Allegri - Miserere

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Customer reviews

review by: date: 2008-05-06 rating:
Critics reviews
"The disc ends with that locus classicus of English choral singing, Faire is the Heaven, in which one would be forgiven for thinking Spenser's final words, `such endlesse perfectnesse' refer to the choir themselves rather than the state of Heaven." - BBC Music Magazine

"The fleetness of the second poem in Britten's Hymn to St Cecillia is a delight, and WH Harris's Faire is the heaven sublime" - Richard Lawrence, Classic FM Magazine

"Tenebrae's special merits, their exceptional diction and sharp focus, are suited on the two Russian liturgical pieces and Britten and Auden's Cecilian homage, which reminds us how the composer brought out the best in the poet. The singing here is particularly crisp and agile." - Barry Witherden, Gramophone

"vibrant and incisive" - International Record Review

"Nigel Short and Tenebrae have just the right balance of control and passion, reverence and exuberance that makes for such a superb performance" - The Organ

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review by: Roger date: 2007-11-29 rating:
less hype
There's an awful lot of hype in some of these reviews. Well sung is true, but nothing special is true as well. Look at the singers and you'll see familiar names from top UK choirs. Not a unique recording by any means in that the director does not do anything new, interesting or exciting with the music. All in all a fab selection of music, which thankfully speaks for itself, on one CD. And very well sung - I don't mean to say it's not. But overall this recording surely doesn't walk on water as some might have you believe.

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review by: Gorden date: 2007-06-21 rating:
nothing special
I have to agree that the singing is fine but I have to disagree about the directing and interpretation. There is nothing special going on here. Why, one wonders, would Short/Tenebrae release a collection of such well known pieces and do absolutely nothing new or special with them? The Allegri is the best example of static with all its verses. DO something with it. There are better recordings of this piece. Try my favorite by Magnificat. I also don't agree with some of the Allegri liner notes but no matter. This is a gorgeous collection of music and my best guess is that Tenebrae are thinking that putting all these pieces on one disk will sell them - no need to do more. Not a bad marketing angle actually. It's sung well overall and a lovely addition to my collection because it does have all these lovely pieces grouped together. But I wouldn't use one of the tracks as a fine example of the piece for my choirs. Oddly, the piece I like most is the new arrangement of "Dying Soldier" by Short, sung so very beautifully by Matthew Brook.

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review by: Olly Buxton date: 2007-01-13 rating:
Truly extraordinary
Being essentially a Bowie-nut, and a decidedly secular one at that, I get quickly out of my depth when it comes to any classical music, let alone sacred choral music, so I am wary about looking like an ass when I review it. But here goes: even with that reservation I declare this record a truly extraordinary, beautiful, haunting listening experience.

Signum Records seem to be doing their best to hide the fact that they're recording and releasing exquisite classical music. Much of Signum's catalogue is available only through their website, which they don't seem to have even submitted to search engines for indexing. Allegri-Miserere is one of the few Signum releases available on Amazon. If you do nothing else, snap it up before Signum decides to hide this one too!

To my way of thinking, there are three aspects a record like this: The quality of the material performed, the quality of its execution by the choir, and the quality of the recording.

In this case, all three are sublime, across the length of the album.

The title track is, of course, one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever written - so beautiful the Vatican forbade, on pain of excommunication, anyone but its own Sistine Chapel Choir to play it (the story, briefly recounted in the liner notes, of how a young Mozart nicked it from under the Vatican's grasp by memorising it in one sitting is a beauty). While I've heard plenty recordings of the Miserere this one - it is a beautifully crisp recording - reveals the complexity and ornamentation of the vocal lines like no other version I've heard, even as between the tenors and basses positioned at the front of the soundstage (I think the Miserere is structured as a song-and-reply between two small choral groups). The sopranos and altos are positioned at the back of the soundstage, and the famous solo treble line is softened and embedded in a glorious natural reverberation giving it a haunting, solemn quality. When the lead soprano (I was surprised to see there are no boy trebles in the choir, by the way - I know it's not supposed to be the same, but I couldn't tell) hits her high C - and it's high in the stratosphere all right, practically in dogs-only territory - and falls away from it down a major scale it really takes your breath away. I almost fell down an escalator at King's Cross St. Pancras with excitement. And I just love the way Miserere resolves delicately into a major, at the very last. Clever man, that Allegri.

Elsewhere, the repertoire fully spans Tenebrae's stated coverage era of 17th-21st century, from Lotti's beautiful 8 Part Crucifix to the more modern works by Taverner, Ireland, Rachmaninov, Britten and Holst.

Not only is the music beautifully selected and recorded, the performance is just extraordinary in its accuracy and tone, dynamism and control. Though the sopranos steal the limelight in the Miserere, the rich bass and beautifully constant tenors are well to the fore throughout, and kick some righteous heavenly butt on Sheremetriev's Now Ye Heavenly Powers. It's spine-tingling, neck-shivering material, and when the basses hit their final bottom note, as low in the subterranea as the sopranos are high in the Miserere, I fell down the stairs with surprise and delight at East Finchley. Marvellous.

I really couldn't recommend this more highly.

Olly Buxton



review by: date: 2006-12-27 rating:
Sacred Vocal Music, but better
It has been said that some of the pieces on this disc are too over-used and yet another recording of John Taverner's 'The Lamb' is really unecessary. However, the Tenebrae choir's interpretation of this piece is truly magnificent. The ability and precision of the performers despite the difficult vocal ranges and the recording of the 'Miserere', frankly, astonishes.

Nigel Short's choice of repetoire spans centuries of sacred vocal music from Allegri's 'Miserere' of the 16/17th Century to Tavener's modern-day works, drawing music from the Eastern Orthodox church as well as the Catholic and Anglican backgrounds.

I highly recommend this CD to everyone, if new to sacred vocal music or after some different interpretations of well-known pieces.

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