5 out of 5 Stars for Performance, 5 out of 5 stars for Sound

BBC Music Magazine

From choral 'hits' to the less well known, Tenebrae are on top form.

Once again, Tenebrae and their director, Nigel Short, have put together a programme that ranges from the Renaissance to the 21st century, from the neglected to the familiar, with no sense of strain. Some of the familiar pieces are, perhaps, rather too familiar. I wish I had a million dollars for every recording of the two Tavener pieces in my collection, let alone every time I've heard them sung. They are radiantly beautiful and emotionally affecting, but perhaps their space would have been better given over to something less often performed. Moreover, while Tenebrae's readings are typically impeccable, displaying fastidious craftsmanship, there are other versions (St John's College Choir, Cambridge, for example on Naxos, 1/01) that are warmer, more transcendental.

Tenebrae's special merits, their exceptional diction and sharp focus, are better suited elsewhere, not least on the two Russian liturgical pieces and Britten and Auden's Cecilian homage, which reminds us how the composer brought out the best in the poet. The singing here is particularly crisp and agile.

The most recent composition is Lukaszewski's Ave Maria, a more-than-worthy addition to the considerable list of settings of this prayer. The earliest is Allegri's Miserere. The celebrated solo part with its top C is here entrusted to Grace Davidson (placed rather far back in the reverberant middle-distance) who sings well enough to disarm purists preferring the part to be taken by a treble.

Other highlights in this interesting recital are the pieces by Lotti, Kodály and Harris, and Nigel Short's setting of the popular tune widely known as Barbara Allen.

Barry Witherden, Gramophone (11/2006)

"in many ways the best is saved for last. Sir William Harris’s sumptuous setting for double choir of words by Edmund Spenser is, for me, one of the glories of English church music. It moves from the rarefied celestial atmosphere of the quiet opening to the blazing conviction and excitement of the passage at “And those eternall burning Seraphims” – Tenebrae are marvellous here – before the pacific mood returns at the close. The performance of this miniature masterpiece is thrilling in every respect. Indeed, I feel that here Nigel Short and his singers come close to realising the “endlesse perfectnesse” of which Spenser speaks.

This is an outstanding disc, which I have enjoyed greatly. The sheer quality of singing has always impressed me on the previous discs I’ve heard from this choir and, indeed, when I’ve heard them live. This new release is as good as any I’ve heard from them. The engineering is excellent and the disc comes with a good booklet including full texts. Another winner from Tenebrae!"

-- John Quinn, MusicWeb International