Netherlands Chamber Choir - Psalms of David - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Netherlands Chamber Choir - Tehilim Psalms Between Judaism & Christianity [COMPACT DISCS] Jewel Case Packaging date 05/08/2012

Acknowledge Kindness expands The Reds, Pinks And Purples' distinctive brand of emotional pop, music built for the quiet hours and the restless mind. Evolving naturally from the heavier, melancholic indie rock of previous releases, the mood here feels more exposed and reflective, blossoming into rich dreamscapes that recall the bittersweet sorrow of The Cure or the tenderly gloomy transcendence of California by American Music Club.Created from a new headspace, the album finds Glenn Donaldson observing both the present and the weight of what came before it. Songs lean into a deeper sense of nostalgia, allowing him to look back with intent and revisit moments that once carried a sting.Donaldson comments InchThis album is probably about learning to live with your ghosts and trying to be alive in the present. There's a certain kind of big sounding record I aspire to make, like California by American Music Club or 16-Lover's Lane by The Go-Betweens, works that steer into the pain but become a transportational device for the listener.InchDonaldson's vocals are captured in high fidelity, raw and immediate, with lyrical abstraction underpinned by chiming acoustic guitars and achingly beautiful piano.'New Leaf' teases with a perpetual guitar line plucking at the heartstrings while a sub-melody cushions Donaldson's musings. 'Heaven of Love' tackles cynicism with positive energy as it tumbles into a glorious chorus, while the guitars on 'Worthy of Love' chime dutifully as it dispels heavy memories and heads for a better place. Two plush instrumentals, the winsome 'Blue Heron Lake' and the symphonic title track, sound like Eno post Roxy pre ambient or Felt without words.Having written more than 200 songs and released nine albums in just six years, Glenn Donaldson has shaped a distinctive songwriting world rooted in emotional clarity and romanticised wonder.

Although Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (1562-1621) is now best known for his keyboard music, it was his vocal works that were published during his lifetime. Perhaps his greatest achievement ass a composer was the polyphonic settings for between four and eight voices of all 153 psalms based on the French metrical Psalter of Clement Marot and Theodore de Beze. Published in four volumes between 1604 and 1621, this huge work is one of the great monuments of Protestant sacred polyphony.This 3CD selection from the psalms makes an ideal introduction to them, being performed by a professional Dutch choir, experts in early music and in Renaissance Dutch style in particular, and directed by a number of illustrious names including Paul van Nevel, Philippe Herreweghe, William Christie, Ton Koopman and Peter Philips. The Netherlands Chamber Choir were pioneers in their field, at a time when choirs were behind the pace of instrumental ensembles in terms of taking on a modern understanding of how to perform this repertoire, with smaller forces, tight intonation, pure tone and dynamic thrust of phrase.The selection illustrates the variety and ingenuity to be found in Sweelinck's vocal output as a whole. There is robust, Venetian-style polyphony; elegantly fluid counterpoint; and straightforward, hymn-like simplicity of gesture. Sweelinck shapes and manipulates his original psalm melodies with an imaginative freedom worthy of Bach in his chorale settings. Like Bach, he is a master word-painter, whether evoking concepts of life and death or down-to-earth images of flora and fauna. Recorded in the late 80s at churches in Amsterdam and Haarlem, these performance attracted critical praise when first released, for the 'first-class' vocal ensemble and engineering. This reissue includes full annotations on Sweelinck and the psalm settings included.- Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck was a highly influen