Patrick Demenga, State Choir Latvija, Riga Cathedral Boys Choir, Youth Choir Kamer, Andres Mustonen - Alexander Knaifel: Chapter Eight (2025) [Hi-Res]

Tracklist

01. Chapter Eight: Stanza I-VII
02. Chapter Eight: Stanza VIII-XXII
03. Chapter Eight: Stanza XXIII-XXXII

It is amazing with what a deep sense of beauty this composition for church, choruses and cello is imbued - said Mstislav Rostropovich on first experiencing Chapter Eight. Basing the music on the Old Testament Song of Songs, The Song of Solomon, Russian composer Alexander Knaifel (1943-2024) conceived of Chapter Eight as a "community prayer" to be realized "in the most reverberant church acoustics." The subtle blending of sounds is central to a work "without plot or drama", as Knaifel said, but by no means without mystery.

Here, cellist Patrick Demenga is called upon to renounce a soloist's role and surrender to the combined utterances of the three choirs, under the direction of Estonian conductor Andres Mustonen, and the pervading atmosphere of the church. The album was recorded in Lucerne's Jesuitenkirche, built in the Baroque era, and long renowned for its exceptional acoustic properties.

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