Alan HOVHANESS (1911-2000)
From the Ends of the Earth
Cantate Domino, Op. 385 (1984) [7:26]
Immortality, Op. 134 (undated) [2:43]
Four Motets, Op. 87 (1951)
No. 2 Unto Thee, O God [1:36]
Triptych: Ave Maria, Op. 100, No. 1a (1952) [3:30]
A Simple Mass, Op. 282 (1975) [25:48]
From the Ends of the Earth, Op. 187 (1951, rev. 1960) [4:49]
Three Motets, Op. 259 (1972)
No. 1 Peace Be Multiplied [2:58]
No. 2 God Be Merciful Unto Us [5:27]
No. 3 Wisdom [2:23]
Hear My Prayer, O Lord, Op. 149 (1936/1959) [3:47]
I Will Rejoice in the Lord, Op. 42 (undated) [6:32]
Four Motets, Op. 87
No. 1 Why Hast Thou Cast Us Off [2:57]
The God of Glory Thundereth, Op. 140 (1935, rev 1960) [4:41]
O Lord God of Hosts, Op. 27 (undated) [4:51]
David Chalmers, James E. Jordan, Jr. (organ)
Lydia Ingwersen, Stephen
Velie (oboe), Marianne Wierzbinski, Daniel Pfeiffer (French horn) &
Seana Shannon (harp)
Glorić Dei Cantores/Elizabeth C. Patterson
rec. 2011, Church of the Transfiguration, Orleans, USA
Reviewed as a stereo DSD64 download from
NativeDSD
Pdf booklet includes sung texts in English
GLORIĆ DEI CANTORES GDCD052 SACD
[75:28]
It’s been a while since I last
reviewed
any music by the Armenian-American composer Alan Hovhaness, so when I came
across this release I decided to put that right. These choral pieces are
all new to me, as are the 40-voice Glorić Dei Cantores and their conductor
Elizabeth C. Patterson. That said, my colleagues were impressed with the
group’s other albums – see links at the end of this review – which
certainly whetted my appetite for this one. Then again, the standard of
choral singing in the US is so very high these days; witness Charles
Bruffy’s Phoenix and Kansas singers in
Grechaninov
and
Rachmaninov,
and Craig Hella Johnson’s Conspirare in
The Sacred Spirit of Russia.
This album gets off to a splendid start, with the incisive, spirit-lifting Cantate Domino. The organ accompaniment is warm, weighty and, in
keeping with the up-tempo nature of the piece, surprisingly nimble. The
writing, like the singing, is direct and unfussy, which is the composer’s
default position. That’s a strength, not a failing, as the ensuing Immortality, with Kathy Schuman’s ethereal solo and the choir’s
ringing ‘Hallelujahs’, so amply demonstrates. As for Unto Thee, O God, the second of the Four Motets, it’s
distilled delight. What a lovely, rich tone this choir has, the Ave Maria haloed by another Schuman solo, plus harp, oboes and
French horns.
This is singing and playing from the heart, and Steve Colby’s expansive,
naturally balanced recording captures it all to perfection. The quietly
pealing organ prelude at the start of A Simple Mass picks up some
noise from the instrument, but such is the sense of deep communion it
matters not a jot. Goodness, this is the composer as I’ve never heard him
before, and I suspect others will be just as captivated – as moved – as I
was by the artless, open-hearted nature of the piece. The Credo is
deeply felt, and the long-breathed ‘Amens’ are superbly controlled and
blended. Remarkably, the Mass never stoops to the formulaic or
anodyne, and that, perhaps, is the nicest surprise of all.
I daresay the grateful acoustic of the Church of the Transfiguration in
Orleans, Massachusetts – the choir’s home turf – has a significant part to
play in the success of this album; it’s not a cavernous space with a
muddying echo, so detail and nuance are never lost. More important, there’s
an intimacy here that’s entirely right for music that speaks from soul to
soul. As for the well-rounded organ – the Stygian pedals thrilling in the
title piece, From the Ends of the Earth – it’s a perfectly scaled
presence throughout. And I can’t fault the conductor, who shows impeccable
judgment and unfailing musicality from start to finish.
There must be some caveats, surely? No, none, the second half of this
programme as clear and communicative as the first. The Three Motets,
with alto Phoenix Marcela Catlin a warmly expressive soloist, are something
of a palate cleanser, adding to the sense that this is a carefully planned
and varied selection designed to show composer and performers at their
best. After that, Hear My Prayer, O Lord and I Will Rejoice in the Lord have a deep-chested Eastern Orthodox
flavour that makes for a darkly stirring contrast. As for The God of Glory Thundereth and O Lord God of Hosts, they’re
as direct and disarming as anything that’s gone before.
Really, this is music of unexpected range and quality, not at all what one
might expect from the composer of that lid- and roof-lifting spectacular,
the Mount St Helens Symphony. In short, From the Ends of the Earth is one of the finest choral
recordings I’ve heard since the Tyberg Masses, made with the South
Dakota Chorale (Pentatone). That album, also available from
NativeDSD,
was one of my top picks for 2016, which tells you something about the
musical and technical prowess on show here.
Be sore amazed; I certainly was.
Dan Morgan
Rachmaninov: All-Night Vigil
Rare Choral Works
The Coming of Christ
Gregorian Requiem
Rheinberger:
Motets, Masses and Hymns
San Marco 1527-1740
Renaissance Motets
