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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Exquisite!, 3 Nov 2003
This anthology of choral works by Morten Lauridsen, an American composer bearing more than a superficial similarity to such Baltic composers as Arvo Pärt, Henryk Górecki and Einojuhani Rautavaara (and why should he not, with the name Lauridsen so suggestive of Baltic roots?), as well as Johannes Brahms, is a comforting spiritual journey into the magical world of choral music. As far as I know, with one notable exception, all of these works receive their recording premieres on this well-filled album. The sole exception is Lauridsen’s “O Magnum Mysterium” (Oh, Great Mystery), which is also included on Robert Shaw’s final, posthumous, release by the same name on the Telarc label.This release might well have gone unnoticed by me had it not been brought to my attention by a cyberfriend at the New York Times Classical Music Forum, who, knowing my affection for Shaw and his work, thought that I would like it. How right he was! It is more than fitting that the names Lauridsen and Shaw be juxtaposed with respect to this album. The performers are the Los Angeles Master Chorale, the successor to the Roger Wagner Chorale, the one and only choral group which, over its lifetime, was able to serve any notice that Shaw had competition in this field (although Shaw continued to remain paramount, regardless). And the music Lauridsen has provided for this release, of course including “O Magnum Mysterium,” is of the type and of a quality that Shaw very much made his own in his late-career work with the Robert Shaw Festival Singers and Chamber Singers. But the credit should go, not to Shaw, but clearly to Lauridsen and to Paul Salamunovich, the current music director of the Los Angeles Master Chorale, for this selection and outstanding performance of Lauridsen’s works. Basically conservative in their compositional make-up, these works fall easily on the ears, and suffuse the listener with a feeling of immense grace and warmth, much as Brahms’ “Ein Deutsches Requiem” (referenced in the liner notes as a measure of what Lauridsen sought to accomplish) does. The clear highlight of the album is the title work, “Lux Aeterna.” Spiritual, cosmic, romantic and moving beyond measure are adjectives which fall readily to hand when describing its effect. By itself, it is reason enough to acquire this album, and it is the work which most obviously pays tribute to Brahms. But “Les Chansons Des Roses” and “Mid-Winter Songs,” while different in their styles and impact, are equally accessible and well-done. As for “O Magnum Mysterium,” I find the choice between Salamunovich and the Los Angeles Master Chorale on the one hand and Robert Shaw and his Chamber Singers on the other to be a toss-up. Given my high personal regard for the life and work of Shaw, this is just about the highest praise I could heap on Maestro Salamunovich and his singers. Five easy stars for this anthology of a composer who now has an outstanding cross-section of his choral works for us to hear, and to a choral group that performs as well as any, including Shaw’s groups, on this release.
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~ Morten Lauridsen
~ Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
~ Morten Lauridsen
~ Edgardo Malaga
~ Various Artists
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