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These a cappella Psalms of Repentance, also known as Penitential Psalms, were composed in 1988 to mark the 1,000th anniversary of the conversion of the Kyivian Rus to Orthodox Christianity by Volodymyr the Great. They are about as spare and traditional as anything Alfred Schnittke ever wrote, yet they are still imbued with his entirely original musical personality. Access to the texts (in transliterated Russian and English) in the physical booklet is recommended here, for Schnittke's text-setting is quite sensitive, and his system for it is unique. The music is generally tonal, but it becomes harmonically denser at critical text junctures. The performances by the Cappella Amsterdam under director Daniel Reuss are ideal. The choir bulks up a bit to 33 members, and Reuss gets a thicker vocal tone from his group, a bit reminiscent of Russian choral singing. However, they do not sound like a Russian choir, just as Schnittke is as much Western as Russian, and his musical models in the Psalms of Repentance, such as they are, are more Viennese than Russian Orthodox. It is a virtuoso performance that captures the shades of meaning in the psalm texts, to which Schnittke seems to have responded in a personal way. These pieces have occasionally been recorded before, but this reading, with superb sound from the Pieterskerk in Utrecht, is ideal, and the music is recommended to all choral singers.
© James Manheim /TiVo
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Psalms of Repentance (Alfred Schnittke)
Alfred Schnittke, Composer - Daniel Reuss, Conductor, MainArtist - Cappella Amsterdam, Choir, MainArtist - Florian B. Schmidt, Producer - Aki Matusch, SoundEngineer
2023 Pentatone Music B.V. 2023 Cappella Amsterdam under exclusive license to Pentatone Music B. V.
Alfred Schnittke, Composer - Daniel Reuss, Conductor, MainArtist - Cappella Amsterdam, Choir, MainArtist - Florian B. Schmidt, Producer - Aki Matusch, SoundEngineer - Martin Logar, MainArtist, TenorSolo
2023 Pentatone Music B.V. 2023 Cappella Amsterdam under exclusive license to Pentatone Music B. V.
Alfred Schnittke, Composer - Daniel Reuss, Conductor, MainArtist - Cappella Amsterdam, Choir, MainArtist - Florian B. Schmidt, Producer - Aki Matusch, SoundEngineer
2023 Pentatone Music B.V. 2023 Cappella Amsterdam under exclusive license to Pentatone Music B. V.
Alfred Schnittke, Composer - Daniel Reuss, Conductor, MainArtist - Cappella Amsterdam, Choir, MainArtist - Florian B. Schmidt, Producer - Aki Matusch, SoundEngineer
2023 Pentatone Music B.V. 2023 Cappella Amsterdam under exclusive license to Pentatone Music B. V.
Alfred Schnittke, Composer - Daniel Reuss, Conductor, MainArtist - Cappella Amsterdam, Choir, MainArtist - Florian B. Schmidt, Producer - Aki Matusch, SoundEngineer
2023 Pentatone Music B.V. 2023 Cappella Amsterdam under exclusive license to Pentatone Music B. V.
Alfred Schnittke, Composer - Daniel Reuss, Conductor, MainArtist - Cappella Amsterdam, Choir, MainArtist - Florian B. Schmidt, Producer - Aki Matusch, SoundEngineer - Martin Logar, MainArtist, TenorSolo
2023 Pentatone Music B.V. 2023 Cappella Amsterdam under exclusive license to Pentatone Music B. V.
Alfred Schnittke, Composer - Daniel Reuss, Conductor, MainArtist - Cappella Amsterdam, Choir, MainArtist - Florian B. Schmidt, Producer - Aki Matusch, SoundEngineer
2023 Pentatone Music B.V. 2023 Cappella Amsterdam under exclusive license to Pentatone Music B. V.
Alfred Schnittke, Composer - Daniel Reuss, Conductor, MainArtist - Cappella Amsterdam, Choir, MainArtist - Florian B. Schmidt, Producer - Aki Matusch, SoundEngineer
2023 Pentatone Music B.V. 2023 Cappella Amsterdam under exclusive license to Pentatone Music B. V.
Alfred Schnittke, Composer - Daniel Reuss, Conductor, MainArtist - Cappella Amsterdam, Choir, MainArtist - Florian B. Schmidt, Producer - Aki Matusch, SoundEngineer - Martin Logar, MainArtist, TenorSolo
2023 Pentatone Music B.V. 2023 Cappella Amsterdam under exclusive license to Pentatone Music B. V.
Alfred Schnittke, Composer - Daniel Reuss, Conductor, MainArtist - Cappella Amsterdam, Choir, MainArtist - Florian B. Schmidt, Producer - Aki Matusch, SoundEngineer
2023 Pentatone Music B.V. 2023 Cappella Amsterdam under exclusive license to Pentatone Music B. V.
Alfred Schnittke, Composer - Daniel Reuss, Conductor, MainArtist - Cappella Amsterdam, Choir, MainArtist - Florian B. Schmidt, Producer - Aki Matusch, SoundEngineer - Martin Logar, MainArtist, TenorSolo
2023 Pentatone Music B.V. 2023 Cappella Amsterdam under exclusive license to Pentatone Music B. V.
Alfred Schnittke, Composer - Daniel Reuss, Conductor, MainArtist - Cappella Amsterdam, Choir, MainArtist - Florian B. Schmidt, Producer - Aki Matusch, SoundEngineer - Martin Logar, MainArtist, TenorSolo
2023 Pentatone Music B.V. 2023 Cappella Amsterdam under exclusive license to Pentatone Music B. V.
Album review
These a cappella Psalms of Repentance, also known as Penitential Psalms, were composed in 1988 to mark the 1,000th anniversary of the conversion of the Kyivian Rus to Orthodox Christianity by Volodymyr the Great. They are about as spare and traditional as anything Alfred Schnittke ever wrote, yet they are still imbued with his entirely original musical personality. Access to the texts (in transliterated Russian and English) in the physical booklet is recommended here, for Schnittke's text-setting is quite sensitive, and his system for it is unique. The music is generally tonal, but it becomes harmonically denser at critical text junctures. The performances by the Cappella Amsterdam under director Daniel Reuss are ideal. The choir bulks up a bit to 33 members, and Reuss gets a thicker vocal tone from his group, a bit reminiscent of Russian choral singing. However, they do not sound like a Russian choir, just as Schnittke is as much Western as Russian, and his musical models in the Psalms of Repentance, such as they are, are more Viennese than Russian Orthodox. It is a virtuoso performance that captures the shades of meaning in the psalm texts, to which Schnittke seems to have responded in a personal way. These pieces have occasionally been recorded before, but this reading, with superb sound from the Pieterskerk in Utrecht, is ideal, and the music is recommended to all choral singers.
© James Manheim /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 12 track(s)
- Total length: 00:40:31
- 1 Digital booklet
- Main artists: Cappella Amsterdam Daniel Reuss Martin Logar
- Composer: Alfred Schnittke
- Label: PentaTone
- Genre: Classical Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) Choral Music (Choirs)
2023 Pentatone Music B.V. 2023 Cappella Amsterdam under exclusive license to Pentatone Music B. V.
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