European choral gems of the 19th century
On this CD, with choral music to discover anew from across broad areas of Europe, the renowned Viennese vocal ensemble Chorus sine nomine, directed by Johannes Hiemetsberger, spans an impressive musical arch across themes from spring to winter, from nature and love to parting and death. The choir handles this diversity of mood with great skill, at times tenderly and full of feeling, at others powerfully and temperamentally. The choral pieces chosen include many newly discovered gems, some of them recorded for the first time. And not least, the CD shows many well-known pieces in a new light: the Loreley, for example, does not sing her song to Friedrich Silcher's familiar melody, but is heard in Ferdinand Hiller's haunting setting, and Giuseppe Verdi's famous aria La donna è mobile is turned into a celebratory choral song. A fascinating and multi-facetted auditory journey through the 19th century.