Chanticleer: Magnificat (A Capella Works by Josquin, Palestrina, Titov, Victoria, and Others)

Chanticleer (Artist), William Cornysh (Artist), John Taverner (Artist), Claudio Monteverdi (Artist), Vasily Polikarpovich Titov (Artist), Tomas Luis de Victoria (Artist), Vassili Polikarpovich Titov (Artist), Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (Artist), Josquin Desprez (Artist), Marianne Kach (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 11, 2000)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Teldec
• ASIN: B00004SDN3
• Also Available in: DVD Audio  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #44,100 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #22 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Vocal Non-Opera > Songs & Lieder > Madrigals
  • #23 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Vocal Non-Opera > Partsongs
  • #25 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Vocal Non-Opera > Magnificats

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gorgeous choral voices surrounding you, February 2, 2002

By 

David R. Stone "Doctor and aspiring writer" (Springfield, MO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Chanticleer - Magnificat (DVD Audio) (DVD Audio)

I hesitated to buy this disc until a friend told me he knew one of the members of Chanticleer; then again I also had nothing like it in my collection. The sound is rich and resonant. You should know it is recorded realistically, in a variety of soundfields, i.e. sometimes there is a processional from front to rear, sometimes choruses on upper left/right, or from all around you, depending on the material. If that sounds disconcerting be assured it isn't. This is a beautiful and soothing disc with a nice variety to it, and the sound is wonderful.

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars As usual an excellent performance by Chanticleer, August 27, 2000

By 

M. J. Smith (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Chanticleer: Magnificat (A Capella Works by Josquin, Palestrina, Titov, Victoria, and Others) (Audio CD)

Chanticleer is a male choir that you can safely assume that any recording will be good to excellent; one may also assume that there will be one or two astounding cuts - in this case they are to two pieces by Titov, a Russian composer of the late 17th century.

Outside the Titov and Coppini, the pieces on this album are Marian standards - well done; on this recording, the high tenor deserves especial mention.

A thoroughly enjoyable CD.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful performances and some nice surprises, June 17, 2005

By 

Sator (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chanticleer: Magnificat (A Capella Works by Josquin, Palestrina, Titov, Victoria, and Others) (Audio CD)

This is a nice anthology of Renaissance music encompassing key composers of both the Prima and Seconda Prattica, including one or two less known names. The uniting theme is that of they are all in praise of the Virgin Mary. Most of these works are old war horses such as the Josquin Ave Maria which is beautifully performed. Their tempo for the Josquin is similar to that of the spacious approach of the Hilliard Ensemble, and unless you like this music performed at breakneck speed you will likely find this performance perfectly satisfying. If you are interested in an anthology of Renaissance music then this is a great choice, however for those of us with a strong interest in music of this period what really makes this essential listening is the two extraordinary pieces by Vasily Titov.

Titov composed at the time of Tsar Peter the Great's modernisation drive in Russia. He brought in composers from the West and Titov's music represents a marriage of the Italian compositional styles of the Seconda Prattica with the traditions of the Russian Orthodox Church. Like the grand architecture of St Petersburgs, and the Hermitage this is an fascinating mixture of Western influences with distinctly Russian ones. The twelve part polychoral writings have some of the dark solemnity of Russian Orthodox music while clearly being heavily influenced by the likes of Monteverdi, Gabrielli, Lassus and Palestrina. Perhaps a more authentically Russian approach to this music would have given far more prominence to the basses, but this still has trumendous impact. It makes it strange that there is so much interest in composers such as Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, Moussorsky, Shostakovich and the like but the Early Music movement have yet to catch up with Eastern Europe - Titov is very easily their equal and I would welcome more substantial recordings devoted to exploring this neglected composer.

This is a great recording recommended both to a general audience as well as to lovers of Renaissance music alike. The recorded sound is natural and full bodied. You can pick out individual voices in the chorus without them being drowned into an amorphous porridge of sound - a sign of a good recording. Still, I have heard wider sound staging and a wider dynamic range, so for all its virtues this is almost - but not quite - audiophile quality. Clearly a SACD format DSD recording would have been preferable.