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Allegri Miserere
Various composers

Tenebrae

Allegri Miserere

Price: € 19.95
Format: CD
Label: Signum Classics
UPC: 0635212008522
Catnr: SIGCD 085
Release date: 01 September 2006
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€ 19.95
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Label
Signum Classics
UPC
0635212008522
Catalogue number
SIGCD 085
Release date
01 September 2006
Album
Artist(s)
Composer(s)
EN
NL

About the album

Few can argue with Tenebrae's international stature as one of the most competent, versatile, exciting and passionate vocal ensembles in the world today.

The beauty of Tenebrae's perfectly blended sound coupled with near-flawless technique is showcased in this recording, featuring a selection of their favourite concert repertoire to create a performance worthy of anyone's collection.

Allegri's haunting Miserere is the central point in a journey through music of longing and entreaty, hope and faith. These works spanning the centuries are chosen from the heart of Tenebrae's concert repertoire.

Featuring works by Taverner, Holst, Rachmaninov, Lotti, Ireland, Harris, Briten and Kodály.

" From choral 'hits' to the less well known, Tenebrae are on top form ... Once again, Tenebrae and their director, Nigel Short, have put together a programme that ranges from the Renaissance to the 21st century, from the neglected to the familiar, with no sense of strain" - Barry Witherden, Gramophone

Een allesomvattende selectie uit het concertrepertoire van Tenebrae
Tenebrae, opgericht in 2001, heeft als motto ‘passie en precisie’, maar het koor gelooft ook in toegankelijkheid, en voert verschillende types muziek uit, zolang het maar goede muziek is. Het staat buiten kijf dat Tenebrae internationaal bekend staat als een van de meest begaafde, veelzijdige, opwindende en hartstochtelijke vocale ensembles. De schoonheid van hun perfect gemengde klank, gekoppeld aan een bijna foutloze techniek, wordt tentoongesteld op dit album, met een selectie uit hun favoriete concertrepertoire. Het bevat een programma dat een waardige uitbreiding van ieders albumcollectie vormt.

Allegri’s beklijvende Miserere is het centrale punt in een afwijkende en vermakelijke reis door muziek over verlangen en smeken, hoop en geloof, onschuld en ervaring, oorlog en herdenking, vermengd met Rooms-Katholieke motetten, Anglicaanse en Othodoxe hymnen. Het programma bevat veel overeenkomsten, dwarsstromen en overpeinzingen waarmee getoverd wordt. Naast het Miserere bevat het album werken van Taverner, Holst, Rachmaninov, Lotti, Ireland, Harris, Britten, Kodály. Deze werken overbruggen de eeuwen en zijn gekozen uit de kern van Tenebrae’s concertrepertoire.

De Gramophone schreef over dit album: “From choral 'hits' to the less well known, Tenebrae are on top form (...) Once again, Tenebrae and their director, Nigel Short, have put together a programme that ranges from the Renaissance to the 21st century, from the neglected to the familiar, with no sense of strain.”

Artist(s)

Tenebrae

Described as “phenomenal” (The Times) and “devastatingly beautiful” (Gramophone Magazine), award-winning choir Tenebrae is one of the world’s leading vocal ensembles, renowned for its passion and precision. For purity and precision of tone, and flawless intonation, Nigel Short’s chamber choir Tenebrae is pretty much unbeatable. – The Times Under the direction of Nigel Short, Tenebrae performs at major festivals and venues across the globe, including the BBC Proms, Wigmore Hall, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Rheingau Musik Festival and Sydney Festival. The choir has earned international acclaim for its interpretations of choral music ranging from the Renaissance through to contemporary masterpieces, and it regularly commissions new music. Previous commissions have included works by Judith Bingham, Joanna Marsh, Owain Park, Josephine Stephenson, Joby Talbot and Roderick Williams. Tenebrae has enjoyed collaborations with some of the...
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Described as “phenomenal” (The Times) and “devastatingly beautiful” (Gramophone Magazine), award-winning choir Tenebrae is one of the world’s leading vocal ensembles, renowned for its passion and precision.

For purity and precision of tone, and flawless intonation, Nigel Short’s chamber choir Tenebrae is pretty much unbeatable.

– The Times

Under the direction of Nigel Short, Tenebrae performs at major festivals and venues across the globe, including the BBC Proms, Wigmore Hall, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Rheingau Musik Festival and Sydney Festival. The choir has earned international acclaim for its interpretations of choral music ranging from the Renaissance through to contemporary masterpieces, and it regularly commissions new music. Previous commissions have included works by Judith Bingham, Joanna Marsh, Owain Park, Josephine Stephenson, Joby Talbot and Roderick Williams. Tenebrae has enjoyed collaborations with some of the UK’s leading orchestras, appearing alongside the London Symphony Orchestra, Aurora Orchestra, the Academy of Ancient Music and Britten Sinfonia. The choir also produces an annual Holy Week Festival in partnership with St John’s Smith Square, London.

Choral development is central to Tenebrae’s ethos, and through its Associate Artist Programme it provides crucial training and performance opportunities to young professional singers. Alongside its performance and recording schedule, the choir also runs a thriving Learning & Connection programme which encompasses partnerships with Music Centre London and London Youth Choirs, Tenebrae Effect workshops with amateur choirs, and its newest programme Singing Schools. Run in partnership with Ealing Music Service, Singing Schools aims to embed a long-lasting singing culture in local schools which might otherwise face barriers to music-making.

A concert by the British choir Tenebrae is more than a performance. It’s an experience that envelops the audience… this is one of the best choirs in the world.

– St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Tenebrae’s ever-increasing discography has brought about collaborations with Signum, Decca Classics, Deutsche Grammophon, EMI Classics, LSO Live and Warner Classics. In 2012 Tenebrae was the first-ever ensemble to be multi-nominated in the same category for the BBC Music Magazine Awards, securing the accolade of ‘Best Choral Performance’ for the choir’s recording of Victoria’s Requiem Mass, 1605. In 2016 Tenebrae received its second BBC Music Magazine Award for a recording of Brahms and Bruckner Motets, the profits from the sale of which benefit Macmillan Cancer Support. In 2018, the choir received its first Grammy nomination for its album of part songs from the British Isles, Music of the Spheres.

Signum’s current roster includes many excellent ensembles but the choral jewel in the crown is surely Tenebrae – Nigel Short’s outstanding chamber choir.

– Gramophone Magazine

‘Passion and Precision’ are Tenebrae’s core values. Through its continued dedication to performance of the highest quality, Tenebrae’s vision is to inspire audiences around the world through dramatic programming, flawless performances and unforgettable experiences.


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Nigel Short (conductor)

Composer(s)

Benjamin Britten

Benjamin Britten is one most important British composers from the second half of the twentieth century. Remarkably, he focused on opera, a dying genre, at least in its current form. Britten's contributions however, among which Peter Grimes, The Rape of Lucretia, Gloriana, The Turn of the Screw, and Death in Venice, managed to remain core repertoire for opera companies to this day. Many of these productions included a role for his artistic partner and life companion Peter Pears. Britten also wrote a number of lieder for this tenor, among which his Serenade for tenor, horn and string orchestra. Yet, Britten excelled in many more genres. He wasn't even 20 years old when he composed his brilliant Phantasy for hobo quartet and his friendship with...
more

Benjamin Britten is one most important British composers from the second half of the twentieth century. Remarkably, he focused on opera, a dying genre, at least in its current form. Britten's contributions however, among which Peter Grimes, The Rape of Lucretia, Gloriana, The Turn of the Screw, and Death in Venice, managed to remain core repertoire for opera companies to this day. Many of these productions included a role for his artistic partner and life companion Peter Pears. Britten also wrote a number of lieder for this tenor, among which his Serenade for tenor, horn and string orchestra. Yet, Britten excelled in many more genres. He wasn't even 20 years old when he composed his brilliant Phantasy for hobo quartet and his friendship with the legendary cellist Rostropovich led to a Cello sonata, three Suites for cello solo and a Symphony for Cello and orchestra in the 1960s.

Britten never became Master of the Queen's Music, yet he surely had feeling for public sentiments. For example, as a pacifist, he taught his people about world peace through his War Requiem from 1962. Britten was an excellent interpreter of his own work, just like Bartók and Stravinsky. Many of his recordings have been matched, but never exceeded.


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Zoltán Kodály

Zoltán Kodály was a Hungarian composer, born in 1905. If you would read Kodály's biography, you could only do so with increasing astonishment. Not only did he reach the honarable age of 84, throughout his whole life he remained astoundingly prolific - and with great success. Moreover, besides his work as a composer, Kodály was active as a conductor, (ethno-)musicologist, pedagogue, linguist, and philosopher. And in each of these areas, he had a pioneering role, always with exceptional passion and dedication. To name but one example: together with his friend Belá Bartók he worked on a ten volume reference guide to Hungarian music, which appeared from 1951 with each volume spanning more than a thousand pages. Yet, Kodály gained acclaim for his compositions as...
more

Zoltán Kodály was a Hungarian composer, born in 1905. If you would read Kodály's biography, you could only do so with increasing astonishment. Not only did he reach the honarable age of 84, throughout his whole life he remained astoundingly prolific - and with great success. Moreover, besides his work as a composer, Kodály was active as a conductor, (ethno-)musicologist, pedagogue, linguist, and philosopher. And in each of these areas, he had a pioneering role, always with exceptional passion and dedication. To name but one example: together with his friend Belá Bartók he worked on a ten volume reference guide to Hungarian music, which appeared from 1951 with each volume spanning more than a thousand pages.
Yet, Kodály gained acclaim for his compositions as well, with his Psalmus hungaricus (1923) en his opera Háry János (1926) as the pinnacles of his musical career. The core of his body of work consists of vocal music, in particular works for choir, but his instrumental music is just as impressive. His master piece Laudes Organi, written one year before his death, truly proves that Kodály's creative energy stayed with him to the bitter end.


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John Tavener

Sir John Kenneth Tavener was an English composer, known for his extensive output of religious works, including The Protecting Veil, Song for Athene and The Lamb. Tavener first came to prominence with his cantata The Whale, premiered in 1968. Then aged 24, he was described by The Guardian as 'the musical discovery of the year', while The Times said he was 'among the very best creative talents of his generation.' During his career he became one of the best known and popular composers of his generation, most particularly for The Protecting Veil, which as recorded by cellist Steven Isserlis became a bestselling album, and Song for Athene which was sung at the funeral of Princess Diana. The Lamb featured in the...
more
Sir John Kenneth Tavener was an English composer, known for his extensive output of religious works, including The Protecting Veil, Song for Athene and The Lamb.
Tavener first came to prominence with his cantata The Whale, premiered in 1968. Then aged 24, he was described by The Guardian as "the musical discovery of the year", while The Times said he was "among the very best creative talents of his generation." During his career he became one of the best known and popular composers of his generation, most particularly for The Protecting Veil, which as recorded by cellist Steven Isserlis became a bestselling album, and Song for Athene which was sung at the funeral of Princess Diana. The Lamb featured in the soundtrack for Paolo Sorrentino's film The Great Beauty. Tavener was knighted in 2000 for his services to music and won an Ivor Novello Award.

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Gustav Holst

Gustav Holst is a composer nobody seems to know, evne though everyone knows The Planets. This lack of relative fame is a mystery, because the quality of his works for choir and orchestra (including some amazing works for brass orchestra) is often high. Perhaps this can be explained by his aversion to public appearance. After the succes of The Planets he focused on more introvert topics, which resulted among others in his beautiful Hymn of Jesus from 1917. This is typically a work which upon first listening makes you wonder why it's not better known (even though allegedly the work was quite succesful during its own time).  There is, however, also something up with the continuity of Holst as a composer, as if technical challenges stimulated...
more
Gustav Holst is a composer nobody seems to know, evne though everyone knows The Planets. This lack of relative fame is a mystery, because the quality of his works for choir and orchestra (including some amazing works for brass orchestra) is often high. Perhaps this can be explained by his aversion to public appearance. After the succes of The Planets he focused on more introvert topics, which resulted among others in his beautiful Hymn of Jesus from 1917. This is typically a work which upon first listening makes you wonder why it's not better known (even though allegedly the work was quite succesful during its own time). There is, however, also something up with the continuity of Holst as a composer, as if technical challenges stimulated him more than creating a consistent style. Grove music Online quoted Holst's daughter Imogen regarding this remarkable phenomenon: 'As soon as he made his point, he stopped'.
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John Ireland

After his study at the London Royal College, John Ireland developed first into a pianist, but he also studied composition with Stanford from 1897-1901. Equipped with a style founded on Brahms, he gradually changed his vision under influence of Debussy, Ravel and Stravinsky. As a result, a series of lyrical piano works originated, followed by chamber music, including two violin sonatas (1909,1917) and two piano trio's (1906, 1917). Meanwhile, he had become an organist at St. Luke's in Chelsea (1904-1926) and he also went to teach at Royal College (1923-1939). After the First World War, he wrote orchestral pieces like the symphonic rhapsody May Dun (1921), based on the English landscape and further the Piano Concerto (1930) and the Legend for piano and orchestra...
more
After his study at the London Royal College, John Ireland developed first into a pianist, but he also studied composition with Stanford from 1897-1901. Equipped with a style founded on Brahms, he gradually changed his vision under influence of Debussy, Ravel and Stravinsky.
As a result, a series of lyrical piano works originated, followed by chamber music, including two violin sonatas (1909,1917) and two piano trio's (1906, 1917). Meanwhile, he had become an organist at St. Luke's in Chelsea (1904-1926) and he also went to teach at Royal College (1923-1939).
After the First World War, he wrote orchestral pieces like the symphonic rhapsody May Dun (1921), based on the English landscape and further the Piano Concerto (1930) and the Legend for piano and orchestra (1933).
(Source: Muzikalifeiten.nl)
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Paweł Łukaszewski

Born in 1968 in Poland, Paweł Łukaszewski is one of the younger generation of Polish composers specialising in sacred and choral music. His works have been performed throughout Europe including Britain, Belarus, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Poland, Romania, Switzerland, Ukraine and at the Vatican as well as in Argentine, Chile, China, Israel, Cuba, Canada, South Korea, Peru, Uruguay and the United States.  Łukaszewski has taught composition at various institutions including the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw and in Chile as visiting professor at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile in Santiago, the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, the Universidad de Chile in Santiago and the Universidad de Playa Ancha in Valparaíso.  Also an...
more

Born in 1968 in Poland, Paweł Łukaszewski is one of the younger generation of Polish composers specialising in sacred and choral music.
His works have been performed throughout Europe including Britain, Belarus, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Poland, Romania, Switzerland, Ukraine and at the Vatican as well as in Argentine, Chile, China, Israel, Cuba, Canada, South Korea, Peru, Uruguay and the United States. Łukaszewski has taught composition at various institutions including the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw and in Chile as visiting professor at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile in Santiago, the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, the Universidad de Chile in Santiago and the Universidad de Playa Ancha in Valparaíso. Also an active conductor, Paweł Łukaszewski is Artistic Director and Conductor of Musica Sacra Cathedral Choir in Warsaw. His works have been recorded on more than 110 albums.


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Sergei Rachmaninoff

Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninov was a Russian pianist, composer, and conductor of the late-Romantic period, some of whose works are among the most popular in the classical repertoire. Born into a musical family, Rachmaninov took up the piano at age four. He graduated from the Moscow Conservatory in 1892 and had composed several piano and orchestral pieces by this time. In 1897, following the critical reaction to his Symphony No. 1, Rachmaninoff entered a four-year depression and composed little until successful therapy allowed him to complete his enthusiastically received Piano Concerto No. 2 in 1901. After the Russian Revolution, Rachmaninov and his family left Russia and resided in the United States, first in New York City. Demanding piano concert tour schedules caused...
more
Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninov was a Russian pianist, composer, and conductor of the late-Romantic period, some of whose works are among the most popular in the classical repertoire.
Born into a musical family, Rachmaninov took up the piano at age four. He graduated from the Moscow Conservatory in 1892 and had composed several piano and orchestral pieces by this time. In 1897, following the critical reaction to his Symphony No. 1, Rachmaninoff entered a four-year depression and composed little until successful therapy allowed him to complete his enthusiastically received Piano Concerto No. 2 in 1901. After the Russian Revolution, Rachmaninov and his family left Russia and resided in the United States, first in New York City. Demanding piano concert tour schedules caused his output as composer to slow tremendously; between 1918 and 1943, he completed just six compositions, including Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Symphony No. 3, and Symphonic Dances. In 1942, Rachmaninov moved to Beverly Hills, California. One month before his death from advanced melanoma, Rachmaninov acquired American citizenship.
Early influences of Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Balakirev, Mussorgsky, and other Russian composers gave way to a personal style notable for its song-like melodicism, expressiveness and his use of rich orchestral colors.[3] The piano is featured prominently in Rachmaninov's compositional output, and through his own skills as a performer he explored the expressive possibilities of the instrument.

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Often bought together with..

Alexander Borodin
Borodin Requiem, Polovtsian Dances and Suite from Prince Igor
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Ton Koopman / Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir
Dieterich Buxtehude
Opera Omnia XI - Vocal Works 4
Ton Koopman & Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir

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