Nigel Short and Tenebrae have come up with a beautifully balanced and contrasted programme… What superb singing: technically immaculate, somehow lucid and voluptuously beautiful at the same time.
– BBC Music Magazine
Brahms and Bruckner Motets
Tenebrae proudly presents this BBC Music Magazine award-winning release, the profits from the sale of which benefit Macmillan Cancer Support to aid their incredible work.
Of the major nineteenth century composers, who largely refrained from composing in the motet style, Brahms and Bruckner are significant exceptions. Though both Brahms and Bruckner’s motets are inconceivable without the influence of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, they are nonetheless idiomatic to the composers’ styles. Seamlessly entwining old and new, these motets emerge as masterpieces of the sacred style in the nineteenth century.
Nigel Short and Tenebrae have come up with a beautifully balanced and contrasted programme… What superb singing: technically immaculate, somehow lucid and voluptuously beautiful at the same time.
– BBC Music Magazine
- Release Date: 30 October 2015
- Record Label: Signum Classics
- Catalogue Number: SIGCD430
- Location of Recording: Temple Church, London
- Total Running Time: 01:14:42
- View/Download Liner Notes
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Individual Tracks
Add individual tracks to your shopping cart by ticking their boxes in the track listing table below.
| Buy | # | Title | Composer | Duration | Price | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aequalis No. 1 | Anton Bruckner | 01:41 | £ | Listen | |
| 2 | Virga Jesse | Anton Bruckner | 03:58 | £ | Listen | |
| 3 | Ecce sacerdos | Anton Bruckner | 06:33 | £ | Listen | |
| 4 | Christus factus est | Anton Bruckner | 05:55 | £ | Listen | |
| 5 | Locus iste | Anton Bruckner | 03:30 | £ | Listen | |
| 6 | Fest- und Gedenksprüche, Op.109: I. Unsere Väter hofften auf dich | Johannes Brahms | 02:07 | £ | Listen | |
| 7 | Fest- und Gedenksprüche, Op.109: II. Wenn ein starker Gewappneter | Johannes Brahms | 02:58 | £ | Listen | |
| 8 | Fest- und Gedenksprüche, Op.109: III. Wo ist ein so herrlich Volk | Johannes Brahms | 04:59 | £ | Listen | |
| 9 | Os justi | Anton Bruckner | 05:04 | £ | Listen | |
| 10 | Ave Maria, Op. 12 | Johannes Brahms | 04:39 | £ | Listen | |
| 11 | How Lovely are thy Dwellings from Ein deutsches Requiem Op. 45 | Johannes Brahms | 06:22 | £ | Listen | |
| 12 | Ave Maria | Anton Bruckner | 04:05 | £ | Listen | |
| 13 | Tota pulchra es | Anton Bruckner | 05:50 | £ | Listen | |
| 14 | Drei motetten, Op. 110: I. Ich aber bin elend | Johannes Brahms | 03:38 | £ | Listen | |
| 15 | Drei motetten, Op. 110: II. Ach, arme Welt | Johannes Brahms | 02:04 | £ | Listen | |
| 16 | Drei motetten, Op. 110: III. Wenn wir in höchsten Nöten sein | Johannes Brahms | 03:30 | £ | Listen | |
| 17 | Geistliches Lied, Op. 30 | Johannes Brahms | 05:54 | £ | Listen | |
| 18 | Aequalis No. 2 | Anton Bruckner | 01:44 | £ | Listen |
Nigel Short and his outstanding singers take more time than anyone to get under the bonnet of each [Bruckner] motet. Their journeys of discovery, intensity and character deliver an incremental power which draws as much on tranquility as any display of sheer vocal panache – which they also happen to have in spades. This is the only group which delve into the recesses of ‘Christus factus est’, bring a spirit of excited anticipation and prophecy to ‘Virga jesse’, and illuminate the sky with those most disarming and radiant sequences reaching towards heaven in the ‘Ave Maria’.
– BBC Radio 3 – Jonathan Freeman-Attwood
Tenebrae score on all counts. They submit with impressive stamina and unfailing intonation to Bruckner’s instrumental scoring and phrasing.
– Gramophone Magazine
… beautifully performed, seraphic sequence…
– The Sunday Times
… richly expressive… The dense harmonies suit this well-established professional choir perfectly.
– The Observer
… this recording showcases, at least in part, simply the best ensemble of singers in England… there is no version of these pieces that can match it for the basics of tuning, ensemble, balance and tone. More importantly, there is none…that has quite the same power to make your heart soar with this dazzling music.
– Sinfini Music
If you wanted proof that the vocal ensemble Tenebrae is one of the most impressive chamber-sized collectives around at the moment, then it’s just arrived. Anton Bruckner’s motets demand everything from choirs of any size: absolute security of intonation and ensemble, ease of tone production at the outer limits of the vocal ranges, both stratospherically high and earth-shakingly low, unlimited reserves of power, dynamic range and an ability to spin phrases seemingly sometimes of symphonic breadth. Tenebrae can do it all… Stunning singing, fine recorded sound.
– Andrew McGregor, BBC Radio 3 CD Review
Tenebrae, one of the finest choirs in Britain, turn their attention to this collection of Brahms and Bruckner, something to which they’re ideally suited… From rich bottom to airy top, Tenebrae find it, suffusing this music with rich beauty and a lovely sense of wholeness… Nigel Short’s direction of the choir is first rate… this is a most distinguished recording – fine music performed with deep sensitivity and flawless technique, all presented in an exemplary recording.
– MusicWeb International
…Bruckner’s motets at their best (as they are here)…this selection of seven ideal.
– Classical Music Magazine
BBC Radio 3 ‘Building a Library’ chosen recording (November 2017)
Winner: BBC Music Magazine Choral Award (2016)
The Independent on Sunday – The Best of 2015
BBC Music Magazine Recording of the Month (November 2015)
MusicWeb International Recording of the Month (December 2015)
