Elizabeth C. Patterson: The Lord Is My Shepherd, American Psalmody Vol. III, Gloriae Dei Cantores - CD

This is the third in a series of programs of biblical psalm settings by American Composers from Elizabeth C. Patterson’s wonderful choir, Gloriæ Dei Cantores. This only adds to my amazement at the incredible richness, variety, and sheer quantity of American choral music. I find myself reporting exciting discoveries in almost every issue of ARG. This program also exemplifies the primacy of biblical psalms as the favorite sacred texts of composers everywhere, past and present. Included here are works from Charles Ives, Ned Rorem, Alan Hovhaness, Daniel Pinkham, Robert Starer, and Samuel Adler. New to me are Philip James, Conrad Susa, and Bruce Neswick. Also heard is a wonderful cantata from Darius Milhaud which may strike you as an odd item here until you remember that he lived and worked in America for nearly 30 years. I enjoy everything immensely, but high points for me were Ive’s quirky and fascinating Psalm 100 and Robert Starer’s high-impact Proverbs for a Son. I always marvel at Ned Rorem’s sure knack for the human voice, and the three pieces from him here are among his best. And, I’m a hopeless sucker for the exotic and seductively spiritual music of Hovhaness – his first gentle, then insistent polyphony in the brief motet Make Haste makes for intensely metaphysical music as well. And the rest of it is so good that I hate to leave anybody unheralded. This may be America’s finest, most professional-sounding amateur chamber chorus. I’ve never heard a recording from them I didn’t like. Based in Cape Cod, this group includes adult singers of all ages, occupations, and musical backgrounds ... They perform only sacred music, but-after 30 recordings, have covered nearly its entire scope and range. Their singing is startlingly superb. They achieve amazing rhythmic and tonal precision as well as wonderfully warm, yet clear sonorities.

... Hence the importance of a project like Gloriæ Dei Cantores' American Psalmody series. Drawing on compositions from the past 100 years, these excellently programmed disks are proof that the American choral tradition may be marginal but it is certainly neither meager nor monotonous. The current disk is an example of the excellence of the entire series. It combines works by well-known composers such as Charles Ives and Darius Milhaud with pieces by less familiar names such as Conrad Susa and Philip James. A capella works are mixed with pieces scored for organ accompaniment as well as for more exotic combinations as a string quintet (Rorem); oboe, bass, and guitar (Starer); and oboe, cello, and harp (Milhaud). ... Like the other two disks in this series, this is a highly recommended recording. I would think they would be of special interest for any choral directors looking for contemporary and compelling new repertory.

Fervent singing of a well-varied program. This is the third disc in a series entitled American Psalmody. The choir has a full, vibrant sound and sings with great fervor.... Ned Rorem’s Two Psalms and a Proverb is absolutely gorgeous, and this is its only available recording. The oldest work on the program is Ives’ Psalm 100 and Gloriæ Dei Cantores finds a devotional quality in the music ... Bruce Neswick’s stirring anthem I will set His Dominion in the Sea is also first-rate, good enough to make one eager to hear more of his work. A very worthwhile release. And do check out the two previous volumes particularly the second, which includes Charles Martin Loeffler’s exquisite setting of By the Rivers of Babylon (again the only available recording).

Kudos to the ensemble and its conductor for first recordings of a great deal of important American choral music by (primarily) conservative mid-20th century masters, many native born. Elegantly modulated performances. Choral tone is invariably rich and well-balanced, with excellent diction in a live acoustic. Care with phrase shapes, pacing, variety in dynamic range and overall energy.