The Kölner Kantorei (Cologne Chorale) is one of the superb regional choirs that dot every corner of the German musical landscape. The group calls itself a chamber choir, but it's large for that category at around 36 members (to judge from the picture included), and it has a big sound overall. This is a recording of the two great masterpieces of Mozart's maturity that one might have heard on any number of small German labels a generation ago. The choir has a rich, rounded sound with a thickness of the sort that comes when ...
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The Kölner Kantorei (Cologne Chorale) is one of the superb regional choirs that dot every corner of the German musical landscape. The group calls itself a chamber choir, but it's large for that category at around 36 members (to judge from the picture included), and it has a big sound overall. This is a recording of the two great masterpieces of Mozart's maturity that one might have heard on any number of small German labels a generation ago. The choir has a rich, rounded sound with a thickness of the sort that comes when middle-aged choristers dominate and are coaxed along by a conductor unafraid of introducing Romantic lushness into the music and letting them come down hard on accents in the high-energy sections, notably the exuberant Gloria of the Mass in C minor, K. 427, and much of the Requiem in D minor, K. 626. The lush impression is enhanced by soloists who fit the interpretation perfectly, with standouts being soprano Gabriele Hierdeis in the difficult soprano part (written for Constanze...
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