Here is a collection of predominantly 20th century choral works (Verdi’s Ave Maria is from 1898) drawn from recordings made by the famed Westminster Choir between 2001 and 2004. Its “homage to sacred music of the past hundred years” arose from a 2002 public radio broadcast reflecting on the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the causes of war, and our continuing hope for peace. However, if you think that this is yet another one of those quietly meditative, consoling choral programs, you’ll be in for a surprise: herein lies several of the repertoire’s more notable listener-challenging pieces, from Schoenberg’s Friede auf Erden to Ives’ Psalm 90, along with Stravinsky’s austere Credo and Pater noster, Bernstein’s alternately tranquil and rousing Psalm 23 from Chichester Psalms (featuring a fine solo by treble François Suhr), two movements from Duruflé’s distinctive and profoundly moving Requiem, and Vaughan Williams’ appropriately atmospheric Love bade me welcome and The Call, from Five Mystical Songs (again, with excellent solo work from baritone Charles Robert Stephens).
The opening Agnus Dei, the Westminster Choir’s own adaptation of Barber’s choral setting of his Adagio for Strings, here foregoes the a cappella version for one accompanied by a small contingent of strings–and this enhancement proves very effective not only in adding desireable fullness and color to the sound, but also in moderating the usual vocally strained passages in this extremely taxing piece. Although technically there are three different choirs involved in these performances–the college-student singers change somewhat from year to year–this world-class organization is so well established under legendary conductor Joseph Flummerfelt that differences in choral sound are negligible. There are, however, some differences in the recordings, especially notable in the Stravinsky, where the upper voices dominate and the chapel acoustics muddy the rest of the choir’s sound. If you’re looking for a quieter, more meditative choral disc devoted to the themes mentioned above, perhaps you should try a recent issue by the Handel & Haydn Society, titled “Peace”, also on Avie–type Q7671 in Search Reviews); but for a more thought-provoking, multi-faceted exploration, this collection is a sure bet.
