Morten Lauridsen: O magnum mysterium; O nata lux; Madrigali; Mid-Winter Songs

Robert Graves (Artist), Elora Festival Singers (Artist), Morten Lauridsen (Composer), Noel Edison (Conductor), Leslie De'Ath (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Leslie De'Ath
• Conductor: Noel Edison
• Composer: Morten Lauridsen
• Audio CD (October 27, 2009)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: NAXOS AMERICAN
• ASIN: B000TXNKAK
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #23,012 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #8 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Vocal Non-Opera > Chansons
  • #49 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Vocal Non-Opera > Motets

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lauridsen at his best, March 19, 2008

By 

Robert R. Birge (Coventry CT) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Lauridsen, M.: Choral Works (Elora Festival Singers, N. Edison) (MP3 Download)

Those who love Lauridsen will also know that his music is hard to sing and has moments when a majority of mixed choirs fail to yield a balanced performance with the sopranos overwhelming the other parts. A majority of the recordings I have heard have had this problem, but this album is quite different. The sopranos have managed to control their volume to let the other parts shine through, and that is when Lauridsen's magic is best experienced and appreciated for its tonal complexity. The performances of Lux Aeterna, Magnum Mysterium and the mid-winter songs are done better here than any other album I have listened to. These performances are compelling musically and extremely moving. I recommend this album with enthusiasm.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Morten Lauridsen/Elora Festival Singers, November 19, 2009

By 

V. Jackson - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Morten Lauridsen: O magnum mysterium; O nata lux; Madrigali; Mid-Winter Songs (Audio CD)

Morten Lauridsen is one of the foremost choral composers alive today. His works are performed throughout the world on a regular basis. This recording of some of his best known choral pieces performed by the Elora Festival Singers and recorded on the Naxos label is a delight for your ears. The disc includes solid performances of O Nata Lux and O Magnum Mysterium.

The Elora Festival Singers are led by Noel Edison. Their performance is crisp and clean. There is a wonderful vocal symmetry between all vocal parts so that you are really able to hear all of the complex harmonies written by Lauridsen. I highly recommend this cd.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars America's Most Popular Living Choral Composer in First-Rate Performances, October 29, 2009

By 

J Scott Morrison (Middlebury VT, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Morten Lauridsen: O magnum mysterium; O nata lux; Madrigali; Mid-Winter Songs (Audio CD)

[I agree completely with the comments of Mr Birge in his succinct and insightful review.]

If there is a more popular or more loved living American composer of choral music than Morten Lauridsen I don't know who it would be. Perhaps Eric Whitacre is in the running, but I suspect that a nationwide poll of choral singers and audiences would give Lauridsen a large majority. Certainly he leads in numbers of performances. And the reason is quite easy to discern. His music is entirely lovely and entirely grateful to sing. There is a calm mysticism that is not tricky or gimmicky but completely heart-felt. Audiences almost universally respond emotionally to his music.

The works on this disc are among Lauridsen's most-performed and it includes both 'O Nata Lux' (from his larger work, 'Lux aeterna' [1997]) and 'Dirait-on' (sung as it was meant to be as the final section of his 'Les Chanson des Roses' set to French poems of Rainer Maria Rilke]. The CD concludes with the moving setting of the Christmas text, 'O magnum mysterium' ['O great mystery and wonderful sacrament that animals might see the Lord born, lying in a manger']. Also included are the 'Six Madrigals', based on Italian Renaissance poems, 'Mid-Winter Songs', on poems of Robert Graves.

The singers here are the wonderful Elora Festival Singers, led by Noel Edison. This is a full-time professional group based in Ontario, best known for their annual summer festival in Elora, Ontario. I have reviewed a number of their previous releases, always with positive comments, e.g. Arvo Pärt: A Portrait & Arvo Pärt:Triodion Ode VII I Am the True Vine Music for Unaccompanied Choir.

The booklet that accompanies this release is a model of its kind, with excellent notes, and -- best of all in these days of skimpy booklets -- full texts and translations. The recorded sound is marvelous.

Scott Morrison