Music / kor

Motets


Reviews (36)


Classics today

d. 17. Mar. 2011

By

By

David Vernier

d. 17. Mar. 2011

"The present recording makes a first-rate impression in every category, from the thoughtful programming to the exemplary performances to the vibrant, clear, naturally balanced sound. Yes, there are many very good performances of these works, but Marcus Creed and his Vocalconsort Berlin go beyond most of those renditions to give us readings that look beneath the literal surface of both music and texts".


Classics today

2020

By

By

Jens F. Laurson

2020

"Bach's motets are difficult as the dickens but among the most beautiful, uplifting, and refined works of a composer's output that is positively stacked with beautiful, uplifting, and refined works ... Now Raphaël Pichon and Pygmalion, one of the brightest period choirs and bands of the last few years, have thrown their hat into the ring. Naturally, expectations run high - and they are met. Pichon leads his chorus abetted by a generous-sounding, six-piece continuo band that provides extraordinarily pleasing support. There exist excellent recordings with no or far more minimal instrumental backing (Dijkstra, for example), but this approach (also Kuijken's on Accent) is my favorite way to listen to them ... The performances are full of neat phrasing and excellent singing ... As a set of the "standard six", Pichon is a great choice for modern ears".


RBB Kultur

d. 29. Oct. 2020

By

By

Bernhard Schrammek

d. 29. Oct. 2020

"Die sechs grossen Motetten von Johann Sebastian Bach sind Ausnahmewerke der Chorliteratur ... Das französische Ensemble Pygmalion hat diese Motetten nun neu eingespielt. Unter der Leitung von Raphaël Pichon gelingt dabei eine aussergewöhnlich emotionale Produktion ... Die Sängerinnen und Sänger folgen ihm auch in den virtuosesten Passagen scheinbar mühelos in grösstmöglicher Perfektion und präsentieren darüber hinaus eine exzellente Textverständlichkeit ... Ganz klar eine neue Referenzeinspielung!".


Berlingske tidende

d. 30. Jan. 2008

By

By

Søren Schauser

d. 30. Jan. 2008

"Det flamske radiokor synger under ledelse af danske Bo Holten og gør det glimrende. Både fordi de 24 damer og herrer stammer fra barokbølgens hjemland og har fået den nymodens syngemåde ind med modermælken ... Og fordi komponisten Holten ligesom komponerer med, når han dirigerer. Lyden er gennemført naturlig - i hvert fald har sangerne ikke haft en mikrofon hver i halsen. Alligevel lyder alting forbløffende klart".


Jyllands-posten

d. 13. Sep. 2013

By

By

Jens Povlsen

d. 13. Sep. 2013

"Mærkeligt nok holder de sig tilbage, hvor de burde være fremme i skoene. Bachs seks finurlige motetter har det bedst, når det går let og åndfuldt af sted. Rheinische Kantoreis nye udgaver slentrer tamt den modsatte vej. Bachs flammende, ekstatiske højder når de aldrig".


Kristeligt dagblad

d. 20. Feb. 2008

By

By

Jakob Holm

d. 20. Feb. 2008

"Det er særdeles inderlige sager, man finder på cden, både den kendte "Jesu, meine Freude", men også andre åndeligt afklarede skønhedsåbenbaringer ... Man mærker også, at Bo Holten er komponist, da han så at sige komponerer med i sin direktion og på den måde får det bedste frem i værkerne - korets diktion er således klokkeklar, der er både energi og ro i udtrykket ... Altså alt i alt en fin cd, som Bo Holten godt kan være stolt af - og hvor er det tydeligt, at hans lange arbejde med Det flamske Radiokor har båret flot frugt".


Jyllands-posten

d. 28. Apr. 2003

By

d. 28. Apr. 2003


Information

d. 8. Dec. 2020

By

By

Valdemar Lønsted

d. 8. Dec. 2020

"Årets klassiske lytteoplevelse [21/12-20]: Det franske Pygmalion er et bekendtskab, der lønner sig. Både et kammerkor og et instrumentalensemble, der i størrelser veksler alt efter musikken, der opføres ... Under Raphaël Pichons ledelse har de udforsket barokken og klassikken i originalt tænkte projekter, og især imponeres man over den dynamiske korklang, Pichon har dyrket frem med sine sangere ... Albummet med Bachs motetter er absolut i samme liga som tilsvarende udgivelser med britiske, tyske og nordiske elitekor".


BBC music magazine

2012 August

By

By

Paul Riley (musikanmelder)

2012 August

"Vurdering: BBC music choral song choice" - "The Monteverdi Choir can turn from Rottweiler into lamb in the blink of an eye ... Some might find Gardiner's approach theatrical; he could persuasively counter that the motets engage unflinchingly with matters of life and death ... Gardiner trusts Bach's simplicity and inwardness as much as he relishes his complexity and drama".


Fono Forum

2023 Dezember

By

By

Reinmar Emans

2023 Dezember


BBC music magazine

2023 December

By

2023 December

"it was a happy decision to juxtapose the music of these two family members. The performances by this talented group of singers, eight in all to accommodate the generally called for eight-voice double choir, are sensitive to textual and musical detail".


BBC music magazine

2011 June

By

By

George Pratt

2011 June

"His singers are lively, though prone to weighty first-beats ... Intonation is impeccable, wrapping sustained chords in velvety richness".


Klassisk

2008, nr. 9

By

By

Mikael Garnæs

2008, nr. 9

"Det er Bach hørt forfra, med renæssancens kirketonale musik i ørerne ... Det Flamske Radiokor er et formidabelt godt kor på 24 sangere, der mestrer de mest komplicerede og virtuose passager med en selvfølgelig lethed ... Og Bo Holten holder dem i stramme tøjler ... Klangen er smuk og ustresset hele vejen, og ensemblet kan også fremvise en række gode solister".


Fono Forum

2013 November

By

By

Matthias Hengelbrock

2013 November

"Stärker als andere arbeitet Hermann Max die Affekte dieser Musik heraus, wobei er nicht bloss vom Text, sondern auch und vor allem von der Figurenlehre der Rhetorik ausgeht ... Denkbar wäre, den Aspekt der seelsorglichen Geborgenheit atmosphärisch etwas stärker zum Tragen kommen zu lassen, doch auch so bietet deise Aufnahme viel Erhellendes".


Fono Forum

2010 Mai

By

By

Anja-Rosa Thöming

2010 Mai

"Vurdering: Empfehlungen des Monats" - "Diese Aufnahme mit Bach-Motetten wird mit ziemlicher Sicherheit der Kultur-Platte mit dem gleichen Werk von Cantus Cölln (1997) Konkurrenz machen".


BBC music magazine

2010 June

By

By

George Pratt

2010 June

"Vurdering: BBC choral song choice" - "The performance is, as you'd expect from his Collegium, excellent. Voices range from delicate soloists to a splendidly light and transparent 18-strong chorus".


BBC music magazine

2020 December

By

By

Nicholas Anderson

2020 December

"Pichon favours brisk tempos and draws lively and crisply articulated singing from his vocal ensemble. Textures are luminous and transparent, though just occasionally I found phrases a shade too clipped. But these are performances that are fullblooded and generously endowed with illustrative vocal gestures which enhance the text. Indeed, the attention afforded the texts is one of the great virtues of this singing".


Diapason

2020 novembre

By

By

Jean-Christophe Pucek

2020 novembre


BBC music magazine

2011 October

By

By

Paul Riley (musikanmelder)

2011 October

"Herreweghe's fastidiousness threatens to smother spontaneity, but set alongside the larger forces of Masaaki Suzuki or the resolute one-to-a-part (a-cappella) consistency of the Hilliard Ensemble, Herreweghe's "inspired preaching" will nonetheless find ready converts".


Fono Forum

2007 Juli

By

By

N. H.

2007 Juli

"So gelingt dem erweiterten Hilliard Ensemble trotz exellenter Sprachbehandlung und einiger betörend schöner Momente ... keine in ihrer Gesamtheit zwingende Interpretation, die an Jacobs, Bernius oder Junghänel heranreichte".


BBC music magazine

2007 July

By

By

George Pratt

2007 July

"It works particularly well for the rich textures of the eight-part motets, and the expanded Hilliard Ensemble sings them superbly ... the intonation here is exemplary throughout ... Yet the textual evidence of the music itself strongly suggests the need for instrumental bass support ... Equally telling are the problems of balance ... though the Hilliard sound remains unique".


Diapason

2012 juillet-août

By

By

Gaëtan Naulleau

2012 juillet-août

"Vurdering: Diapason d'or" - "Les voix les varient à l'infini, et un continuo sonore ... leur pose le socle nécessaire".


The gramophone

2012 August

By

By

Jonathan Freeman-Attwood

2012 August

"Vurdering: Recording of the month - Vurdering: Gramophone choice" - "The motets have appeared as pillars of the Monteverdi Choir's existence over five decades ... Common to the Monteverdi Choir's performances over the years are their inimitable textual projection, clarity of line, rhythmic rigour and an overriding sense of expectancy and flair ... Gardiner challenges orthodoxy in how these a cappella holy grails are fundamentally signposted and he does so, almost always, with persuasive passion and genuine zeal ... This important landmark in highly recommended, high-stake performances".


International record review

2012 December

By

By

Michael Jameson

2012 December

"Both conductors [comparison: Herreweghe] have at their command exemplary vocal teams, and while there is probably little to choose between these recordings in terms of their faultless delivery of the music, Gardiner's Monteverdi Choir does have the clear advantage of an ideal acoustic space in which to bring these motets fully to life with arresting clarity and vocal precision. Highly recommended".


The gramophone

2023 October

By

By

Malcolm Riley

2023 October

"Spread over two discs, this new, beautifully presented recording features the complete surviving motets by JS Bach set in the context of music from previous generation of his family ... The eight members of Solomon's Knot are discreetly accompanied by a continuo duo, Jan Zahourek and Pawel Siwczak, on violone and organ respectively ... Solomon's Knot are to be congratulated on their refreshing advocacy. A highly rewarding venture".


Diapason

2011 Juin

By

By

Gaëtan Naulleau

2011 Juin

"Vurdering: Diapason d'or".


Optakt

2008 03

By

By

Jens Cornelius

2008 03

"Det er en virkelig vellykket cd, der viser, hvor meget der er sket de sidste 20 år inden for opførelsen af barokmusik. Nu kan et "almindeligt radiokor" - i eliteklassen ganske vist - boltre sig i noget af barokkens sværeste musik. Det går flyvende, let og åndfuldt af sted. Rent ud ekstatiske højder nås i cd'ens første motet, den overdådige Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied".


High fidelity (Kbh.)

Årg. 41, nr. 5 (2008)

By

By

Mogens Wenzel Andreasen

Årg. 41, nr. 5 (2008)

"Kan anbefales, og det i den grad! Det flamske radiokor består af 24 syngende virtuoser, der får denne uhyggeligt komplicerede musik til at virke som noget, vi alle sammen kan være med til ... Det er kunst på højeste plan ... Få fat i den cd. Nu!".


International record review

2011 May

By

By

Simon Heighes

2011 May

"In short, these are well-mannered, well-executed performances, with a close but pleasing recorded balance, but not quite enough drive, power or variety between pieces to really draw me in, suzuki has rather more to offer".


The gramophone

2011 May

By

By

Christopher Nickol

2011 May

"Vurdering: G (Gramophone recommends)" - "Highly recommended for bringing us the heavenly harmony of a supreme composer allied to the Vocalconsort's joyful singing".


Berlingske tidende

d. 10. May 2000

By

d. 10. May 2000


International record review

2010 March

By

By

Simon Heighes

2010 March

"This beautifully judged recording of the motets - all of them - is one of the most presuasive available. Strongly recommended".


The gramophone

2020 Awards

By

By

Peter Quantrill

2020 Awards

"Relaxed virtuosity and deft word-painting of Pygmalion ... Raphël Pichon's direction is accordingly mindful of the expressive distance between the sensuous, madrigalian tone-painting of 'Komm, Jesu, komm' and the more formal juxtaposition of chorale and contrapuntal techniques in 'Jesu, meine Freude' ... Harnoncourt and Gardiner set the pace for the motets on record ... but this sumptuously engineered album strikes a contemporary consonance within a spectrum of spiritual vocal writing from Marenzio to Whitacre".


International record review

2011 September

By

By

Peter Lynan

2011 September

"For those who have only Herreweghe's earlier recording this is an essential upgrade, but it's also a clear front-runner among other imperssive recent versions".


International record review

2007 May

By

By

Peter Quinn

2007 May

"Working with an incredibly rich harmonic palette, the incisive articulation and collegial homogenity which the ensemble achieves is remarkable ... the kaleidoscopic luminosity of these sui generis works brings the listener irrevocably closer to Bach's genius".