Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

This is a glorious compendium of music celebrating Mother Mary, with stellar voices. The clarity and richness of sound is wondrous! The blending of the voices is superb and the ethereal essence delightful.

Magnificat/Chanticleer, I Am The True Vine: Arvo Part, and John McArthur's, HIDDEN are the three best albums I have purchased in the last year. This one is stillness in audible tones. Listen, love it, enjoy it.

This is one of my first two DVD-audio discs. Some tracks are recorded from the audience perspective, with the choir across the front and cathedral ambience all around, and those are beautiful, but I gotta say I love the, "choir-around the room" recordings a little more. Track 3 in particular has the choir "doubled" with parts recorded seperately with the choir at the rear of the cathedral, a then they moved 'em all down front, and stuck the tracks together through the magic of digital editing. I don't have a DVD-audio player yet so I'm just listening to the compressed Dolby 5.1 tracks. Can't imagine it sounding any better, though. Get this disc. Seriously, do it so you can go to heaven!

"Magnificat" is Chanticleer at their best. The selections are all pre-classical and written for all male voices. Listening to this album is a spiritual experience. One can easily feel the devotion of the High Middle Ages and the Rennaisance to the Virgin Mary. The album was released in 2000. How I missed it for ten years is a mystery. Anyone who loves Chanticleer and Rennaisance music will certainly love this album.

I got what I wanted ---some absolutely beautiful compositions with exquiste voices.
Should be a grammy nominee

This is a glorious compendium of music celebrating Mother Mary, with stellar voices. The clarity and richness of sound is wondrous! The blending of the voices is superb and the ethereal essence delightful.

Although this album does not differ from any other Chanticleer album in its gorgeous sound, the performances of Palestrina and Josquin are...well, boring. Contrary to popular belief, this music was not to be done at a snail's pace. The Josquin Ave Maria is one of the most beautiful motets ever written and is a clear example of his imitative writing and expression of the text. This performance is so slow however, the piece become a series of nice dissonances and sonorities rather than anything reflecting Josquin's humanistic homage to the Virgin Mary.