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Review by beardawgs January 18, 2005 (2 of 2 found this review helpful)
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Performance: Sonics: |
French baroque is an acquired taste, for me at least. This disc is at least nicely balanced between exuberant and more serene music: famous ‘Eurovision’ Te Deum always sounded like a full on assault to all my senses, while the ‘Messe de Minuit’ is my second favourite Charpentier (first being ‘Messe pour les trepasses’). This disc is nevertheless a fine account in every respect – Kevin Mallon, his choir and orchestra are not trying to ‘reinvent’ anything; they know very well what this music is all about, (especially the brass players in Te Deum!) and what we have here is a fine and authentic account of French baroque.
My main problem with Charpentier is lack of variety of orchestral colours and vocal combinations, but Mallon’s forces kept me alert with their precise execution. The recording is naturally balanced with plenty of church acoustics preserved, but it is not particularly wide – I had impression that I’m sitting quite behind in a long and narrow space, but everything is still crystal clear and transparent.
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