Totus Tuus
Choral Music of Henryk Gorecki
National Youth Choir of Great Britain, Mike Brewer
the quality of the individual voices, their complete skill in the art of choral singing and the mature musicianship evident across the choir would make this exceptional in any context...my purely...
Totus Tuus
Choral Music of Henryk Gorecki
National Youth Choir of Great Britain, Mike Brewer
Purchase product
the quality of the individual voices, their complete skill in the art of choral singing and the mature musicianship evident across the choir would make this exceptional in any context...my purely...
About
The massed voices of the National Youth Choir of Great Britain are ideally suited to the choral music of Górecki; music of a monumental radiance which demands a huge and rich sonority. Alongside the ever-popular 'Totus Tuus', this resplendent recording also contains two recent works here receiving their premieres on disc – the luminous 'Lobgesang' and the thrillingly massive 'Salve Sidus Polonorum', for choir, organ, two pianos and percussion.
This disc traces his choral music from his 1972 setting of Psalms 126 & 95 'Euntes Ibant Et Flebant' through to his 'Lobgesang' (Song of Praise), written in 2000.
Henryk Mikolaj Górecki (1933-2010) made his reputation as a leader of the Polish avant-garde in the 1950s. Inspired by folk and religious influences, the emotional power and clarity of his music has attracted a wide public following. He became know as one of the 'holy minimalists', along with John Taverner and Arvo Pärt, after his Symphony No.3 'Symphony of Sorrowful Songs' featuring Dawn Upshaw, was played by Classic FM.
Contents and tracklist
- National Youth Choir of Great Britain
- Mike Brewer
- Bethan Thomas (glockenspiel)
- National Youth Choir of Great Britain
- Mike Brewer
- National Youth Choir of Great Britain
- Mike Brewer
- Hannah-May Elmasry (percussion), Sarah Thornhill (percussion), Alisha Hart (percussion), Rosie Miller (organ), Julian Wilkins (piano)
- National Youth Choir of Great Britain
- Mike Brewer
- National Youth Choir of Great Britain
- Mike Brewer
Awards and reviews
July 2012
the quality of the individual voices, their complete skill in the art of choral singing and the mature musicianship evident across the choir would make this exceptional in any context...my purely critical response is that this is fabulous. It counts among the most assured, compelling and intuitive recordings yet of Gorecki's choral music...performances of consummate authority
July 2012
The whole programme is outstandingly well sung...The most memorable and beautiful moments, of which there are many, tend to be when the choir is singing quietly and in the lower register.
1st April 2012
The fresh, full-throated voices of the massed National Youth Choir of Great Britain under Michael Brewer are wonderfully affirmative and extrovert.
6th April 2012
Gorecki may not be a minimalist in the strict sense of the term, but his choral works, in these beautiful interpretations by the National Youth Choir of Great Britain under Mike Brewer, are all about deriving maximum impact from minimal material...The minimalism reaches its apogee in the final section of "Salve, Sidus Polonorum"...Breathtaking.
31st March 2012
Górecki’s majestic, slow, sacred music is sung with great control and technique by the massed voices of the National Youth Choir of Great Britain.... The clarity of the textures, the security of the pitching: both are impeccable.
