Friedens-Hall (Echoes of Peace)
Leipzig Monument Choir/Philipp Goldmann
Andreas Mitschke (organ), Bernd Brückner (saxophone)
rec. 17-19 October 2019, 27-29 February 2020, Völkerschlachtdenkmal, Leipzig, Germany
RONDEAU ROP6193 [62:29]
The Leipzig Völkerschlachtdenkmal - Monument to the Battle of Nations - was built in 1913 and boasts a vast 91-meter high dome under which the echo can last as long as 10 seconds. The booklet itself describes the acoustic as “breath-taking”, and this spacious recording would seem to capture it perfectly. This programme of largely unaccompanied choral music, cleverly entitled “Echoes of Peace”, sung by the building’s own choir (the Denkmalchor) under its director, Philipp Goldmann, makes highly effective use of that astonishing acoustic. Goldmann allows ends of phrases to fade away into the infinite chasm of silence and makes climaxes all the more potent by getting layers of sound to merge into one magnificent, but never totally overwhelming whole. Gabriele Proy builds on that very aspect of the sound in her eight-part Frieden which was composed especially for this choir and this very building.
Beyond music written especially for this amazing acoustic environment, the programme brings together a huge variety of musical styles, from Josquin Desprez and Heinrich Schütz (with delicate organ accompaniment from Andreas Mitschke), through Bruckner, Rheinberger, Rachmaninov and Schnittke, and modern-day classics from Ola Gjeilo, Knut Nystedt and John Rutter (with a beautifully flexible organ accompaniment from Mitschke), to new works. Among the more effective of these new pieces is Michelle Roueché’s Lux Aeterna for four-part female choir, and Philipp Goldmann’s own Von guten Mächten for four-part unaccompanied choir.
Cards on the table. I must admit to a vehement loathing of the soprano saxophone and, in particular, its use in conjunction with an otherwise unaccompanied choir. It may be an irrational hatred, born of some bad, possibly pre-natal, experience, but it’s an unavoidable part of my DNA, and nothing has yet assuaged my antipathy towards it. Far from making me question my bias, Daniel Fjellström’s setting of the Ave Maria for just such a combination of four-part choir and soprano saxophone, positively reinforces it with a vengeance. This has a certain haunting quality, a natural result of Bernd Brückner (who, I’m sure, is a very accomplished saxophonist) sounding off with his sax into the cavernous acoustic of the Völkerschlachtdenkmal in Leipzig, and the choral singing is very fine. I just find this quite unutterably horrible. But, as I say, my hatred is wholly irrational, and the fault has to be mine, since I am entranced by everything else on this lovely and atmospheric disc.
Goldmann has achieved the remarkable feat of obtaining impressive clarity of detail and tautness of ensemble from such a large choir (around 50 voices) in such an echoey place. The choral singing is beautifully balanced and responsive, resulting in performances which, despite the novelty of the acoustic, are hugely impressive in their own right. I find this a glorious exhibition of choral excellence, despite my irrational loathing of intrusive soprano saxophones.
Marc Rochester
Contents
arr. Grete PEDERSEN (b.1960)
Ned i vester soli glader [2:51]
Heinrich SCHUTZ (1585-1672)
Verleih uns Frieden genädiglich, SWV372 [2:34]
Josquin DESPREZ (1450/5-1521)
Tu solus qui facis mirabilia [2:49]
Alfred SCHNITTKE (1934-1998)
Gospodi Iisuse, Christe [1:23]
Stevan St. MOKRANJAC (1856-1914)
Tebje pojem [1:58]
Sergei RACHMANINOV (1873-1943)
Bogoroditse Djévo, Op.37 [2:29]
Daniel FJELLSTROM (b.1983)
Ave Maria [9:33]
Anton BRUCKNER (1824-1896)
Ave Maria, WAB6 [2:48]
Locus iste, WAB23 [3:09]
Ola GJEILO (b.1978)
Ubi Caritas [2:41]
Northern Lights [3:58]
Josef RHEINBERGER (1839-1901)
Abendlied, Op.69 No.3 [2:40]
Gabriele PROY (b.1965)
Frieden [7:32]
Michelle ROUECHE (b.1964)
Lux Aeterna [3:45]
Philipp GOLDMANN (b.1987)
Von guten Mächten [5:58]
John RUTTER (b.1945)
The Lord is my Shepherd [4:18]
Knut NYSTEDT (1915-2004)
Peace I leave with you, Op.43 No.2 [2:19]
