Whilst I celebrate our own tradition of singing, I am always interested to hear choirs from other countries and their different ways of doing things. The North European tradition tends to use men with less 'full' voices which give a very good blend. Something of this ilk on Through the Night really caught my attention in the early hours this a.m.
It was a setting (in Danish, I assume) of what we know as 'In the Wilderness' and the piece was called (again in Danish) Desert and Heath. It was by Peder Holm (b. 1926) and was sung by The Fionian Choir (Fynske Kor?) conducted by Alice Granum. The sops and altos (female) sang with fresh, straight voices and the belnd was such that every detail of the texture could be clearly heard.
The style avoided the worst excesses of minimalism and yet was harmonically kind to the ears... in short I thought it was a really excellent piece. I'd like to know more about both choir and composer. Anyone heard [of] them?
It was a setting (in Danish, I assume) of what we know as 'In the Wilderness' and the piece was called (again in Danish) Desert and Heath. It was by Peder Holm (b. 1926) and was sung by The Fionian Choir (Fynske Kor?) conducted by Alice Granum. The sops and altos (female) sang with fresh, straight voices and the belnd was such that every detail of the texture could be clearly heard.
The style avoided the worst excesses of minimalism and yet was harmonically kind to the ears... in short I thought it was a really excellent piece. I'd like to know more about both choir and composer. Anyone heard [of] them?
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