Lux Aurumque (2007)

performed by Eric N. Hopkins (tenor), Joel C. Fischer (tenor), Lynette Johnson (mezzo-soprano), Martin Hodel (trumpet), Teresa Tierney (soprano), Dale Warland Singers (choir, chorus), Dale Warland (conductor)
composed by Alexander Grechaninov, Alfred Schnittke, Dominick Argento, Eric Whitacre, Franz Biebl, Herbert Howells, Howard Hanson, John Rutter, Morten Lauridsen, Nikolai Golovanov, Pavel Chesnokov, Sergey Rachmaninov, Vytautas Miskinis

This CD brings together a collection of choral works recorded by the Dale Warland Singers between 2001 and 2004, the group's final year. The pieces were all written in the twentieth century (if one counts the year 2000 in the reckoning) and are united by theme -- they all use texts from the Christian tradition -- and by tone -- all are subdued and reverent. The Dale Warland Singers perform with extraordinarily pure tone and with an excellent vocal blend. Warland's interpretations emphasize the meditative and devotional mood ... Read More

This CD brings together a collection of choral works recorded by the Dale Warland Singers between 2001 and 2004, the group's final year. The pieces were all written in the twentieth century (if one counts the year 2000 in the reckoning) and are united by theme -- they all use texts from the Christian tradition -- and by tone -- all are subdued and reverent. The Dale Warland Singers perform with extraordinarily pure tone and with an excellent vocal blend. Warland's interpretations emphasize the meditative and devotional mood of the music and let the rich harmonies and lyrical lines speak for themselves. All the works are unaccompanied except for Dominick Argento's "To God 'In Memoriam M.B,'" in which a trumpet enters on the choir's final, long-sustained note, playing a plaintive valedictory melody, to stunning effect. Another standout is Herbert Howells' "Take Him Earth, for Cherishing," written after the death of John F. Kennedy, a harmonically intense and emotionally wrenching memorial. The sound... Read Less