Whoops! There I was dropping off for a month or three's worth of hibernation, somebody didn't set the alarm and suddenly here we are more than half way through the year.
Oh well, here comes a bumper crop of wonderful recordings fom the first sx months of 2013.
January:
Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang (Latin Music from Tudor England) sung by Magnificat on Linn. A late start so here's some Early Music from Byrd, Parsons and White sung beautifully by Philip Cave's top notch choir (he being an ex-conductor of the Oxford Harmonic Society).
Norgard Libra, Danish National Vocal Ensemble on Dacapo. By turns highly accessible and mysteriously unpredictable this music is hard to tie down to a particular time or location. Apparently Norgard reconnected with tonality through fractal geometry. Probably best to just listen and enjoy the music rather than trying to comprehend the unfathomable.
February:
Schumann Missa Sacra, Les Cris de Paris on Aparte. Okay, hands up if you didn't know about this Mass by Schumann. Me too. Possibly Schumann's most neglected major work this recording brings it to life and makes you want to sing it yourself as well as immeditely listen to it again.
March:
Gabriel Jackson A Ship Unfurled Sails, State Choir Latvia on Hyperion. A dazzling combination of a wonderful Baltic choir (and I've already made my position clear on how good Baltic composers and choirs are) plus a contemporary British composer who always produces music worth listening to. It just had to be a winner.
April:
Freislich Passio Christi, Goldberg Baroque Ensemble on Sarton. A Polish Baroque Passion Oratorio by a composer you've probably never heard of. Probably only one for lovers of Baroque music who want to spread their wings a little wider than the usual culprits. I won't pretend that it is the best thing since sliced bread (and who the hell likes sliced bread anyway), but of historical interest and not likely to upset your elderly relatives if they hear it playing in the background.
May:
Glass The Passion of Ramakrishna, Pacific Chorale and Symphony Orchestra on Orange Mountain Music. Okay if you don't like Glass move on to the next item now. This is another attempt at Indian mysticism and unlike the lengthy Satyagraha (which I thought was wonderul live, but is a bit much to listen to simply as a recording) it is compact and tightly bound to its subject making it more accssible to the average listener and a little less like Glass simply churning out his usual stuff. I'm a semi-Glass fan anyway (a Glass half full type snake maybe) so this gets a pretty high rating from me as one of his best recent works.
June:
Levine The Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostum, Tenebrae on Signum. Moscow born composer Alexander Levine draws heavily on the great Russian choral tradition in this work but adds a vibrancy and colour palette of his own which Tenebrae make the most of. I think the description heavenly just about sums it up.
Enough. I'll need another hibernation if I don't have a rest now. Hopefully the next installation will be a bit more timely.
