Having written 11+ very fine romantic symphonies but never getting them played in concert? That’s Raff. Joachim Raff, sometime assistant and orchestrator of Franz Liszt’s. If the symphonies haven’t yet quite done the trick, maybe his acapella music will. It shows Raff at his most diverse and imaginative best. Vacillating between small-r republican liberalism and intellectual Catholicism, he wrote sacred works and secular political songs of awakening alike. Translated into music, this meant that he drew on the romantic vernacular of the time but could combine it with his very own take on the Cecilian revival of renaissance polyphony in a way rivaled only decades later, by Hans Pfitzner.
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Reviews
“… The Basel Madrigalists under Raphael Immoos do an excellent job with this, repertory. They sing with minimal vibrato, so the part writing and occasional counterpoint are clear… the blend of the lower voices is very fine, and the intonation of the whole group is excellent. A fine disc, then, for anyone interested in 19th Century a cappella music.”
Paul L Althouse – American Record Guide – March/April 2023
Nominee in the Choral category
2023 ICMA Nominee
“… Joachim Raff’s choral music a capella fits comfortably on one CD. With secular and sacred pieces, the program is varied… the Basler do justice to the extraordinary richness of color and the various moods of the songs very well…” *****
Remy Franck – Pizzicato.lu – 13 October 2022
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