Norway's 2L label has gained a following with releases that are distinctive in two ways: the programs they present tend to be rooted in folk and traditional music to an unusual degree, and they are recorded with well-beyond-the-norm audio fidelity. The Grammy-nominated Himmelrand (the word means "horizon" and is taken from one of the hymns included) may seem esoteric, and it is good to see a 2L product gaining such major recognition. Many of 2L's previous award nominations have come in engineering categories, but this one ...
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Norway's 2L label has gained a following with releases that are distinctive in two ways: the programs they present tend to be rooted in folk and traditional music to an unusual degree, and they are recorded with well-beyond-the-norm audio fidelity. The Grammy-nominated Himmelrand (the word means "horizon" and is taken from one of the hymns included) may seem esoteric, and it is good to see a 2L product gaining such major recognition. Many of 2L's previous award nominations have come in engineering categories, but this one was for Best Choral Performance, and indeed the singing of the Uranienborg Vokalensemble is gorgeous, with an almost preternatural sense of the qualities of the Norwegian church in which the music was recorded. The engineering is impressive as usual, and an included Blu-ray disc contributes to the unusual sense of actually being there. But it's the music itself that astounds, especially in view of the fact that the basic description of the contents -- the choir offers music from a...
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