Poulenc’s a cappella motets are such great pieces it’s unfortunate that we don’t hear them sung (or recorded) more often. It’s not that more choirs wouldn’t love to perform these works, but for many they are just over the line of difficulty–demanding an extraordinarily solid vocal technique and an ensemble with exceptional sensitivity to expressive details. Poulenc didn’t create these gems with complex rhythms or contrapuntal structures–they’re mostly homophonic, chordal, usually one note per syllable. But what harmony! Poulenc adds to the aural interest with various textural touches such as octave doublings and shifts from four voices to five or six (or even seven), while spicing individual lines with unusual intervallic movement and affecting the music’s flow with frequently changing meters.
Not surprisingly, Polyphony joins the short list of excellent choirs who’ve recorded the motets, along with the Salve regina and Exultate Deo, with first-rate performances. The Cambridge Singers’ reference recording (Collegium)–which exactly duplicates this program and adds the female-voice Ave verum corpus and Litanies à la Vierge Noire–offers more clarity to the voices and truer ensemble balances in the a cappella works (a real plus in this music); Polyphony’s performances project a touch more energy and spontaneity along with equal vocal virtuosity.
Of course, the “big” work here is the Gloria, and both recordings effectively capture the buoyant, celebratory spirit of the piece (reveling with special delight in Poulenc’s funky, “mis-accented” syllables!)–and both enjoy the services of superb soprano soloists who never falter in those tricky “Domine Deus” leaps. Sonically, Polyphony’s Gloria projects more immediacy and closer room presence, which are less pronounced on Collegium’s somewhat lower-level recording; but again, the louder moments on the Hyperion disc have an “edgier” quality compared to Collegium’s still-vibrant but warmer acoustic. Mind you, these differences are not major, and except for Stephen Layton’s slightly speedier tempos, there’s nothing to separate the two performances in overall interpretive approach. In sum, listeners looking for a single CD of Poulenc choral music will find this a fine and satisfying choice (remembering that the Cambridge Singers disc also includes two additional works for women’s voices). [3/24/2008]
