Agnus Dei: Music of Inner Harmony: The Choir of New College Oxford

The first selection on the disc is Samuel Barber's own transcription of his "Adagio for Strings" to the Mass text, "Agnus Dei." This composition is difficult for string players to keep in tune, so we can imagine how difficult it is for a choir to sustain the pitch a cappella! The New College performance is a "must hear." Words fail to adequately convey the beauty, balance, and intense music making captured on this disc. The effect is hypnotic. The conductor had the good sense and taste to offer a program with enough variety that you are given an emotional rest on occasion, but the basic meditative atmosphere is sustained throughout the program. The Elgar transcription of "Lux Aeterna" arranged by John Cameron is particularly worth treasuring. It shares much of the ethos of the Barber work and is rarely heard in this form.

The Bach, Mozart, Mendelssohn and Faure which round out the work are very familiar favorites and given graceful, splendid performances. They are so good, in fact, that it would make the album a great gift idea for churches to give amateur choir members as a thank you and inspiration for improvement. The Rachmaninoff and Gorecki are music for the initiated and receive convincing, winning performances here. The Allegri, though rarely heard, is a hauntingly beautiful composition and was a particular favorite of Mozart.

This beautiful album makes a wonderful background for meditation. It is the perfect music to glory in when your soul is thirsty.

Unlike other similar recordings currently in vogue which have taken a theme of the mass as their title, and are often uneven--both in the quality of performances and the sequencing of numbers--Agnus Dei stands apart.

With this carefully planned and intelligent production, Higginbottom has created a delightfully diverse CD covering a broad cross-section of sacred choral music from the Renaissance to the 20th century, thankfully with natural and logical modulations between the varied selections.

Even if most of the pieces are fairly familiar, certain performances are breathtaking (Barber's Agnus Dei and Allegri's Miserere come to mind), and provide well over an hour of generally superb singing from this venerable Anglican choir.

This disc provides one of the best sacred choral anthologies currently available, and would make a valuable addition to any library of choral recordings.

---

   Written on January 24, 2000
   Summary: Heavenly harmony
A sublime collection of male voice choral music that soothes and uplifts. The choir of New College, Oxford has given us a brilliant performance, new arrangements of old favourites, and a few newer pieces. Their version of Allergris' Misereri is the BEST I have ever heard, the first soprano soars with clear, pure tones -- it is superior to the famed Kings College, Cambridge!

---

   Written on January 12, 2000
   Summary: Truly great cd
Overall a masterfully done cd. Faure's Cantique is spellbinding. Easily one of my favorite cds!

---

   Written on September 12, 1999
   Summary: A Spiritual Music Experience.
So this is what Angel wings sound like to mortals. Gregorio Allegri's Agnus Dei is an inspiring Choral masterpiece. Few pieces of music have the ability to feed the soul. Enjoy this auditory feast...it's a MUST have.