Description
A tribute to this radical and influential composer in the centenary of her birth, this CD presents a selection of Lutyens’ varied and inspirational choral works – including the Motet, setting excerpts of Wittgenstein’s Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, and the Chaucer setting The Country of the Stars – with a series of instrumental pieces including the fearsomely difficult String Trio and the lyrical Presages for solo oboe; it is performed by EXAUDI and Endymion.
Elisabeth Lutyens Motet (Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus)
Magnificat and Nunc dimittis
The Country of the Stars
Verses of Love
Delivery & returns
Reviews
“This mixture of a cappella choral and instrumental works from the 1950s and 1960s is a timely and beautifully performed tribute.” The Guardian
“Not as tuneful as Mozart, true; nor as resonant as Shostakovich. Yet the neglected music of Elisabeth Lutyens (born 1906) fully deserves celebrating. In her hands serial composition never produced cold fish: take the plangent Présages for solo oboe (Melinda Maxwell, very powerful), or the gravely beautiful Wittgenstein Motet, lyrically dispatched by the choir Exaudi.” **** The Times
“James Weeks and EXAUDI bring out the best in Lutyens…NMC’s new disc is timely and poignantly welcome…The singers and players of EXAUDI and Endymion turn in eloquent, dedicated performances in first-rate sound, making every note – as Lutyens intended – count.” ***** BBC Music Magazine
“The recording is excellent and shows EXAUDI as a truly accomplished ensemble capable of tackling difficult choral music and producing impressive results.” MusicWeb International
“The choral works – Motet (Excerpta Tractati Logico-Philosophici), Op. 27 (1953), Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis (1965), Verses of Love (1970), and The Country of the Stars (1963) – are perhaps the most approachable selections of this album for their clarity of line and harmonic depth, and EXAUDI, led by James Weeks, delivers sensitive performances that are deeply felt and moving.” AllMusic