M. Lauridsen - Lauridsen: Lux Aeterna, etc. / Salamunovich, Los Angeles Master Chorale
|
List Price: Our Price: $14.99 You Save: $3.99 (21%) Availability: Usually ships in 9 to 12 days Buy Used: from $13.89 (click here) Category: Music CD See more new music releases 
|
|---|
Canadian Music Store
Free Music Notes for Lauridsen: Lux Aeterna, etc. / Salamunovich, Los Angeles Master Chorale
Free Music Review: Truly great choral music
Hit: 5 Stars
The Los Angeles Master Chorale has certainly done a fine job. No, more than fine; it is not even them. It is the greatness of Mr. Lauridsen's solid choral writing. As a teenage choral music enthusiast (enthusiast is a bit of an understatement) who expects a lot out of his music, I find most of the choral market today just doesn't appeal to me. It has all been done before. Not this.The "Lux Aeterna" opens mystically, leading the listener to truly believe in the eternal rest and eternal light sung about. The "Les Chansons des Roses" are so poignant and soft, representing the greatest of a cappella choral music. "Dirait-on" has been named the most beautiful piece of music ever written, and I begin to believe it with this smooth, touching rendition. The balance between choir and piano is just right. The wrenching harmonies in the "Mid-Winter Songs" completely complement Robert Graves' poetry as they unleash terror and anger, then excitement, then sleep, and finally, calm love. Although the original version with piano accompaniment sings, the colorful orchestration brings out new motifs, new themes, evoking winter. The finale of the CD is the absolutely beautiful "O Magnum Mysterium" - perfectly sung, perfectly felt. So reverent a text has never found so reverent a score. I give this album my highest recommendation. Everyone I lend it to has a difficult time returning it (including my choir director). This is my absolute favorite CD.
Free Music Review: Just amazing
Hit: 5 Stars
I am a member of the official college choir at my school, and we recently performed almost all the works on this CD at a concert in Memphis except for the Ave Maria. We also performed the Madrigali, and the version of the Mid-Winter Songs we did was accompanied by the piano. Having sung these works all year long, this CD means something personal for me.It took me awhile to find the beauty of Lux Aeterna, as its rhythmic patterns and harmonies seem to repeat and drone on incessantly, but after awhile I came to appreciate some of the harmonines (especially in the first and last movement)are incredibly rich. I love the canonical chant portions of the aforementioned movements and how all the voices come together in one glorious chord, musically portraying light coming in through all angles. The "Veni, Sanctus Spiritus" is an uplifting, joyous canticle that will lighten your spirits (couldn't resist). The comparisons in the harmonies to Brahms' "Ein Deustche Requiem" throughout the work are noteworthy.
Everybody goes for the "Dirait-on" movement of the Les Chansons des Roses, but for myself, it is the third movement, "De ton reve trop plein" that grabs my attention. The musical variety and text painting, as well as the rhythms and harmonies, send chills down my spine every time. This delightful little work is much more difficult to sing (especially from memory) than it sounds, but when a choir pulls it off just right, like this one does, the sound is just heavenly.
I can't say much about the Ave Maria as I have not performed it except to say that it is a most gorgeous piece; I am listening to it right now.
I remember the first time our choir opened the music for the Mid-Winter Songs, and when we sung those opening, bombastic measures, we all just laughed. True, it takes an open and appreciative ear to enjoy the Copland-esque nature of the work, but if you give it time, it will quickly become one of your favorites. From its explosive opening in "Lament for Pasiphae" to the elegiac closing of "Intercession in Late October," Lauridsen writes a wide variety of musical styles.
Finally, the CD closes appropriately with "O Magnum Mysterium," a heartwrenching work written very simply. The two g-sharps in the altos when the chorus reaches the word "virgo" will cause your ears to snap to attention and your heart as well; the fullness of the alleluia chorus that follows will move you to tears.
It's sad that there isn't enough room on the CD to fit the exquisite Madrigali song-cycle, but this CD will provide you with many hours of listening enjoyment. Excellent performances by choral and orchestral performers alike.
Free Music Review: Beautiful music, average performance
Hit: 3 Stars
All music by Lauridsen, good orchestra, nice choral blend in the choir, heavy handing singing, choral phrasing is not determined by the text, had greater potential with influence of composer.Free Music Review: A Glimmer of Light
Hit: 5 Stars
There is that time in the cosmos when a composer, conductor or performer (or performers) are so perfectly suited for each other, that the music transcends all meaning. I was blessed to be in LA for the premier of "O Magnum Mysterium" and was moved to tears. I have sung the "O Magnum.." as well, and can do so from memory. Such works get into your soul. Such is the case with the "Lux Aeterna", along with a surreal "Ave Maria". These are beautiful works performed by the ones it was written for. And Maestro Salamonuvich (now retired) guides his singers with deft precision. You sense their passion for the music as well. You sense that THEY are singing from their very souls. Along with recordings by Robert Shaw, this is a must have for choral music lovers.Free Music Review: Lauridsen's Lux Aeterna
Hit: 5 Stars
Repetitive, yes. Same harmonics throughout, little variation in tempo, milking the music for all it's worth. And yet my soul just cries and cries and cries every time I hear this CD. Having just lost my lover a year ago after four years, I was sent this CD by a friend, who knows I am a choral-music lover, and, like a gift from heaven, this CD carried me through the anniversary of his death. The Lux Aeterna -- and the Dirait-on -- rank with the most beautiful music I have ever heard. Words are trly insufficient to describe the enveloping, soul-touching elegance, emotion and elation that this music conveys. It just wraps you up and, like on clouds and in the air, you are bathed in ethereal beauty. Listening to this music is like eating the most wonderful meal or having the most wonderful, ecstatic sex -- you know, when you get depressed because you don't want it to end! It is pure soulfood -- I am not religious, but that does not matter -- this is a true example of the how art can touch and move.
Of course, much of this is thanks to the technical prowess of the LAMC: incredible pitch and blend -- they are not quite Eric Ericsson's Swedish Radio Choir -- a few diction problems (consonants, not vowels, which are perfectly formed to ensure the glorious harmonics are clearly heard) -- but again, the words don't really matter. Oh, and how wonderfully Lauridsen writes for the tenors. Glorious.
Get this CD to uplift you, to help you along, to relax you, to reflect, to share. You will not be disappointed.