul Engel

Begutachtung:
 

Here we are served up a rich repast of highly varied, predominantly Estonian music for Organ, brasses, percussion, and choir - but not all at once; in fact, all four elements are heard together only in the concluding Engel piece. Most of it is sacred, or at least intended to be performed in a church - in this case, lnnsbruck's St Jakob Cathedral.

The opening selection is by Paul Engel (b 1949): Venetian Deja-vu for nine brasses, after Giovanni Gabrieli. Written in 2001, it is very freely based on a motet and an eight-part sonata for double instrumental choirs by the younger Gabrieli. The musical language is intermittently bitonal and sounds distinctly contemporary, but it works well as intended. This is a very busy, skilfully constructed, and demanding work. Fleeting thematic and harmonic echoes of the old master are there, but sometimes you have to listen very carefully to hear them. I'm not sure I've caught them all, even after four hearings. But the overall sonic effect is very much like that of Gabrieli's vivid multi-choir brass extravaganzas: very impressive, even thrilling! The amazing virtuosity of Vienna's Art of Brass Ensemble is immediately apparent.

A stark sonic contrast then emerges in the form of three settings by the Estonian Cyrillus Kreek (1889-1950) from his Psalms of David for Choir (choral freaks: another exciting discovery!). His reverential and ecstatic a cappella settings take their thunderstruck listeners an ethnic and structural step or two beyond Russian Orthodox chant, but the wondrous mystical intensity of that form remains unscathed. The imposing Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir - one of the best of the full-throated Slavic-tradition groups - sounds like a band of gutsy, enraptured angels in the cathedral's reverberant acoustic. Really beautiful stuff!.

Franz Hauk (who doubles as the author of the fine program notes) then offers an interlude of gripping organ playing, on a spectacular new (1999-2000) cathedral instrument from Johann Pirchner. lt's all-Bach: the mighty Toccata, Adagio, and Fugue followed by the gentle S 641 Chorale Prelude, 'When we are in dire distress'. Hauk makes child's play of the challenging toccata, including the imposing 12-bar pedal solo-one of the toughest ever. I would've loved to watch his flashing feet as he went at it! Recording quality is magnificent.

Contrasts continue with a single arresting a cappella choral piece by the Norwegian Knut Nystedt, 'lmmortal Bach', after 'Come Sweet Death'. After presenting the aching chorale just as Bach left it, Nystedt proceeds to transform each separate line by building highly dissonant tone clusters, one note at a time, on top of Bach's foundation notes. This causes creeping accumulations of fearful tension that bury the great master's voice in seething, painful musical chaos. But in each episode, just as the listener begins to wonder if he can take any more, Nystedt slowly plucks individual notes back out of the grim tonal fabric, blessedly resolving all into peace and serenity once more. This is an utterly ingenious and fascinating piece that certainly adds a disturbing new dimension to the original chorale.

The program ends with the title work, Engel's complex and hard-hitting Te Deum. Whiffs of old Slavic church modes waft through the busy musical fabric like incense; but otherwise, the grim old patriarchs of yesteryear would be appalled. I wasn't it seems to me a truly original and meticulously crafted work. It positively reeks of pomp and glory, intermittently leavened by abject entreaty and hushed mystery. Instruments include percussion (drums, bells, xylophone), nine mixed brasses, and organ - all employed with great imagination.

The choir's sonorities seem a bit recessed compared to their spacious sound in the Kreek pieces; but then, sonic room had to be made for an awful lot of instrumental decibels as well. lf there's any label that knows how to record music in churches, it's Guild - and they strike mostly happy dynamic balances here. Choir and instrumentalists alike are everywhere superb.

This collection might just as well have been included in the composer section, as the music of Engel occupies the lion's share of the space. Despite the excellence of the other selections, it seems primarily intended to show off his compositions - and with good reason. Engel, whose works are just now beginning to be recorded, is a composer to be reckoned with - as if Estonia doesn't have enough fine ones already!

Fans of organ, brass ensembles, and choral music will all find something to gush about here. Every selection is a revelation. I'd buy it for the Kreek pieces alone. Notes, texts and translations. KOOB


 

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