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Stravinsky: Monumentum, Mass, Symphony Of Psalms / Herreweghe

Stravinsky / Royal Flemish Phil / Herreweghe
Release Date: 04/27/2010 
Label:  Pentatone   Catalog #: 5186349   Spars Code: DDD 
Composer:  Igor Stravinsky
Conductor:  Philippe Herreweghe
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Royal Flemish Philharmonic,  Ghent Collegium Vocale
Number of Discs: 1 
Recorded in: Multi 
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Notes and Editorial Reviews

This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.

This is an excellent, imaginative coupling of familiar and unfamiliar works united in being either religious in inspiration, or consisting of imaginative reworkings of earlier music--Gesualdo in the case of Monumentum, Bach in the Chorale-Variations. Philippe Herreweghe's performances are crisp and sharply etched: Stravinsky surely would have approved. In the Symphony of Psalms the swift tempos, smallish chorus, and ideal balances between voices and instruments are hard to beat. In the second movement, at figure 12 after the first large choral exordium, there is a still moment for the lower strings and solo trombone (with the fugue theme) that Read more is heart-stoppingly beautiful. You may miss the richness and power of Ancerl's choir, but of its type this version is terrific.

The other pieces are all smaller in scale and so questions of sheer numbers don't arrive. The brief Mass for voices and winds is really wonderfully sung. In the Chorale-Variations the instrumental lines truly dance around the choir's intonation of the chorale theme. Monumentum, oddly, sounds remarkably like Stravinsky in its characterful juxtapositions of timbre. Throughout the sonics are extremely natural in all formats. Whether you're filling a gap in your Stravinsky repertoire, or just looking for top-notch new performances of any of these pieces, this release deserves strong consideration.

--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com
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Works on This Recording

1.
Monumentum pro Gesualdo di Venosa ad CD annum by Igor Stravinsky
Conductor:  Philippe Herreweghe
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Royal Flemish Philharmonic
Period: 20th Century 
Written: 1960; USA 
2.
Mass by Igor Stravinsky
Conductor:  Philippe Herreweghe
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Ghent Collegium Vocale,  Royal Flemish Philharmonic
Period: 20th Century 
Written: 1944-1948; USA 
3.
Chorale Variations on "Von Himmel hoch da komm' ich her" by Igor Stravinsky
Conductor:  Philippe Herreweghe
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Ghent Collegium Vocale,  Royal Flemish Philharmonic
Period: 20th Century 
Written: 1955-1956; USA 
4.
Symphony of Psalms by Igor Stravinsky
Conductor:  Philippe Herreweghe
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Ghent Collegium Vocale,  Royal Flemish Philharmonic
Period: 20th Century 
Written: 1930/1948; France 

Customer Reviews

Average Customer Review:  ( 2 Customer Reviews )
 Herreweghe's delivery of Symph de Psaumes January 13, 2016 By VICTOR SALDIVAR (SAN ANTONIO, TX) See All My Reviews "As usual, excellent interpretation and technical grasping of the music and the recording (I bought the SACD) of this music by Stravinsky. The clarity and tempos are superior. Don't miss it!" Report Abuse
 new to me January 28, 2015 By David N. (New York, NY) See All My Reviews "great to hear some Stravinsky that I didn't know existed. Monumentum. I love it when he goes back in time." Report Abuse
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