The Voice of the Beloved: Daniel-Lesur, Martin & Messiaen
This is a radiant performance of Frank Martin’s Mass for Double Choir.
It brings to mind the brightness of Gramophone’s 1998 Recording of the Year winner from James O’Donnell’s Westminster Cathedral Choir.
A more suitable comparative version comes from the Danish National Vocal Ensemble.
- The Netherlands ensemble has the edge with a more reverberant acoustic.
- The Danish recording sounds more down-to-earth, guarded and liturgical.
Compare the way the Gloria cascades open with a sort of tumbling inevitability on the new recording.
The sense of a ‘mass’ of sound is striking, achieved by skill from musicians and those who captured them.
Author's summary: Radiant performance of Frank Martin’s Mass.