Rheinberger = Romantic Palestrina
essmac | Nashville, TN USA | 03/28/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The Brahms is very fine, of course. But the Rheinberger is the main attraction: beautifully simple, much in the vein of Palestrina, but with enough harmonic lusciousness to beguile your ear. Direct and compact, quite different from some of the overblown, overlong works of the same period. Some of the harmonic turns are deliciously unexpected, but some are sound calculated enough that you'll raise an eyebrow and wag a finger. Still, the sonorities are downright ravishing, and I mean ravishing well on the tasteful side of sincere devotion. The St. Clement's Choir does a fantastic job- straight tone, but not the sterile strident kind: rounded and clear on the high womens' and men's end, rich and plummy on the low end (just listen to the gorgeously sonorous opening to the Sanctus). Moving, expressive but in good taste- in good taste but not boring. Highly, highly recommended!"