By WH99400
10-Jan-2012

Lovely choral works  

This disc consists of the East Carolina University choir performing new sacred works for choir and single instruments. The instruments featured are the flute (played by Christine Gustafson), the clarinet (played by Christopher Grymes), and the bassoon (played by Christopher Ulffers). In each of the pieces, the choir is central to the work, but the instrumentation is clearly part of the greater whole and is never distracting – the soloists do a fine job of interacting with the choir and props must be given to Daniel Bara (conductor) for keeping everything fluid and balanced.

With respect to the individual pieces: “Be Gone Winter!” featuring the flute is a wondrously sparse feeling work evocative of the dry darkness of winter; “O quam gloriosum” was intended for a Vespers service and is just gorgeous (the clarinet playing is excellent); “Agnus Dei”, a four movement work for bassoon and mixed choir in which the bassoon plays a central soulful role; “I’ve Been In The Storm So Long”, Jeffrey Ames’s setting of the African-American Spiritual, created after hurricane Katrina, is both beautiful and haunting – and the mezzo-soprano is just perfect; “Eternal Light”, which concludes the disc, is a lovely work with melodies that sell and ebb and breathe.

If you like choral music, and unfamiliar pieces don’t unsettle you, then I would definitely recommend this disc.
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