The music of British composer Julian Anderson is difficult to classify. Especially in his orchestral music, but also here in O sing unto the Lord (1999) you'll hear echoes of Tippett, and "Beautiful Valley of Eden" is underlaid by an intricate method. Yet the "Bell Mass" is derived from bell sonorities -- not in the sense of Pärt's music, but nevertheless providing a fixed point of reference. The various aspects come together perhaps most elegantly in the Four American Choruses, which have a layer of simplicity due to their ...
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The music of British composer Julian Anderson is difficult to classify. Especially in his orchestral music, but also here in O sing unto the Lord (1999) you'll hear echoes of Tippett, and "Beautiful Valley of Eden" is underlaid by an intricate method. Yet the "Bell Mass" is derived from bell sonorities -- not in the sense of Pärt's music, but nevertheless providing a fixed point of reference. The various aspects come together perhaps most elegantly in the Four American Choruses, which have a layer of simplicity due to their American gospel hymn source material but are in no way "Americanist" works. Sample the fourth one, "At the fountain" (from P.P. Bliss), with its blues and jazz echoes. As you might imagine, this music poses a good deal of difficulty for the choir, and the performance here is the result of enough rehearsal to let the Choir of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, under director and organist Geoffrey Webber, sound natural and confident: the appeal of the cathedral choirs is their...
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