Choral music fans will be grateful for Cedille's devotion of its production resources to programming these previously unrecorded works--invariably interesting, often captivating settings of sacred texts written during the last 40-50 years (several between 2004 and 2007). Most listeners will recognize the name Alan Hovhaness, one of the 20th century's more prolific composers, whose style often incorporated long, melismatic lines, modal in structure and step-wise in their movement, usually accompanied by parallel or directly opposing parts that provided a built-in momentum and ear-catching textural contrast. Although there's some of that here--particularly in the last of the four motets, The Fool Hath Said in His Heart--these pieces from 1973 will likely be surprising to Hovhaness' followers who will find them more square and straightforward (and homophonic!) than his more well-known works.

Most fascinating to me is Easley Blackwood's substantial (nearly 13-minute) A King James Magnificat, whose stylistic features clearly impress as an ingenious homage to this famous text's age-old regard as a hymn. Throughout its 10 verses Blackwood alternates different hymn styles, from early-American to later 19th-century forms, juxtaposed with other traditional choral settings. Egon Cohen's Stabat Mater (2006) is another gem as are William C. White's incisive, powerfully expressive, textually illuminating 2007 Nunc dimittis and George Rochberg's equally hefty (8 minutes), emotionally penetrating Behold, My Servant.

The fact is, there's much to enjoy here--and, from personal experience I can say that this program rewards repeated listening. The choir, the Chicago-based William Ferris Chorale, is a leader in promoting contemporary music, and its current director Paul French is represented by one of the featured works, Who Am I? There's nothing to criticize regarding the performances--any conductor would give his best conducting arm for a choir this good; and all I can say is I'm not a fan of extended "n" or "m" sounds at the ends of pieces, a curious affectation that can spoil the effect of all that came before. But with performances this good, I can live with the couple of times the choir indulges this mannerism. The entire production is enriched by excellent sound (from Chicago's Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church) and by the intelligent, informative annotations. And Cedille also provides information regarding the music's publishers--a practice that I wish other producers of choral recordings would adopt as a matter of course. Highly recommended! [6/1/2009]

--David Vernier