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Track(s) taken from CDA67449

Ave Maria

composer
author of text
Antiphon for the Blessed Virgin Mary

Polyphony, Stephen Layton (conductor)
Recording details: August 2003
Temple Church, London, United Kingdom
Produced by Mark Brown
Engineered by Julian Millard
Release date: March 2005
Total duration: 6 minutes 41 seconds

Cover artwork: Why Seek Ye the Living Among the Dead? (1905). Howard Pyle (1853-1911)
American Illustrators Gallery, NYC / Bridgeman Images
 

Reviews

‘Exquisitely sung by Polyphony with strong support from the Britten Sinfonia under Stephen Layton’ (The Observer)

‘The music has freshness and an affecting emotional pull to it that explains its popularity with singers and audiences across the pond. Stephen Layton's Polyphony, whose recent recordings of Pärt, Tavener and others have been revelations of choral singing, brings a comparable firmness, tonal opulence and refinement to this new repertoire, which will undoubtedly gain new admirers as a result’ (The Daily Telegraph)

‘Conventional choral wisdom suggests that the American Morten Lauridsen is a one-work wonder and certainly O magnum mysterium is wonderful, with vocal lines that arch out like fan vaulting. With this new recording Stephen Layton and Hyperion are clearly out to prove that Lauridsen's gifts are not just for Christmas but for all seasons too … now the jury is back: the choir and Layton have acquitted Morten Lauridsen. Here's a three-, perhaps four-work wonder!’ (International Record Review)

‘Layton and company have here produced the finest I've heard among several excellent collections of Lauridsen's work. None are quite as exquisitely nuanced or sung with such glowing vocal sheen as this. Clear and shimmering sound, plus Hyperion's usual complete and user-friendly booklet, make it all the more attractive. No committed choral fan or singer will ever regret letting Lauridsen into his life’ (American Record Guide)

‘Stephen Layton's feel for the inner line and structure melts the heart, as does the impeccable, unforced singing of Polyphony. Their music-making remains in heavenly realms throughout the virtuoso Madrigali: pure choral gold’ (Classic FM Magazine)

‘Every one of the works on this mesmerising Hyperion release is deliciously lyrical and harmonically sumptuous, but spiced with delicate dissonances that are Lauridsen's signature … every performance here is delivered with liquid perfection’ (The Scotsman)

‘It's not often I have to brush away the tears when I'm reviewing a recording, but I will happily confess that on this occasion Lauridsen got me again and again. I can't give this disc a higher recommendation than that. Run out and buy it as soon as you can’ (Fanfare, USA)

‘Above all, these performances by Stephen Layton's Polyphony are breathtakingly beautiful, powerfully expressive without trace of forced sentimentality. Hyperion's Disc of the Month for March should become one of the year's classical hits’ (Music Week)

‘A flawless, perfectly balanced performance from the British choral group Polyphony, directed by the gifted Stephen Layton, and ably assisted by the Britten Sinfonia. If you love choral music, if you appreciate compositions that lift you from the mundane, you should not miss Lux aeterna’ (St Louis-Post Dispatch)

‘This Hyperion release is superb and the disc is a must. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have’ (Classical Music Web)

‘This is compelling and challenging music that deserves wider performance. The world-class ensemble Polyphony has made many first-rate recordings, and this is another—and it will be an immediate acquisition for this composer's growing legions of fans … if you love choral music, Lauridsen's work is required listening’ (Classics Today)

‘The sound is very clean, very focused and detailed, and has remarkable sound-stage depth … the bottom line is, if you aren't familiar with Lux aeterna, your life is the poorer for it. You do need a recording of it’ (Stereophile)
Lauridsen’s Ave Maria, composed in 1997, is a texturally rich, eight-part setting of the most beloved of Marian antiphons. This lovely Ave Maria recalls the sumptuous polychoral music of Gabrieli as well as the rich textures of Brahms’s music for unaccompanied chorus.

from notes by Byron Adams © 2005

L’Ave Maria (1997) est une mise en musique à huit parties, à la texture riche, de la mieux aimée des antiennes mariales. Cette charmante pièce rappelle la somptueuse musique polychorale de Gabrieli et les luxuriantes textures de la musique de Brahms pour chœur sans accompagnement.

extrait des notes rédigées par Byron Adams © 2005
Français: Hyperion Records Ltd

Lauridsens Ave Maria, entstanden im Jahre 1997, ist eine achtstimmige, strukturell vielfältige Vertonung der beliebten Marianischen Antiphon. Dieses wunderschöne Ave Maria erinnert sowohl an die prächtigen mehrchörigen Werke Gabrielis als auch an die üppigen Strukturen von Brahms’ Musik für Chor a cappella.

aus dem Begleittext von Byron Adams © 2005
Deutsch: Viola Scheffel

Other albums featuring this work

Lauridsen: Lux aeterna
This album is not yet available for downloadSACDA67449Super-Audio CD — Deleted
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