Search - Francis Poulenc, Marcus Creed, Marcel Couraud :: Poulenc: Motets; Messe

It's hard to call these a cappella sacred pieces "neo-Palestrina" or neo-anyone--the approach is so "Poulenc-esque." Actually, "neo-Gesualdo" might work: the two composers share a fondness for difficult-to-sing lines and dissonant harmonies that can seem willfully perverse. But Gesualdo's music is full of anguished chromaticism, while Poulenc's is all melodic flair and light. Even the penitential motets and the Agnus Dei of the Mass have a cheerful undercurrent; the Kyrie sounds positively jaunty (as do, more expectedly, Exultate Deo and the extroverted Christmas motets); the calmly reverent Salve Regina might have been sung by dialoguing Carmelites before their convent was dissolved. In music that's fiendishly difficult to sing, the RIAS choir is remarkably precise and clear; Marcus Creed leads a warm, engaging performance. --Matthew Westphal