Customer Reviews

Howard Goodall: Eternal Light

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A continuing strength of Howard Goodall's has been his choice of texts, whether his own, such as the moving Lullaby of Winter from his Winter Lullabies CD recorded by the Choir of Christ Church Cathedral Oxford, or the Wendy Cope poem, Spared, a haunting reflection on the horrors that Mr. Goodall himself witnessed in Manhattan on 09/11, which concludes this CD. In this new Requiem secular poems imbued with the hope and comfort so hungered for in this modern age are set in relief against the traditional Latin texts which serve to remind us that the need to make sense of death is an ancient one. In this Dies Irae, grief's anger is directed, not at an un-just or absent God, but at the cruel arrogance of nations at war, where the death of a child, in uniform or out, is sterilized as collateral damage. In today's world where boundaries matter more than lives, where poverty and disease are the inevitable result of averted eyes, John McCrae's 1918 poem, In Flanders Fields, still holds us all accountable. And yet, this Requiem, like its composer, I suspect, can't stay angry for long. With its soothing hymns and life-affirming anthem, we're not left to mourn melody either. It lives and melts and soars over dense, rich harmonies and rhythms that are seductive and dance-like. Eternal Light A Requiem is a work of extraordinary beauty, as complex as the grief it hopes to assuage, and is brilliantly performed. In addition to Spared, Goodall's beautiful choral settings of Love Divine and The Lord is My Shepherd round out this recording with a satisfying tenderness. What a gift it has been to start the new year with this inspiring, moving CD.WinterLullabies

Fabulous contemporary requiem that is very accessible. A wonderful performance that also includes The Lord Is My Shepherd (Vicar of Dibley lovers will recognize)

Brilliant Requiem, from another fantastic composer in the long line of outstanding British choral composers. Superb performances (especially the tracks sung by tenor Alfie Boe); a profound, quiet, introspective, beautiful Requiem. Cannot recommend it highly enough. Buy the CD so that you can read the amazing program notes by the composer, including which texts he chose to set to music and why. This is more in the introspectively beautiful style of Faure, rather than the 'flamboyant' Requiems of Berlioz and Verdi. The "Agnus Dei" gave me goosebumps. I am so glad that, through discovering Alfie Boe, I came to discover the Requiem of Howard Goodall. A 'must-buy' for lovers of great and fascinating and utterly beautiful choral music.

This is a spectacularly beautiful Requiem. For example, the setting to John Henry Cardinal Newman is bound to be a classic. All in all, Goodall is a modern genius.

Mary got it right and with such analytical grace as to cause tears.
This is a MUST HAVE Disc.
Thanks Mary, you made my day.
Paul-Houston

I was sorely disappointed in this CD. I have sung Goodall's "The Lord Is My Shepherd" and other works and have always found them to be beautiful. My choir will be learning this piece for our Spring Concert and I was excited to hear the whole thing. What a disaapointment. The pieces were sung with all the notes there, but the musicality is sorely lacking. It sounds as if the CD were just thrown together. I would not recommend this product.