Notes and Editorial Reviews
COOL OF THE DAY: A Cappella Gems Through the Centuries
•
Kent Trittle, Robert Reuter (cond); St. Ignatius Loyola Ch; Students of Cristo Rey High School; Students of Loyola High School
•
MSR MS 1374 (77:48
Text and Translation)
Selections by
BRUCKNER, GREGORIAN CHANT, TRADITIONAL, NICOLAI, CASALS, LOTTI, PALESTRINA, SOMARY, HILL, DICKAU, WHITACRE, R. STRAUSS, RITCHIE, DAWSON
New York City is a hard city, the city of Wall Street,
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daytime television studios, advertising agencies, corporate headquarters, great wealth, and grim poverty. This hardness in its various forms glares at New Yorkers every day, and inevitably affects its artistic institutions. Even the formidable New York Philharmonic and Metropolitan Opera are not exempt. Too often one hears Beethoven/Schillers’s “All men are brothers,” or Mozart/da Ponte’s “We are all contented, and ever shall be!” ring hollow on the ears. However, there are places, one of them located at 980 Park Avenue, where this is not the case. When the choir of St. Ignatius Loyola sings “Thou, light in the heavens, brighter than the sun, awaken in me!” from Richard Strauss’s
German Motet
it rings true. It is thrilling. Sincerity seems to be the most pivotal element here, and it is an ore that requires much refining before it can carry the emotional power of Rückert’s words. Here these requirements—beautiful disciplined voices, clear diction, precise intonation, homogeneous ensemble, an arching legato line, and solid rhythmic direction—are met in full, with the happy result of a monumental work stunningly performed, captured and preserved on disc.
In regard to sheer beauty of tone the ensemble is most impressive when it includes the high school choirs of Cristo Rey and Loyola. As the vibratos of individual adult choir members are sometimes not as slender as need be, causing some singers to be on the high side of the pitch while others simultaneously are on the low, their sound now and again loses its generally pristine focus. The two younger choirs’ purity of pitch provide the backbone that makes pieces like
O Vos Omnes
and
Crucifixus
the production’s high points.
The music offered on
Cool of the Day
is a very odd potpourri, varying widely in quality. Strauss’s magnificent motet, for example, is a strange bedfellow to Jean Ritchie’s ersatz folk tune, sung in Joan Baez fashion by mezzo-soprano, Silvie Jensen; after the Strauss it is a bit jarring: a Reubens beside a Norman Rockwell. In general the greatness of the older pieces seems to be an indictment against the Whitacres and Hills and their beige works. It is notable that the choir invariably sounds its best in the better pieces. The austere beauty of tone in
Crucifixus,
and the sumptuous waves of sound in
Os Justi
and
Surge, Illuminare Jerusalem,
validate the old phrase “the romance of the church.” I know of no other recording that matches the depth and beauty and of these performances.
Recording engineer Les Wojcik has perfectly captured the sound ambience of St. Ignatius Church.
FANFARE: Raymond Beegle
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Works on This Recording
1.
Wondrous Love ("What wondrous love is this"), hymn by Anonymous
Conductor:
Robert Reuter
Orchestra/Ensemble:
St. Ignatius Loyola Choir
Venue: Live Church of St. Ignatius Loyola, New York,
Length: 3 Minutes 55 Secs.
2.
Hark, I hear the harps eternal by Alice Parker
Conductor:
Robert Reuter
Period: Contemporary
Venue: Live Church of St. Ignatius Loyola, New York,
Length: 2 Minutes 16 Secs.
3.
Os justi meditabitur sapientiam, WAB 30 by Anton Bruckner
Conductor:
Kent Tritle
Period: Romantic
Written: 1879; Linz, Austria
Venue: Live Church of St. Ignatius Loyola, New York,
Length: 4 Minutes 41 Secs.
4.
Memento, responsory in mode 2 by Anonymous
Conductor:
Kent Tritle
Period: Medieval
Written: Europe
Venue: Live Church of St. Ignatius Loyola, New York,
Length: 1 Minutes 28 Secs.
5.
Pater noster, Op. 33 by Otto Nicolai
Conductor:
Kent Tritle
Period: Romantic
Written: circa 1840
Venue: Live Church of St. Ignatius Loyola, New York,
Length: 5 Minutes 6 Secs.
6.
Crucifixus by Antonio Lotti
Conductor:
Kent Tritle
Period: Baroque
Written: 1717-1719; Italy
Venue: Live Church of St. Ignatius Loyola, New York,
Length: 3 Minutes 1 Secs.
7.
Surge illuminare Jerusalem by Giovanni Palestrina
Conductor:
Kent Tritle
Period: Renaissance
Written: by 1575; Rome, Italy
Venue: Live Church of St. Ignatius Loyola, New York,
Length: 2 Minutes 23 Secs.
8.
I Lift Up My Eyes, for chorus by Johannes Somary
Conductor:
Kent Tritle
Venue: Live Church of St. Ignatius Loyola, New York,
Length: 1 Minutes 43 Secs.
9.
Dominus illuminatio by David Hill
Conductor:
Kent Tritle
Period: 20th Century
Venue: Live Church of St. Ignatius Loyola, New York,
Length: 2 Minutes 36 Secs.
10.
O nata lux, for chorus by David Dickau
Conductor:
Kent Tritle
Venue: Live Church of St. Ignatius Loyola, New York,
Length: 4 Minutes 51 Secs.
11.
Songs of Faith (3): no 2, Hope, faith, life, love by Eric Whitacre
Conductor:
Robert Reuter
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1999; USA
Venue: Live Church of St. Ignatius Loyola, New York,
Length: 3 Minutes 39 Secs.
12.
Deutsche Motette, Op. 62 by Richard Strauss
Conductor:
Kent Tritle
Period: Romantic
Written: 1913; Germany
Venue: Live Church of St. Ignatius Loyola, New York,
Length: 16 Minutes 43 Secs.
13.
The Cool of the Day, folk song by Traditional
Conductor:
Kent Tritle
Venue: Live Church of St. Ignatius Loyola, New York,
Length: 4 Minutes 5 Secs.
14.
Ain't that good news! by William Dawson
Conductor:
Kent Tritle
Period: Modern
Venue: Live Church of St. Ignatius Loyola, New York,
Length: 1 Minutes 54 Secs.
15.
Sometimes I feel like a motherless child by Traditional
Conductor:
Kent Tritle
Written: USA
Venue: Live Church of St. Ignatius Loyola, New York,
Length: 3 Minutes 29 Secs.
16.
Soon Ah Will Be Done by William Dawson
Performer:
Anna Proios (Voice),
Kevin Kim (Voice),
Sam Taylor-d'Ambrosio (Voice),
Jack Mullin (Voice),
Christine Santiago (Voice),
Chelsea Marie Dua (Voice),
Caitlin Guzman (Voice)
Conductor:
Kent Tritle
Period: Modern
Venue: Live Church of St. Ignatius Loyola, New York,
Length: 3 Minutes 59 Secs.
17.
Vocem iucunditatis, introit in mode 3 by Anonymous
Conductor:
Kent Tritle
Period: Medieval
Written: Europe
Venue: Live Church of St. Ignatius Loyola, New York,
Length: 1 Minutes 44 Secs.
18.
O vos omnes (O ye People) by Pablo Casals
Conductor:
Kent Tritle
Period: Modern
Written: 1932; Spain
Venue: Live Church of St. Ignatius Loyola, New York,
Length: 3 Minutes 45 Secs.
19.
I thank you God for most this amazing day by Eric Whitacre
Conductor:
Robert Reuter
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1999
Venue: Live Church of St. Ignatius Loyola, New York,
Length: 6 Minutes 20 Secs.
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