A new release from
Sono Luminus www.sonoluminus.com entitled Crossing Over features the Skylark Vocal Ensemble www.skylarkensemble.org in compositions that depict the dream state
at the end of life. These choral compositions are from around the world and
include several world premiere recordings.
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| CD and Blu-ray Audio DSL-92200 |
The Skylark Vocal Ensemble is a chamber choir of
professional soloists and music educators from across the United States. Formed
in 2011 under the direction of Matthew Guard, Skylark performs innovative
programmes that help reinforce the intent of the composers to communicate
truths about the human condition. A not-for-profit entity, Skylark also
performs educational outreach programs with students across the United States
during their concert tours.
Daniel Elder’s (b. 1986) www.danieleldermusic.com Elegy was inspired by the taps bugle call,
played traditionally in the military to signal lights out at the end of the day
and now played at military memorials, symbolizing poignantly the closing of the
last of days. The Skylark Vocal Ensemble bring some quite lovely harmonies out
of which soloists rise up bringing the most exquisitely shaped phrases before
the choir lead us to a beautifully hushed coda. This is a remarkably lovely
piece.
John Tavener’s (1944- 2013) http://johntavener.com Butterfly Dreams is an eight
movement dream-state piece composed in 2003 setting a variety of texts. It
opens with the title piece Butterfly
Dreams based on texts by Chuang Tse, weaving some lovely long lines with
beautiful harmonies and subtly shifting harmonies.
Haiku by Kokku
brings more of Tavener’s distinctive subtly shifting harmonies before Haiku by Buson where this choir achieves
a lovely balance between upper female voices and the lower layer of choral
sound in this fine piece. Haiku by Issa
is a faster piece that consists of a series of four repeated sequences that
quickly build to a climax, each one adding a subtle increase in textures and
power. Very finely sung. Haiku anon is
very brief but finds a quite gentle calm, beautifully sung. The Butterfly by Pavel Friedmann rises
up suddenly, full of alarm, this choir achieving a fine, brightly toned texture.
It falls back briefly before rising up again, juxtaposing a calmer nature
against its more anxious nature. Butterfly
Song from Acoman Indian finds a repose as the music gently, slowly and
thoughtfully moves forward. Finally Butterfly
Dreams based on Chuang Tse brings back more of Tavener’s glorious textures
and sonorities, always gentle and subtly shifting, perfectly caught by this
terrific choir.
The Russian composer of liturgical music, Nicolai Kedrov (1871-1940) is best known
for his setting of Otche Nash. Sung
in Russian this choir bring beautifully controlled tempo and dynamics to this
gentle setting of the Lord’s Prayer as well as the most lovely sonorities with
some fine bass voices at the end. This is a real treasure.
Jón
Leifs (1899-1968), was an Icelandic composer, pianist and conductor whose music
has recently gained more popularity due to a number of recordings by BIS
Records. He spent much of his life in Germany but returned home in 1945,
leaving his wife and daughters in Sweden. It was after this move that Leifs’
younger daughter Líf drowned in a swimming accident off the coast of Sweden in
1947. His grief led to the composition of a number of works including his Requiem that sets texts from Icelandic
poetry and Magnusarkvioa by Jonas Hallgrimson.
This brief work, sung in Icelandic, has a chant like, slow
rhythmic pulse with quite lovely sonorities. There is a finely felt sense of
urgent grief in the little dynamic rises to each line and some very fine choral
lines over a sustained choral base. This is a quite stunning work, wonderfully
sung.
American composer, Robert
Vuichard https://twitter.com/robertwv has set poems by John Donne
for his Heliocentric Meditation. Female voices open with some fine
textures added to by the male voices. There are some lovely dissonances as well
as some superb part writing here. The piece subtly increases in dynamics with varied
rhythms as the music progresses. There are lovely little surges of voices
through fine harmonies with finely shaped passages of rising phrases. This
superb choir achieves some spectacularly fine dissonant sonorities with a finely
controlled climax toward the calm coda that brings the words ‘Never send to
know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee’
William Schuman (1910-1992) www.williamschuman.org set texts by Walt Whitman for his 1958 work for mixed chorus, Carols of Death. There is a finely phrased opening to The Last Invocation as this choir finds its way quite wonderfully
through Schuman’s shifting harmonies and varied dynamics. The Unknown Region brings some remarkable ideas as repeated phrases
build up a terrific choral texture with this choir bringing the most superb
control, finding all the drama. To All,
to Each opens on the repeated word ‘come’ before moving forward, weaving
some lovely passages with some glorious sonorities in the coda.
The Icelandic composer,
Anna Þorvaldsdóttir www.annathorvalds.com is building a fine reputation with her
striking compositions. Heyr þú oss
himnum á, written in 2005, sets an ancient Icelandic psalm and further
indicates what a very fine, gifted composer she is. There are the most lovely
harmonies as this setting gently moves forward, subtly gaining in passion, gently
rising and falling through the most beautiful passages, so very finely sung by
this choir.
Skylark conclude with another work by John Tavener, his Funeral Ikos.
It is wonderful how Tavener conjures a great feeling of tradition whilst adding
his own distinctive devices. This choir find all the many beauties of this
setting, with finely judged tempi and dynamics and lovely harmonies.
It is this choir’s wonderful control and shaping of phrases,
as well as its fine sonorities that adds so much to these performances. They
receive a first rate recording given the extra presence and depth in the
Blu-ray version.
There are very brief booklet notes. Not all texts are given but
there are texts for all those works not sung in English. The booklet is beautifully
illustrated.
This is a truly wonderful disc of choral works.
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