COMPOSERS: Palestrina
LABELS: Collegium
WORKS: The Song of Songs
PERFORMER: Cambridge Singers/John Rutter
CATALOGUE NO: COLCD 122 DDD
The merits of performing the entire Song of Songs as a single sequence are debatable; without much solo work, the result can seem a bit stodgy. Any benefits would be to bring out the expressive variety, the contrasting modes, and the warmly creative (yet restrained) word-colouring that characterises the best settings. Little of that is evident here. Rather uncharacteristically, Rutter charges at these like a bull in a china shop. Despite some redeeming features this noble effort fails on its own terms. Roderic Dunnett
Palestrina: The Song of Songs
The merits of performing the entire Song of Songs as a single sequence are debatable; without much solo work, the result can seem a bit stodgy. Any benefits would be to bring out the expressive variety, the contrasting modes, and the warmly creative (yet restrained) word-colouring that characterises the best settings. Little of that is evident here. Rather uncharacteristically, Rutter charges at these like a bull in a china shop. Despite some redeeming features this noble effort fails on its own terms. Roderic Dunnett
Published: January 20, 2012 at 2:32 pm