Customer Reviews

Samuel Barber: Choral Music

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Kudos to Douglas Lawrence and the Choir of Ormond College for learning and recording all the choral works of Samuel Barber. This is a valuable addition to the catalogue of choral recordings, and one that is long overdue. Unfortunately, the quality of the performances leaves a lot to be desired.

It's too bad that the director chose to take most of the pieces either too fast (Stopwatch, Sure on this Shining Night, Agnus Dei, etc.) or too slow (Reincarnations). It's also disappointing that not only do their interpretations lack the nuance and tenderness that one would expect, their sound lacks the fulness and maturity that make choral music a pleasure to listen to. The choir does reasonably well with dynamic variation, but the intonation errors are frequent, and the blending needs work.

I must stress that these pieces are quite difficult, and it is a monumental undertaking to learn and record all of them, especially in one year, as the label suggests. The usefulness of having them all available on one disc also cannot be understated. Nevertheless, it is disappointing that the performances leave so much to be desired. Especially with those more famous pieces (Agnus Dei, Reincarnations, Sure on This Shining Night) that have been recorded countless times by the best choirs in the world, the comparison is frankly embarrassing. Specifically, I blushed with shame to hear the repeated chords of the piano accompaniment in 'Sure on This Shining Night' played so unfeelingly and so fast. As for 'Agnus Dei,' you may judge for yourself.

This recording could have been a great triumph. It should have been the definitive collection of Barber's choral works. But sadly, that distinction still waits to be claimed by some other choir, someday.

I was delighted to find this recording of many of Barber's choral works. I was not so delignted to listen to it. The sound quality was extremely poor - don't know when I have heard a classical recording with such poor sound. I was expecially looking forward to the Agnus Dei, but it was with extreme disappointment.