 |
|
Charles Gounod (1818 - 1893)Musica sacraLabel: Carus, 83.161
Year: 2005
Performers:Raphaela Mayhaus - soprano
Julia-Rebecca Paul - soprano
Mirko Ludwig - tenor
Christa Bonhoff - alto
Katrin Fruhauf - alto
Christoph Behm - bass
Georg-Martin Koberg - bass
Michael Thomsen - bass
Gunter Troje - bass
Tobias Gotting - organ
Kammerchor 'I Vocalisti'
Hans-Joachim Lustig - conductor
Tracklist:Messe breve No. 7 aux chapelles, for 2 voices & organ or harmonium in C major
Noel, for soprano, alto, female chorus & piano with organ ad lib.
Dans cette etable, for chorus & orchestra (Grands choeurs No. 2)
Les sept paroles du N.S. Jesus-Christ sur la croix, for chorus
Messe breve No. 5 aux seminaires, for 2 tenors, bass, male chorus & organ in C major
An Evening Service, for chorus & organ
Pater noster, for chorus & organ
Gounod’s sacred works are characterized by the simplicity and naturalness of their musical expression. The popularity of his choral music stands in sharp contrast to the number of recordings of his church music. Thus the present Carus CD fills a gap and a need for this music. Among the 21 Masses and 4 Requiems of Charles Gounod, his most memorable and popular work is the Messe solennelle de Ste Cecile (1855), a large-scale setting for soloists, orchestra and organ, filled with marvellous melodies. This composition is the concluding work of that group of Masses referred to as the "first collection." The two Masses featured on this CD, are from the "second collection" or those composed during the last years of his life: Messe breve no. 5 in C aux seminaires (soli TBB, Choir TBB, and organ) first published in 1871 and re-issued in 1892 with the phrase seminaires; and Messe breve no. 7 in C aux chapelles (soli TB, Choir SATB, and organ), first published for two equal voices and organ in 1877, re-worked and re-issued in 1890 with the phrase aux chapelles and arranged for soli and mixed choir. Both works are atypical settings as they omit the Credo, which the congregation sang. Further, in Messe no. 7, Gounod takes a liturgical liberty by replacing the text of the Benedictus, the second half of the Sanctus, which is often treated as a solo or even a separate movement, with the first verse of O salutaris hostia (O Saving Victim). This hymn commonly sung at Benediction, is composed of the last two verses of Verbum supernum, one of the five Eucharistic hymns written by Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) at the request of Pope Urban IV (1261-1264) for the newly instituted Feast of Corpus Christi in 1264. Given its liturgical history and use, the substitution of this Eucharistic text for the Benedictus makes sense only if its performance occurs during the consecration, which would have required impeccable timing. Even then, it is a deviation that borders on personal piety rather than corporate worship, the latter of which is the purpose of the Mass.
The delightful and lyrical Noel (1866), a Christmas song for equal voices, soli and chorus, received some notoriety in 1948, when sung by the Robert Mitchell Boy Choir in the MGM classic The Bishop’s Wife. This rendition by the women of I Vocalisti has potential but is compromised by the tense, piercing sound of the soprano soloist and the soprano section. In addition, the French is difficult to understand even when utilizing the booklet.
One of the redeeming selections on this CD is Les sept paroles du Christ sur la croix (1855, a capella, soli SATB, Choir SATB / SATB). Profoundly influenced by the music of Palestrina during his years in Rome (1840-1842), the close connection between text and music characterizes this period of Gounod’s compositions and this work. Predominantly homophonic in texture, Gounod’s descriptive musical figures, which ornament and illustrate the texts, are effectively rendered vocally, e.g., in No.4, the cascading phrase Eli, lama sabachtahni ("My God, why have you forsaken me?") and in No. 5, the biting chromaticism on the word Sitio . . . "I thirst."
Perhaps the best performance on this CD is Bethleem (1882-1884), a Christmas choral work (SATB) of three verses with organ interludes. Its simplicity is its joy; the obvious goal when one conducts and composes for amateur choirs.
I Vocalisti presents itself as performers of "demanding sacred and secular choral music on a professional level." The selections presented here, highlights of Gounod’s affiliation with and affection for amateur choirs, seem at odds with the stated mission. While the general ensemble of the choir is good, there are vocal problems not worthy of "professionals". Diction is less than desirable; pronunciation problems affect intonation, most noticeably with the tenors; placement of open vowels, particularly with the tenors and sopranos, is harsh and unpleasant; and there are actual intonation concerns. The lack of melodic contour by the choir, principally in the Mass settings, burdens the music unnecessarily. The over riding fault however, is the sound engineering (Tritonus Musikproduktion, Stuttgart, Stephan Schellmann, sound engineer). Volume levels are irritating, particularly when the soli, choir, and organ are in dialogue. In general, performance of the choir suffers at the hands of the engineers.
Even among his admirers, Gounod is known for his predictable rhythms, ordinary chromatic harmonies, particularly at the frequent cadences that illustrate what Gounod defined as avoiding "disproportion long windedness," and what Martin Cooper terms "short-breathed" melodies. While this recording serves musicological and historical interests-demonstrating national and stylistic differences-aesthetically, it is bland.
LOGSPOILER! |
EAC extraction logfile from 13. October 2008, 1:25 for CD Kammerchor 'I Vocalisti', Hans-Joachim Lustig / Charles Gounod - Musica sacra
Used drive : HL-DT-STDVDRAM GSA-H62N Adapter: 2 ID: 1 Read mode : Secure with NO C2, accurate stream, disable cache Read offset correction : 667 Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out : No
Used output format : C:\Program Files\FLAC\flac.exe (User Defined Encoder) 320 kBit/s Additional command line options : -8 -V -T "ARTIST=%a" -T "TITLE=%t" -T "ALBUM=%g" -T "DATE=%y" -T "TRACKNUMBER=%n" -T "GENRE=%m" -T "COMMENT=EAC FLAC -8" %s
Other options : Fill up missing offset samples with silence : Yes Delete leading and trailing silent blocks : No Native Win32 interface for Win NT & 2000
Track 1 Filename G:\Z\Charles Gounod - Musica sacra (2005) [FLAC]\01 - Messe breve No.7 in C major 'Aux chapelles' - Kyrie.wav
Pre-gap length 0:00:02.00
Peak level 44.4 % Track quality 100.0 % Test CRC B6436F7F Copy CRC B6436F7F Copy OK
Track 2 Filename G:\Z\Charles Gounod - Musica sacra (2005) [FLAC]\02 - Messe breve No.7 in C major 'Aux chapelles' - Gloria in excelsis Deo.wav
Peak level 62.5 % Track quality 99.8 % Test CRC 268989CB Copy CRC 268989CB Copy OK
Track 3 Filename G:\Z\Charles Gounod - Musica sacra (2005) [FLAC]\03 - Messe breve No.7 in C major 'Aux chapelles' - Domine Fili unigenite.wav
Peak level 51.8 % Track quality 100.0 % Test CRC A3F35505 Copy CRC A3F35505 Copy OK
Track 4 Filename G:\Z\Charles Gounod - Musica sacra (2005) [FLAC]\04 - Messe breve No.7 in C major 'Aux chapelles' - Quoniam tu solus Sanctus.wav
Peak level 59.0 % Track quality 100.0 % Test CRC D730911D Copy CRC D730911D Copy OK
Track 5 Filename G:\Z\Charles Gounod - Musica sacra (2005) [FLAC]\05 - Messe breve No.7 in C major 'Aux chapelles' - Sanctus.wav
Peak level 51.2 % Track quality 100.0 % Test CRC 7D12024B Copy CRC 7D12024B Copy OK
Track 6 Filename G:\Z\Charles Gounod - Musica sacra (2005) [FLAC]\06 - Messe breve No.7 in C major 'Aux chapelles' - O salutaris hostia.wav
Peak level 35.5 % Track quality 100.0 % Test CRC 2B9246E7 Copy CRC 2B9246E7 Copy OK
Track 7 Filename G:\Z\Charles Gounod - Musica sacra (2005) [FLAC]\07 - Messe breve No.7 in C major 'Aux chapelles' - Agnus Dei.wav
Peak level 32.0 % Track quality 100.0 % Test CRC 214ABF47 Copy CRC 214ABF47 Copy OK
Track 8 Filename G:\Z\Charles Gounod - Musica sacra (2005) [FLAC]\08 - Noel (Chant des Religieuses).wav
Pre-gap length 0:00:05.46
Peak level 88.4 % Track quality 100.0 % Test CRC F3EC0921 Copy CRC F3EC0921 Copy OK
Track 9 Filename G:\Z\Charles Gounod - Musica sacra (2005) [FLAC]\09 - Bethleem (Pastorale sur un Noel).wav
Pre-gap length 0:00:03.28
Peak level 73.8 % Track quality 100.0 % Test CRC 1DA90B85 Copy CRC 1DA90B85 Copy OK
Track 10 Filename G:\Z\Charles Gounod - Musica sacra (2005) [FLAC]\10 - Les sept paroles du Christ sur la croix - Prolog.wav
Pre-gap length 0:00:04.52
Peak level 36.9 % Track quality 99.9 % Test CRC C0B4B92A Copy CRC C0B4B92A Copy OK
Track 11 Filename G:\Z\Charles Gounod - Musica sacra (2005) [FLAC]\11 - Les sept paroles du Christ sur la croix - 1. Praeter euntes.wav
Peak level 54.6 % Track quality 100.0 % Test CRC 5123E2C2 Copy CRC 5123E2C2 Copy OK
Track 12 Filename G:\Z\Charles Gounod - Musica sacra (2005) [FLAC]\12 - Les sept paroles du Christ sur la croix - 2. Unus autem.wav
Peak level 45.1 % Track quality 100.0 % Test CRC E9D0261A Copy CRC E9D0261A Copy OK
Track 13 Filename G:\Z\Charles Gounod - Musica sacra (2005) [FLAC]\13 - Les sept paroles du Christ sur la croix - 3. Cum vidisset.wav
Peak level 35.3 % Track quality 99.8 % Test CRC 7121A93A Copy CRC 7121A93A Copy OK
Track 14 Filename G:\Z\Charles Gounod - Musica sacra (2005) [FLAC]\14 - Les sept paroles du Christ sur la croix - 4. Tenebrae factae sunt.wav
Peak level 62.4 % Track quality 100.0 % Test CRC DD84C9E1 Copy CRC DD84C9E1 Copy OK
Track 15 Filename G:\Z\Charles Gounod - Musica sacra (2005) [FLAC]\15 - Les sept paroles du Christ sur la croix - 5. Posta scens Jesus.wav
Peak level 18.4 % Track quality 100.0 % Test CRC B80B7132 Copy CRC B80B7132 Copy OK
Track 16 Filename G:\Z\Charles Gounod - Musica sacra (2005) [FLAC]\16 - Les sept paroles du Christ sur la croix - 6. Vas ergo erat.wav
Peak level 38.6 % Track quality 100.0 % Test CRC CA1B43FC Copy CRC CA1B43FC Copy OK
Track 17 Filename G:\Z\Charles Gounod - Musica sacra (2005) [FLAC]\17 - Les sept paroles du Christ sur la croix - 7. Pater, in manus tuas.wav
Peak level 22.5 % Track quality 100.0 % Test CRC BD7B8D48 Copy CRC BD7B8D48 Copy OK
Track 18 Filename G:\Z\Charles Gounod - Musica sacra (2005) [FLAC]\18 - Messe breve No.5 in C major 'Aux seminaires' - Kyrie.wav
Pre-gap length 0:00:05.17
Peak level 28.3 % Track quality 100.0 % Test CRC 63E0519E Copy CRC 63E0519E Copy OK
Track 19 Filename G:\Z\Charles Gounod - Musica sacra (2005) [FLAC]\19 - Messe breve No.5 in C major 'Aux seminaires' - Gloria.wav
Peak level 45.2 % Track quality 99.9 % Test CRC 1E123462 Copy CRC 1E123462 Copy OK
Track 20 Filename G:\Z\Charles Gounod - Musica sacra (2005) [FLAC]\20 - Messe breve No.5 in C major 'Aux seminaires' - Sanctus.wav
Peak level 53.7 % Track quality 100.0 % Test CRC DAE408FE Copy CRC DAE408FE Copy OK
Track 21 Filename G:\Z\Charles Gounod - Musica sacra (2005) [FLAC]\21 - Messe breve No.5 in C major 'Aux seminaires' - Benedictus.wav
Peak level 32.0 % Track quality 100.0 % Test CRC 48519D97 Copy CRC 48519D97 Copy OK
Track 22 Filename G:\Z\Charles Gounod - Musica sacra (2005) [FLAC]\22 - Messe breve No.5 in C major 'Aux seminaires' - Agnus Dei.wav
Peak level 24.1 % Track quality 100.0 % Test CRC BE11C90D Copy CRC BE11C90D Copy OK
Track 23 Filename G:\Z\Charles Gounod - Musica sacra (2005) [FLAC]\23 - An evening service - Magnificat.wav
Pre-gap length 0:00:04.74
Peak level 72.3 % Track quality 100.0 % Test CRC 86BFECA8 Copy CRC 86BFECA8 Copy OK
Track 24 Filename G:\Z\Charles Gounod - Musica sacra (2005) [FLAC]\24 - An evening service - Nunc dimittis.wav
Pre-gap length 0:00:01.77
Peak level 55.5 % Track quality 100.0 % Test CRC AB0CE324 Copy CRC AB0CE324 Copy OK
Track 25 Filename G:\Z\Charles Gounod - Musica sacra (2005) [FLAC]\25 - Pater noster.wav
Pre-gap length 0:00:04.22
Peak level 83.5 % Track quality 99.9 % Test CRC 7844B6F9 Copy CRC 7844B6F9 Copy OK
No errors occured
End of status report |