This release may seem odd indeed on the face of it: one of the most traditional of the English collegiate choirs taking on a collection of contemporary Brazilian sacred choral music that's all but unknown outside of Brazil. The genesis of the project is partly explained by a collaboration between the Choir of Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge, and the music department of the University of Săo Paulo, Brazil, which chose the program. That doesn't diminish in the least the adventuresomeness of the program, which is ...
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This release may seem odd indeed on the face of it: one of the most traditional of the English collegiate choirs taking on a collection of contemporary Brazilian sacred choral music that's all but unknown outside of Brazil. The genesis of the project is partly explained by a collaboration between the Choir of Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge, and the music department of the University of Săo Paulo, Brazil, which chose the program. That doesn't diminish in the least the adventuresomeness of the program, which is thoroughly enjoyable on its own merits. A "romaria" is a pilgrimage or procession, and what you get is indeed a tour through Brazilian choral music written between about 1950 and the present day. There are a couple of short pieces by Heitor Villa-Lobos and others that follow clearly in the paths that he laid down, but what's interesting is how much of the music departs from the Villa-Lobos model even as it retains national characteristics. Modernism certainly made an impact on these...
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