This release is the first in a series of individual discs extracted from the complete set of Haydn's masses and other large religious works, issued by the Naxos label and performed by New York City's Trinity Choir and the upstate New York Rebel Baroque Orchestra (that's "re-BEL"). The entire ambitious project, in its way something of a milestone for the historical performance movement in the U.S., was the brainchild of the choir's music director, J. Owen Burdick who conducts here. Ensembles specializing in Baroque music can ...
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This release is the first in a series of individual discs extracted from the complete set of Haydn's masses and other large religious works, issued by the Naxos label and performed by New York City's Trinity Choir and the upstate New York Rebel Baroque Orchestra (that's "re-BEL"). The entire ambitious project, in its way something of a milestone for the historical performance movement in the U.S., was the brainchild of the choir's music director, J. Owen Burdick who conducts here. Ensembles specializing in Baroque music can produce rather colorless readings of Haydn and Mozart, but in this hefty Stabat Mater setting, among the first big jobs Haydn executed for the Esterházy family, the composer played it safe and created a formal piece in which substantial polyphonic choruses contrast with flowery solo arias and ensembles. The Baroque sound works well here. The choir, about 22 adults strong, produces a warm sound with spot-on intonation, and it is comfortable in its own sonic environment (the album was...
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