All recordingsPrices shown exclude VAT. (UK tax is not payable for deliveries to United States.)
See Terms & Conditions for p&p rates. | |  | Poulenc - Gloria and Motets
Susan Gritton Polyphony, Britten Sinfonia, The Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge, Stephen Layton Stephen Layton and Polyphony continue to blaze a trail as great interpreters and dazzling performers of a wide range of choral music. Their recent disc of Bruckner’s Mass in E minor and motets was acclaimed as a benchmark recording. For their latest Hyperion disc they turn to some of the most bewitching and unusual, yet well-loved, choral works of the twentieth century.
Poulenc’s choral music is a deep expression both of his faith and of his unique musical language. In the various motets, the music responds to the composer’s studies of Bach, Monteverdi, Palestrina and Gabrieli, but is always stylistically progressive. Prominently featured are Poulenc’s distinctive and often ingenious chord progressions. Each motet has its own delightfully etched personality.
Poulenc’s Gloria is one of his most enduringly appealing works. In some ways straightforwardly pious, it is also tinged with mischievous irreverence and a sense of rollocking enjoyment. ‘When I wrote this piece’, Poulenc famously recalled, ‘I had in mind those frescoes by Gozzoli where the angels stick out their tongues; and also some serious Benedictine monks I had once seen revelling in a game of football.’ This recording by the Britten Sinfonia, The Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge, Polyphony and the soprano soloist Susan Gritton under Stephen Layton brings out all these aspects in a classic performance. “Gloriously pompous,” says Marc Rochester of the fanfare that opens Poulenc’s Gloria. He’s quite right, of course, but also right in pointing out that it is absolutely electric. And that goes for much of this terrific album. When the massed forces of Polyphony, the Britten Sinfonia and the Trinity College Choir ring out at full strength, the sound is simply incredible. Gramophone Magazine “From the very outset of the Gloria its clear that this is a performance of real distinction. …the scintillating choral entry, the basses starting the ball rolling with the kind of pent-up energy which you just know is going to explode in the most spectacular way. In the final chorus of the Gloria, after the boisterous start, we have a moment of profound sanctity and another, crowned with incredible delicacy by Susan Gritton, of mouth-watering enchantment.” Gramophone Magazine, April 2008 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
|
|
| |  |
Kathleen Battle Tanglewood Festival Chorus & Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
|
|
| |  |
Danielle Borst (soprano), Eric Lebrun (organ) Orchestre de la Cite, Ile de France Vittoria Regional Choir, Michel Piquemal "The chorus are spirited, with good attack and enunciation, and with sensitive shadings of tone."
- Gramophone “The orchestral sound is stunningly rich and soprano Danielle Borst responds with a glorious variety of vocal colours.” BBC Music Magazine, June 2008 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
|
|
| |  |
Pascal Rogé & George Malcolm The Philharmonia Orchestra & L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande etc., Charles Dutoit/Sergiu Commissiona | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
|
|
| |  |
Luba Orgonásová (soprano) Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Mariss Jansons “The Netherlands Radio Choir is impressively well-drilled… The Slovakian soprano Luba Orgonásová soars majestically over the whole, alternately creating serenity and high drama as required. …a modern reading that is monumental but never melodramatic.” BBC Music Magazine, June 2008 | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
|
|
| |  |
Catherine Dubosc (soprano) Westminster Singers & City of London Sinfonia, Richard Hickox | | | Usually despatched in 3 - 4 working days. |
|
|
| |  |
McNair, Murray & Shaw Atlanta Symphony Orchestra “Robert Shaw's legendary gift as a choir trainer shines through here. The balance between chorus, orchestra and soloist is finely handled, and Sylvia McNair gives a performance of great beauty.” BBC Music Magazine, June 2008 | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
|
|
| |  |
Blasi, Kunz, Macias, Fink, Fournier Orchestra of Gulbenkian Foundation, Michel Corboz “With soprano Brigitte Fournier in her element, impressive brass and crystal-clear woodwind textures, the chorus responds sympathetically to Corboz who stretches Poulenc's slow tempos to the limit but never beyond.” BBC Music Magazine, June 2008 | | | Usually despatched in 3 - 4 working days. |
|
|
| |  | Sacred Music of Poulenc
The Cambridge Singers, City of London Sinfonia, John Rutter | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
|
|
| |  |
Tanglewood Festival Chorus & Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa | | | Usually despatched in 8 - 10 working days. |
|
|
| |
|
Gramophone Awards 2008
Gramophone Magazine
Building a Library