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ODE1402-2
Originally recorded in 2021
Classical
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About
This new album release by the Latvian Radio Choir and conductor Sigvards Klava on Ondine is devoted to choral works by the legendary American composer and music pioneer John Cage (1912–1992), one of the most leading figures in 20th Century music. John Cage is the dictionary definition of an avant-garde composer. Choral music and John Cage might seem like an odd pairing. And indeed, strictly speaking, Cage wrote only two compositions for chorus, both of which appear on this album: Hymns and Variations (1979) and Four2 (1990). The other works on the album are written for ensembles that are more or less open-ended and which have been interpreted here for choral forces. One reason Cage and choruses did not mix well may have been his notorious hostility to harmony in music. Arnold Schoenberg told Cage that he lacked any feeling for harmony, and that this would be a wall between him and his goal of being a composer. Given all this, it is no wonder that Cage and choruses didn’t tend to mingle together. And so it was not until Cage was 67 years old that he wrote his first work for choral forces: Hymns and Variations.
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Reviews
Winner of the Gramophone Choral Award 2023
“… Still under-appreciated thirty years after his death, Cage deserves the bold exposure which this release offers. It may well surprise you; lap it up.”
“This is a wonderful album … In these recordings the Latvian singers reveal themselves as truly noble.”
Hi-Fi News - Album Choice
“…The album is a revelation: charming, mysterious, requiring no special affinity with the avant-garde or in-depth study of the composer's chance procedures… The opening five-minute Five (denoting the number of parts) is simply entrancing, floating weightlessly like Ligeti's Lux aeterna, free from bogus mysticism… Immaculate singing and engineering here.”
Nominee in the Choral category
“… Throughout, this remarkable choir never drops a single stitch. ****
“… the music is intrinsically interesting and frequently very impressive… the singers sound as though they are enjoying themselves enormously.”
Classic Today Recommendation
Artistic Quality 10 Sound Quality 10 Overall Impression 10
“… the listener can expect a journey into an almost inexhaustible universe of sound. Fascinating!”
“Sublime performances of some of Cage’s most beautiful later works …”,
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