Augustinas Polish Radio Choir Bregar - Choral Works - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Album Tracks 1. Ave Maria for Chorus & Organ in E Flat Major 2. Domine Non Secundum, for Offertory for 3 Voices & Organ, M. 66 3. Work(S) 4. In Convertendo Dominus, for Chorus & Organ 5. Trois Complaintes, for Chorus A Furnes 6. Trois Complaintes, for Chorus Jardin Des Olives 7. Trois Complaintes, for Chorus Les Vierges Sages 8. Psalm 150, for Male Chorus & Organ 9. Agnus Dei 10. Contemplations, for Voice, Chorus & Organ A Hymn to God the Father 11. Contemplations, for Voice, Chorus & Organ Bring Us, O Lord 12. Contemplations, for Voice, Chorus & Organ Thou Will Keep Him in Perfect Peace 13. Modlitwa Panska, for Chorus 14. Euntes Ibant Et Flebant, for Chorus, Op. 32

Theatre music in Poland is a peculiar phenomenon. Almost every Polish composer wrote at least one score for the needs of a theatre performance or a radio play. Many creators devoted themselves entirely to this field. This music is often awarded and honored. However, it does not exist in concert, publishing or recording circulation, as opposed to film music. Krzysztof Penderecki (1933-2020), one of the most outstanding Polish composers of the 20th/21st century, also wrote music for theatre performances. The album features the most interesting compositions of this genre created for plays dedicated both to adults and children. The performers are The Beethoven Academy Orchestra, consisting of young Cracow musicians, vocal ensemble Cracow Singers and soloists Annika Mikolajko-Osman - coloratura soprano and Jacek Wróbel - baritone. All the performers here are under the baton of Maestro Maciej Tworek.

This new album by the Latvian Radio Choir and conductor Sigvards Klava on Ondine is devoted to choral works by the legendary American composer and music pioneer John Cage (1912-1992), one of the most leading figures in 20th Century music. John Cage is the dictionary definition of an avant-garde composer. Choral music and John Cage might seem like an odd pairing. And indeed, strictly speaking, Cage wrote only two compositions for chorus, both of which appear on this album Hymns and Variations (1979) and Four2 (1990). The other works on the album are written for ensembles that are more or less open-ended and which have been interpreted here for choral forces. One reason Cage and choruses did not mix well may have been his notorious hostility to harmony in music. Arnold Schoenberg told Cage that he lacked any feeling for harmony, and that this would be a wall between him and his goal of being a composer. Given all this, it is no wonder that Cage and choruses didn't tend to mingle together. And so it was not until Cage was 67 years old that he wrote his first work for choral forces Hymns and Variations.