J Bach S / White - Gloria [CD]

Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir salutes it's 40th anniversary season with the release of Gloria, a program originally recorded and released by CBC Records in 2008. Ivars Taurins directs the 25-voice choir and the orchestra under Music Director Emerita Jeanne Lamon in this program of sacred baroque works that distinguishes Tafelmusik as being "head and shoulders above most of it's competitors. Tafelmusik's performance breathes such fresh life into this ancient score that it catches one up in it's rare enthusiasm." (Fanfare) Soprano Ann Monoyios, countertenor Matthew White, and tenor Colin Ainsworth are the featured vocal soloists. The recording opens with Gloria in excelsis Deo by J.S. Bach, a festive if rarely performed work that the composer later adapted for the Mass in B Minor. Paired with Vivaldi's exuberant and joyous Gloria, Tafelmusik "emphasizes the legato of the vocal line, allowing the clipped rhythms of the accompanying orchestra to buoy the music along naturally." (Fanfare). With it's gracious airs and it's lively choruses, Mondonville's Dominus regnavit is a splendid example of the 18th-century grand motet.