Gloriæ Dei Cantores, Elizabeth C. Patterson - Alan Hovhaness: From the Ends of the Earth (2011) Hi-Res

One of the certainties a listener may have when approaching an album of unfamiliar music by Alan Hovhaness is how unpredictable it is likely to be. Hovhaness may be the most erratic major composer of the 20th century, capable of writing masterpieces like the astonishing, transcendent Second Symphony ("Mysterious Mountain"), as well as the most amateurish drivel. His sincerity is never in doubt; he was clearly a composer with integrity who only wrote what he deeply felt, but he seems to have lacked sound editorial judgment about what he produced. Most of the music on this beautifully performed collection of sacred choral works, From the Ends of the Earth, falls between his extremes, but it still represents a broad range in quality, some of it lovely and some of it embarrassingly clumsy. Among the most effective works is the ecstatically serene Ave Maria for women's voices, harp, oboes, and horns. "Wisdom," for mixed voices a cappella, is exquisitely chaste, and I will rejoice in the Lord conveys a mood of austere mystery. A Simple Mass, written for congregational singing, probably has too many melodic subtleties like eccentric modal inflections to make it easily accessible for most congregations and its movements vary wildly in their quality. The very shapely, graceful Prelude and "Lord, Have Mercy" are followed by the trite (and difficult to sing) "Glory to God in the Highest" and the droning, awkwardly set "We Believe in One God." Gloriae Dei Cantores, a Boston-based ensemble led by Elizabeth C. Patterson, sings with a warm, full sound. The group's intonation is for the most part very good, but there are a few moments when it's questionable. The sound is clean, detailed, and present.