Enchanting Music
Rued LANGGAARD
Three Songs for Choir
Vagn HOLMBOE
Motet, 'I know a flower so lovely and brave' Speravi in Domino
Erik HAUMANN
The day the cherry trees blossomed
Coro Misto director Søren
Birch
Danacord DACOCD 546
(57.50 minutes)
Crotchet
Amazon
UK
Langgaard, Holmboe and Haumann are hardly household names, but they do represent
a sure line of tradition which lies at the heart of Danish music. The choral
works featured here reflect the importance of such music in Denmark, and
the technical assurance of both the music and the performances - by the chamber
choir Coro Misto - are further reflections if that. There is no question
that the music on this disc sounds well, for it is beautifully recorded in
an ample and clear acoustic, and the performers are of the hghest calibre,
sensitively directed by Søren Birch. The music will surely bring rewards
to the casual as well as the sophisticated listener, with the phrasing and
the balancing of textures sounding exemplary. How, then, to progress from
being a casual listener to being a sophisticated listener? This disc won't
help much in that regard, alas. Given the ability of the Danes when it comes
to speaking English, it is extraordinarily disappointing that the booklet
contains the texts only in Danish. Who makes these decisions?
Terry Barfoot
