Audio CD review:
Thomas Tallis, Tomas Luis de Victoria, Morten Lauridsen, Francis Poulenc, Sergey Rachmaninov, Franz Schubert, Anonymous, Spiritual Traditional, Henryk Gorecki, Christopher Cock - O Magnum Mysterium

Thomas Tallis, Tomas Luis de Victoria, Morten Lauridsen, Francis Poulenc, Sergey Rachmaninov, Franz Schubert, Anonymous, Spiritual Traditional, Henryk Gorecki, Christopher Cock - O Magnum Mysterium

Band: Thomas Tallis, Tomas Luis de Victoria, Morten Lauridsen, Francis Poulenc, Sergey Rachmaninov, Franz Schubert, Anonymous, Spiritual Traditional, Henryk Gorecki, Christopher Cock Title: O Magnum Mysterium Rating: Release Date: 22 August, 2000 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: If Ye Love Me 2: A New Commandment 3: O Vos Omnes 4: O Magnum Mysterium 5: O Magnum Mysterium 6: O Magnum Mysterium 7: Praise The Name Of The Lord 8: Der Entfernten 9: Wondrous Love 10: Amazing Grace 11: Sometimes I Feel Like Moanin' 12: Totus Tuus

Editoral Review As an interpreter, Shaw hewed to the middle road, steering clear of eccentricities and honoring the composer's intentions. The trademark qualities of a Robert Shaw-trained chorus included perfect tonal blend and balance, expressive phrasing, and superb tuning. On this tribute disc, we hear these virtues coalesce in works such as Poulenc's austere Christmas hymn "O magnum mysterium," one of three settings of the text here. Shaw was at his best in works whose fervent spirituality he shared, and the selection from Rachmaninov's Vespers, with its repeated alleluias, is a highlight, both radiant and passionate. But then, virtually everything here is a highlight: the Schubert part song done to a turn with soft singing projected in rounded tones; the curve of "Wondrous Love"'s melody perfectly traced; and "Amazing Grace" in Shaw's arrangement all the more moving for its calm dignity. The longest piece, Górecki's Marian hymn "Totus tuus," is otherworldly in an enthralled reading that never loses focus. Like all of Shaw's Telarc recordings, the sonics are first-class. --Dan Davis .. You can see a complete list of all Thomas Tallis, Tomas Luis de Victoria, Morten Lauridsen, Francis Poulenc, Sergey Rachmaninov, Franz Schubert, Anonymous, Spiritual Traditional, Henryk Gorecki, Christopher Cock discography, or go back to the Thomas Tallis, Tomas Luis de Victoria, Morten Lauridsen, Francis Poulenc, Sergey Rachmaninov, Franz Schubert, Anonymous, Spiritual Traditional, Henryk Gorecki, Christopher Cock tabs