Messiaen, Olivier: L’Amour Et La Foi

   in Choir & Organ (Sep, 2015)
This recording offers three of Messiaen’s best-known choral works: O sacrum convivium! (1937), Trois petites liturgies de la Presence Divine (1943) and Cinq rechants (1948). The last of these, with its mixture of languages (French and a Sanskrit-like language devised by Messiaen himself), was composed for 12 solo voices and presents many challenges to its performers: sound, rhythm and technique are all extended by the composer’s demands, which include modifying vowel sounds to produce percussive effects. The Danish National Vocal Ensemble delivers a committed reading of this difficult work. No less committed are their colleagues of the Danish National Concert Choir and Chamber Orchestra who join them in the other …