Windsbacher Knabenchor, Karl-Friedrich Beringer - Igor Strawinsky: Symphonie De Psaumes (2001)

As fine a recording of Stravinsky's choral music as has ever been made, this disc by the Windsbacher Knabenchor and the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin directed by Karl-Friedrich Beringer couples the composer's two brief a cappella prayers -- the Pater noster and Ave Maria -- with his secular cantata and his sacred masterpiece, the Symphonie of Psalms. This program shows the full range of Stravinsky's unique approach to writing for choir, from his lyrically austere cantata to his dramatically austere symphony to his exceedingly austere prayers. And it also shows the full range of the Windsbacher Knabenchor's interpretive abilities, from the hypnotic Pater noster to the elegant cantata to the enormous symphony. As in its recordings of Bach's choral music, the Windsbacher Knabenchor demonstrates why German critics regard it as the best choir of its kind in Middle Franconia: its tone is sculpted, its intonation is flawless, its diction is impeccable, its sense of rhythm is effervescent, and its understanding of the composer's severe but sublime spirituality is total and complete. Longtime director Beringer leads the excellent Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin with confidence and Rondeau's sound captures the 2001 performances with depth, clarity, and fidelity.