Polyphony, Stephen Layton and Britten Sinfonia
Includes Ave Maria and O Magnum Mysterium

Track Listing

1. Lux Aeterna, for chorus & orchestra
2. Madrigali, 6 Firesongs on Italian Renaissance poems for chorus
3. Ave Maria, for chorus
4. Ubi Caritas Et Amor, for chorus
5. Magnum Mysterium, for chorus

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5212 in Music
• Released on: 2005-02-18
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .26 pounds
• Running time: 67 minutes

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Customer Reviews

Indescribable Beauty!
I first came across Morten Lauridsen years ago by downloading a copy of O Magnum Mysterium by mistake. It took a while for me to find out who it was by, but once I did I bought a cd of his music by an American Chorus. The music, whilst nice, didn't really inspire me much because the performance was lifeless and suffered as a result of the size of the choir.

I found myself listening to classic fm a few months ago (by accident i might add - I'm a bit of a snob and try to avoid it!) and heard the Ave Maria from this cd. What a difference a good choir can make. I rushed home and ordered this cd immediatly and was delighted when it arrived.

The idea of an entire cd filled with Lauridsen is not a new one, but this is by far the best attempt. Polyphony really bring out the best from this music, especially in the Ave Maria and Ubi Caritas which are my new favourites. The O Magnum Mysterium is a little slow, but given the length of the phrases really shows off the quality of the choir - i wouldn't like to go that long without breathing!

The Lux Aeterna is however a little disappointing in comparison. This is due to the way in which Lauridsen composes, rather than any performance issues. The same chords and sequences show themselves time and time again, which although they are lovely can get a little repetitive.

All in all though, you can't go wrong with this disc whether you know Lauridsen well or not. If you do, you won't find a better recording and if you don't, you can't help but love this guy's music and this is the best recording about.

I couldn't recommend it more.

Sublime
Worth it for the heart-stopping beauty that is O Magnum Mysterium.

My wife and I were in different rooms but listening to the excellent Late Junction on BBC Radio3 when O Magnum Mysterium came on and were both so gob-smacked that we compared notes (!) afterwards and just had to buy this CD.

We've not been disappointed.

Lauridsen Lux aeterna
Quite a nice, easy sound at first but it soon wears off. I feel that there is one main compositional idea which the composer does to death. Eventually I couldn't tell one movement from the next.