The secret mass : choral works

"Recording of the month: What a clever idea to combine a cappella works of Frank Martin and Bohuslav Martinů on a single disc! Although one composer was Swiss and the other Czech, they are exact contemporaries and both composed idiomatically for unaccompanied choir ... Marcus Creed's Danish National Vocal Ensemble sing this music with a straight tone, perfectly pitched and wonderfully blended. I have heard some other fine performances of Martin's Mass, but none better than this ... With the choir's exquisite singing, this new disc can now join those for the pleasure it provides. ... This is one of the most enjoyable discs I have reviewed in some time. With exemplary performances and recorded sound, the SACD should be in the collection of anyone who cares about twentieth-century choral music".

Læs anmeldelse

"DR Vokalensemblet er alene med sin chefdirigent, Marcus Creed ... og det er rent ud sagt en pragtfuld plade ... Korværker af schweizeren Frank Martin (1890-1974) og tjekken Bohuslav Martinù (1890-1959) - men både aficionados og lyttere med åbne ører og sind vil blive belønnet med fremragende opførelser af melodiøs og stemningsfuld kvalitetsmusik fra en verden af ikke så længe siden ... Vi får det hele med Vokalensemblet: Homogenitet og præcision, perfekt intonation og knivskarp artikulation, svalt bel canto, vælde og inderlighed ... Og med sopranen Klaudia Kidon som en blændende solist".

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"Martin's wonderful Songs of Ariel are given a virtuoso rendition that brings out every nuance and are alone worth the price of the disc ... The Four Songs of the Virgin Mary are works of tremendous subtlety, and beautifully sung: while they are peaks of the Czech choral repertoire, I do hope that performances by non-Czech choirs, especially of this standard, will bring these works into greater international circulation".