The spider in the fiddle
Himmerland
Keywords
Reviews (10)
Klassik heute
d. 24. July 2021
By
By
Guido Krawinkel
d. 24. July 2021
"Klassik Heute Empfehlung: Alles andere als asketisch ist der Klang des Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choirs, der unter der Leitung von Kaspars Putniņš einen in jeder Hinsicht himmlischen Chorklang an den Tag legt. Mit grossartiger Fülle, einer dynamischen Bandbreite und einer insgesamt phänomenalen Klangkultur ist dieses herausragende Ensemble genau der richtige Klangkörper um sowohl die überbordende Klangfülle Schnittkes als auch die mystische Innerlichkeit der Musik Pärts zu interpretieren".
MusicWeb international
2021 July
By
By
John Quinn (musikanmelder)
2021 July
"Recommended: I have to confess that I've never really come to terms with the music of Alfred Schnittke ... However, his Concerto for Choir is the exception which happily proves the rule and I was keen to hear this new recording by the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir ... I am in awe of the achievement of the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir in their performance of this magnificent and moving work. Clearly their chief conductor (since 2014), Kaspars Putniņš has prepared them scrupulously for this assignment, but he's done much more than that. He draws from his singers a thrilling performance of deep conviction. By any yardstick, this is an amazing demonstration of choral singing ... This is an outstanding disc. The music is both eloquent and compelling and the EPCC gives memorable performances".
MusicWeb international
2014 January
By
By
Michael Cookson
2014 January
"I count these wonderful performances as among the choir's finest achievements to date".
BBC music magazine
2021 October
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By
Paul Riley (musikanmelder)
2021 October
"Cloaked in his crystalline 'tintinnabuli' style, it [the Pärt] stands some distance from Schnittke's unapologetically voluptuous choral writing - the second movement of the Concerto swelling to a 17-part climax. BIS already boasts a fine version of the Concerto ... bu the newcomer surpasses it; and the music of Pärt is stitched into the choir's DNA ... The 'Three Sacred Hymns' ... are just as affectingly direct".
Fono Forum
2021 Oktober
By
By
Tilman Urbach
2021 Oktober
"Wie nah Schnittkes Denken indes an das von Pärt heranreicht, wird vor allem im letzten Satz spürbar. Stehende, sich überlappende Stimmführungen machen eine reiche Harmonik auf. Selbstredend ist die Darbietung des Estnischen Philharmonischen Kammerchors unter Kaspars Putnins über jeden Zweifel erhaben ... Gerade im direkten Vergleich zu Schnittkes raffinierterer und reicherer Tonsprache, überzeugt doch die Einfachheit von Pärts Musik. Da ist ein Schweben, ein Fliegen und Dahingleiten, dass es eine Freude ist".
Diapason
2014 fevrier
By
By
Benoît Fauchet
2014 fevrier
BBC music magazine
2014 May
By
By
Calum MacDonald
2014 May
"This is a performance that accumlates power and authority as it proceeds, and the blazing conviction they bring to the work's third and fourth movements - powerfully shaped by Peter Dijkstra - makes for a richly rewarding listening experience".
The gramophone
2021 October
By
By
Ivan Moody (f. 1964)
2021 October
"Editor's choice: The Estonian choir have long had a natural affinity with this sort of repertoire, possessing a depth and variety of vocal colour and a familiarity with Slavic-language singing that make them ideal candidates for a work of this magnitud ... There is an uncompromising drive about the performance which allows the quitest, most reflective moments to become part of the greater narrative in an utterly convincing fashion ... We are not lacking in recordings of Pärt's Magnificat Antiphons, either, but this stands with the best of them ... An album that dazzles by turns: very highly recommended".
International record review
2014 February
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By
Peter Quinn
2014 February
"Vurdering: IRR outstanding" - "Singing in Russian ... the Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks gives a stunning performance of the work ... confirms the Concerto for Choir's position as one of the great masterpieces of twentieth-century choral music. And a final word must go to the eight soloists ... all of whom are excellent ... In Pärt's 'piccolo cantata' Dopo la vittoria ... the Bavarian choir certainly imbues every phrase of thsi delightful work with that sense of joy which so fascinated Pärt".
The gramophone
2014 February
By
By
Philip Clark
2014 February
"Schnittke's Concerto for Choir ... is a considerably more subtle and layered piece than these performers realise, in both senses of the word ... Smudged dissonances and chromatic slippages allowed to add an air of peripheral unease. The other two Schnittke pieces ... are pleasant but slight sketches, while Arvo Pärt's rhythmically rumpty-tum minicantata ... is an example of a composer who has worked out what it is he wants to do, while forgetting why it is he wants to do it".