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| Excursion into the Middle Ages |
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Klaus Lang’s Missa beati pauperes spiritu (Blessed are the poor in spirit) breathes new life into Gregorian chant more than a thousand years old. One hears the traditional sequence of the mass movements, but newly composed material gives it a new interpretation. Klaus Lang does not wish to evoke images in his listeners but rather empty and impoverish their minds.
The entire Mass is performed at a very low level of volume. Drones, either electronically generated or played by the strings, overlap and fade into silence. The cantor intones the chant for the ordinary of the mass at some point in each movement, and a singer interjects small, short vocalizations at various intervals. The percussion and trombone have such high sonic profiles compared to the other elements that their appearance signals moments of dramatic significance.
There is not a sense of strong differentiation between movements - the mood throughout is hushed, expectant, enigmatic. The Mass creates an aural space for meditation; it requires an attitude of openness or emptiness, and the attentive listener will be rewarded with a sense of mystery and wonder.
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| Credits |
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Pater Gerwig Romirer, cantor
Natalia Pschenitschnikova, voice
Roland Dahinden, trombone
Günter Meinhart, percussion
Trio RGB (Sophie Bansac, viola; Cordula Grolle, cello; John Eckhardt, double bass)
Thomas Musil, IEM Graz, live electonics
World premiere recording, live
musikprotokoll 2005, ORF
In co-operation with IEM Graz |
1CD | Contemporary | PRIME colors Edition |
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| Recommendation |
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“The Raft of Piano Keys”: Hans Werner Henze’s complete works for piano, between Mediterranean impromptus and the search for lost time.  |
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| Axis Mundi - a fine selection of contemporary works for prepared piano w/ electroacoustics - magnificently played by Hélène Pereira. |
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| Recorded live at the Tyrolean Festival Erl in the Passion Play House with its wonderful acoustics, not far from the stunning “Wilder Kaiser” mountain range! |
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