Search - Frank Martin, The Sixteen, Harry Christophers :: Martin: Mass / Songs Of Ariel / Cantate / Chansons / Ode A La Musique

Martin: Mass / Songs Of Ariel / Cantate / Chansons / Ode A La Musique
Frank Martin, The Sixteen, Harry Christophers
Martin: Mass / Songs Of Ariel / Cantate / Chansons / Ode A La Musique
Genres: Folk, Pop, Classical
 
  •  Track Listings (20) - Disc #1

"A marvellous demonstration of Martin's gifts as a composer of vocal music." -BBC MUSIC Frank Martin was arguably Switzerland's greatest composer. His shimmering Mass for Double Choir, completed in 1926 as "an affair bet...  more »

     
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"A marvellous demonstration of Martin's gifts as a composer of vocal music." -BBC MUSIC Frank Martin was arguably Switzerland's greatest composer. His shimmering Mass for Double Choir, completed in 1926 as "an affair between God and himself," is one of the finest settings of the twentieth century, yet it had to wait forty-one years to be shared with others in its first performance. This collection of his choral music also includes his cantata for Switzerland's national day (August 1), and the Ode to Music, along with some charming part-songs. Eclectic and technically superb, these pieces display a style that is serenly individual.
 

CD Reviews

Reissue of 2 Major & 9 'Minor' Martin Pieces
Nicholas A. Deutsch | New York, NY USA | 05/08/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is a reissue of a 1996 Collins Classics CD. Here's what I said about that disc, slightly updated:

With the exception of the enormously popular Mass for Unaccompanied Double Choir (1922/26) & the oft-recorded English-language Songs of Ariel (1950) to texts from Shakespeare, Frank Martin's most significant choral music is found in his 4 large-scale oratorios: In Terra Pax (1944), Golgotha (1945-8), Le Mystere de la Nativite (1957-9) & the Requiem (1970-1). This CD gathers together some of the shorter pieces from throughout his career, together with the Mass & Ariel Songs. Some of the performances come off better than others, largely because the various works were written for very different resources. The Sixteen do very well in the challenging 5 Songs of Ariel, composed for the professional Netherlands Chamber Choir; in the 2 occasional pieces, the Cantata for August 1st (1941) & the Ode to Music (1961), one wants more voices & more sheer enthusiasm. Likewise, the charming little folk-like songs would probably carry more conviction with amateur forces - or at least French-speaking ones. (The French throughout is carefully coached but clearly not native.) One programing error: The settings of the Ronsard Ode and Sonnet, sung here in reverse order & interleaved with other songs, were previously thought to date from 1931; they actually come from 1912, & when played together in the right order are far more effective. Overall, I'd recommend this disc primarily to those who already enjoy Martin's music & want to hear the 9 rarer pieces not otherwise available on CD. If you're interested primarily in the Mass & the Songs of Ariel, consider 2 recent CDs, both excellent: On Harmonia Mundi [HMC 901834], Daniel Reuss leads the RIAS-Kammerchor in a coupling with 2 fine pieces by Messiaen - an outstanding release. For an all-Martin program, hunt down Q Disc [Q 97056], where the Netherlands Chamber Choir under Tonu Kaljuste adds an important piece, Et la vie l'emporta (1974), Martin's final composition, a luminous & moving chamber cantata."