It used to be that Russian choirs had the edge in recording material from that country, but New York's Clarion Choir has gotten the drop on them with a world premiere of music by Alexander Kastalsky. The sound, from New York's St. Jean Baptiste Roman Catholic Church, is all that could be desired. Kastalsky's religious music was suppressed by the Bolsheviks, and for that reason he fell into general obscurity. The present work, however, was highly influential, and its revival is to be heartily welcomed. Memory Eternal is not ...
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It used to be that Russian choirs had the edge in recording material from that country, but New York's Clarion Choir has gotten the drop on them with a world premiere of music by Alexander Kastalsky. The sound, from New York's St. Jean Baptiste Roman Catholic Church, is all that could be desired. Kastalsky's religious music was suppressed by the Bolsheviks, and for that reason he fell into general obscurity. The present work, however, was highly influential, and its revival is to be heartily welcomed. Memory Eternal is not a sacred work; written for concert presentation, it combines Western-style a cappella polyphony with Russian chant in a unique synthesis. The work went through several iterations in which an organ and some texts of Western derivation were discarded, but the structural diversity remains. Sample the arresting octave opening of "Thou alone art immortal," which shows off the rich, pleasingly rough sound of the Clarion Choir and exemplifies the mix of dignity and passion in the work as a...
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