It's not common to see Canadian recording companies release performances by American ensembles; the key here seems to be the presence of several top Canadian soloists. As it happens, the soloists, choir, and orchestra seem to occupy somewhat separate spheres in this performance of Bach's and Vivaldi's choral standards. The Bach Magnificat in D major, BWV 243, and Vivaldi Gloria in D major, RV 589, are nicely joined with the little Bach Cantata No. 191, another setting of the Gloria in excelsis Deo text, for what the booklet ...
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It's not common to see Canadian recording companies release performances by American ensembles; the key here seems to be the presence of several top Canadian soloists. As it happens, the soloists, choir, and orchestra seem to occupy somewhat separate spheres in this performance of Bach's and Vivaldi's choral standards. The Bach Magnificat in D major, BWV 243, and Vivaldi Gloria in D major, RV 589, are nicely joined with the little Bach Cantata No. 191, another setting of the Gloria in excelsis Deo text, for what the booklet (in French and English) calls a set of "Glorious Glorias." The Bach Choir of Bethlehem, founded in 1898 and resident at an annual festival in Bethlehem, PA, is as old-school in its orientation as one might expect, and it executes the big American choral sound as well as any of its contemporaries. The long notes in the slow sections of the Vivaldi never flag in their intonation, and the sinewy polyphony of the Bach is clear. With 100 members in the choir, you mostly hear choristers...
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