REVIEW:

"Amy Beach (1867-1944) was born to write music, began doing so when she was 4 years old and managed to win a substantial national reputation in her twenties, although women at that time were not really supposed to be composers. She composed, in a well-developed, largely self-taught late romantic style, in nearly all the standard classical forms, opera being the primary exception. Her work fell into neglect after her death but has been regaining the attention it deserves in the last quarter-century. The latest recording of her work, "Canticle of the Sun," has just been issued by Albany Records and features the Capitol Hill Choral Society and a fine group of Washington soloists, directed by Betty Buchanan. All of the 16 pieces on the disc are previously unrecorded except for the Te Deum and all are religiously inspired vocal works except her Invocation for the Violin, beautifully played by Teri Lazar. Most of the music is composed in traditional styles appropriate for services in the Episcopal Church, of which she was a member...The performances are skilled and idiomatic throughout." (Washington Post)