Collegiate choral singing is nowhere near the industry in the U.S. that it is in Britain, but the Yale Schola Cantorum and a few other choirs continue to attract top-flight conductors from abroad and, from time to time, to put out interesting releases like this one. The Schola Cantorum has also enjoyed the services of Masaaki Suzuki, and between him and Carrington, a former member of the King's Singers, it has attained a high level of pitch accuracy. More than that, the singers show themselves adept in the widely varying ...
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Collegiate choral singing is nowhere near the industry in the U.S. that it is in Britain, but the Yale Schola Cantorum and a few other choirs continue to attract top-flight conductors from abroad and, from time to time, to put out interesting releases like this one. The Schola Cantorum has also enjoyed the services of Masaaki Suzuki, and between him and Carrington, a former member of the King's Singers, it has attained a high level of pitch accuracy. More than that, the singers show themselves adept in the widely varying collection of styles on this release, even among the Renaissance pieces. John Taverner's Western Wind Mass is one of the landmarks of early Renaissance English polyphony, with sweeping, irregular lines and dense, non-imitative polyphony that requires close small-group ensemble work. Orlando Gibbons' Magnificat and Nunc dimittis are splendid examples of high Renaissance sacred music, with a rousing, rock-solid Magnificat followed by a deeply meditative Nunc dimittis, while Tallis' Te...
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