This reissue, a compilation from two Collins Classics recordings from 1992 and 1994, contains some excellent performances–notably the Tippett Spirituals and the Poulenc Sept Répons–but also offers a merely fine Symphony of Psalms (in a field of superior ones) and a Barber Agnus Dei plagued by a poorly balanced recording and some unpleasant harshness. Although the Barber (the only work on the program taken from 1992’s An American Collection) was recorded in the legendary Snape Maltings concert hall by one of the world’s finest engineers, Mike Hatch, the acoustic proved unfavorable to this admittedly difficult-to-record piece, whose dynamic variation, impossibly thick texture, and near-inhuman vocal range makes a formidable challenge for all who attempt it. However, the Dale Warland Singers (ACC), Corydon Singers (Hyperion), and Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge (the long-defunct Conifer) all manage to deliver electrifying performances in phenomenal sound, proving that it can be done!
The rest of the program is taken from the identically-titled À la Gloire de Dieu disc from 1994, and the Tippett and Poulenc are among the best (and very few) versions available. The recording’s opening work, Ives’ The Unanswered Question, begins at such a low level that you have to turn up the volume, only to have to turn it down during the Agnus Dei. In all, this is a mixed bag that most choral fans either will own already in the original Collins releases, or will have in other more favored versions that present this essential repertoire in the most positive light. For Tippett and Poulenc, this can’t be beat; for the rest, go with the reference versions.
