Brahms: Ein deutsches Requiem, Op. 45; Schütz: Selig sind die Toten, SWV391,
Wie lieblich sind deine Wohnungen, SWV29 – Katharine Fuge (soprano), Matthew Brook (bass-baritone), The Monteverdi Choir, Orchestre révolutionnaire et romantique, Sir John Eliot Gardiner
Following the phenomenal worldwide success of the series of Brahms’s Symphonies (nominated in the orchestral category of the 2009 BBC Music Awards), SDG is happy to present the last recording issuing from the tour Brahms: Roots and Memories of 2008, in which Sir John Eliot Gardiner and his ensembles explored the music of Johannes Brahms.
Ein deutsches Requiem is presented along with pieces by Heinrich Schütz (1585 – 1672) which might have inspired its composition, giving the listener a new insight into Brahms’s mind and music making.
Deeply moving, profound, and powerful, the Requiem is central to our understanding of Brahms’s compositional personality and inner spiritual life. Behind its dramatic gestures and nineteenth-century grandeur, it reveals Brahms’s deep involvement with folksong and the music of the past. The text, assembled by Brahms himself based on the Lutheran Bible, makes it a definitive personal statement of his position in matters of religion.
Signum SIG 283
A Choral Tapestry – Voces8
The internationally award-winning octet Voces8 has established itself as the foremost young British a cappella vocal group. Performing a repertoire ranging from Renaissance polyphony to unique jazz and pop arrangements, the group has been praised for stunning performance, exquisite singing, and the creation of a sound that spans the entire range of vocal colour.
A Choral Tapestry explores the rich vocal timbres of sacred vocal music spanning five centuries. Interweaving genres create an ethereal sonic tapestry that centres round the haunting beauty of William Byrd’s Mass for Four Voices. The programme includes anthems and motets from the English Chapel Royal, the Sistine Chapel in Rome, and St Thomas’s Church, Leipzig.
Praise for the first two discs from Voces8 – Aces High (SIG 187) and Bach Motets (SIG 213) include:
‘The slickest of the lot… two parts King’s Singers, three parts Swingle Singers, a dash of Bobby McFerrin and California sunshine… fans of a cappella ought to hear this, not just for the singing but the production values and Jim Clements audacious arrangements.’
Andrew McGreggor, ‘CD Review’, BBC Radio 3
‘One can only marvel at the group’s remarkable collective skill and cohesion.’
Fanfare
