Notes and Editorial Reviews
Some discs are simply so beautiful that it's almost painful to talk about them when you could be listening instead. This is one. All of the pieces featured here were originally conceived as instrumental works (or songs for voice and accompaniment) but have been transcribed for unaccompanied chorus. Only Barber's famous Adagio for Strings was reworked by the composer himself, in this case as his equally lovely Agnus Dei. The others were the work of Clytus Gottwald, Gérard Pesson, Franck Krawczyk, and Knut Nystedt, and they are, one and all, marvelous.
Most alluring are the two Mahler pieces, the Adagietto from the Fifth Symphony and the song Ich bin der Welt abhanden
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gekommen. Both work extremely well through the medium of voices, but the latter's intensely beautiful harmonies make this setting especially poetic and a true rethinking of the piece. Accentus Chamber Choir's founder Laurence Equilibey conducts both with seamless elegance and a naturally flowing rubato that really makes the music come alive. Quite different if equally intoxicating is Ravel's Soupir. Taking his cue from Ligeti's Lux Aeterna, Clytus Gottwald creates a shimmering, sensual curtain of sound that's simply magical.
Franck Krawczyk's two Chopin transcriptions, the Etude Op. 10 No. 6 and the Largo from the Third Piano Sonata, sound so inevitably right that you'd hardly guess that they originated in piano solos. I could go on, but as I noted at the beginning of this review, why talk when you could (and should) be listening? Suffice it to say that the singing is simply the last word in unobtrusive virtuosity and sumptuous blending of tones, and the sonics capture the chorus in a warm but not overly resonant space. The concept may look odd, but trust me: one listen and you'll be playing this disc often. Start with the Mahler. If that doesn't grab you, then you're either tone deaf or simply dead.
--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com Read less
Works on This Recording
1.
Agnus Dei, Op. 11 by Samuel Barber
Conductor:
Laurence Equilbey
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Accentus
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1967; USA
Date of Recording: 02/2001
Venue: Arsenal Concert Hall, Metz, France
Length: 7 Minutes 11 Secs.
Language: Latin
Notes: This work is a vocal arrangement of the composer's 'Adagio for Strings.'
2.
Kein deutscher Himmel by Gerard Pesson
Performer:
Solange Añorga (Soprano),
Hélène Moulin (Alto),
Jean-François Chiama (Tenor),
Jean-François Lombard (Tenor)
Conductor:
Laurence Equilbey
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Accentus
Period: 20th Century
Date of Recording: 02/2001
Venue: Arsenal Concert Hall, Metz, France
Length: 9 Minutes 8 Secs.
Language: German
Notes: This selection is an arrangement of the Adagietto from Mahler's Symphony no. 5.
3.
Rückert Lieder (5): no 3, Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen by Gustav Mahler
Performer:
Solange Añorga (Soprano)
Conductor:
Laurence Equilbey
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Accentus
Period: Romantic
Written: 1901-1902; Vienna, Austria
Date of Recording: 02/2001
Venue: Arsenal Concert Hall, Metz, France
Length: 6 Minutes 4 Secs.
Language: German
Notes: Arranger: Clytus Gottwald.
4.
Immortal Bach by Knut Nystedt
Performer:
Nicholas Kern (Tenor),
Pierre Jeannot (Bass),
Pascale Costes (Soprano),
Catherine Ravenne (Alto)
Conductor:
Laurence Equilbey
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Accentus
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1988; Norway
Date of Recording: 02/2001
Venue: Arsenal Concert Hall, Metz, France
Length: 6 Minutes 30 Secs.
Language: German
Notes: This selection is an arrangement of J.S. Bach's "Komm, süsser Tod, komm, sel'ge Ruh'!, BWV 478."
5.
Lulajze, Jesuniu by Franck Krawczyck
Conductor:
Laurence Equilbey
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Accentus
Period: 20th Century
Date of Recording: 02/2001
Venue: Arsenal Concert Hall, Metz, France
Length: 4 Minutes 39 Secs.
Language: Polish
Notes: This work is based on Largo from 3rd Sonata by Chopin.
6.
Early Songs (7): no 3, Die Nachtigall by Alban Berg
Performer:
Solange Añorga (Soprano)
Conductor:
Laurence Equilbey
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Accentus
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1905-1908; Austria
Date of Recording: 02/2001
Venue: Arsenal Concert Hall, Metz, France
Length: 2 Minutes 23 Secs.
Language: German
Notes: Arranger: Clytus Gottwald.
7.
Les angélus by Claude Debussy
Conductor:
Laurence Equilbey
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Accentus
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1891; France
Date of Recording: 02/2001
Venue: Arsenal Concert Hall, Metz, France
Length: 2 Minutes 27 Secs.
Language: French
Notes: Arranger: Clytus Gottwald.
8.
Poèmes (3) de Stéphane Mallarmé: no 1, Soupir by Maurice Ravel
Conductor:
Laurence Equilbey
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Accentus
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1913; France
Date of Recording: 02/2001
Venue: Arsenal Concert Hall, Metz, France
Length: 3 Minutes 44 Secs.
Language: French
Notes: Arranger: Clytus Gottwald.
9.
Mörike Lieder: no 7, Das verlassene Mägdlein by Hugo Wolf
Conductor:
Laurence Equilbey
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Accentus
Period: Romantic
Written: 1888; Vienna, Austria
Date of Recording: 02/2001
Venue: Arsenal Concert Hall, Metz, France
Length: 3 Minutes 45 Secs.
Language: German
Notes: Arranger: Clytus Gottwald.
10.
Mörike Lieder: no 23, Auf ein altes Bild by Hugo Wolf
Conductor:
Laurence Equilbey
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Accentus
Period: Romantic
Written: 1888; Vienna, Austria
Date of Recording: 02/2001
Venue: Arsenal Concert Hall, Metz, France
Length: 2 Minutes 28 Secs.
Language: German
Notes: Arranger: Clytus Gottwald.
11.
Lacrimosa by Franck Krawczyck
Conductor:
Laurence Equilbey
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Accentus
Period: 20th Century
Date of Recording: 02/2001
Venue: Arsenal Concert Hall, Metz, France
Length: 3 Minutes 56 Secs.
Language: Latin
Notes: This selection is a transcription of the Etude for Piano no. 6, Op. 10 by Chopin.
Featured Sound Samples
Kein deutscher Himmel (Mahler, arr. Pesson)
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