Review and More

Our Review

This award-winning, Norwegian, a cappella group made me cry in the early morning hours of an October Sunday that saw Minnesota's first snow of the season. If you love superb renditions of classical holiday fare, Grex Vocalis may make you cry, too. Of course, anyone should cry to see snow accumulating in the front yard before October's mid-point, but that's surprisingly not the reason for my emotional reaction. This mid-sized (about 45 voices) choral group accomplishes seamless fusion, perfect harmonization, precise intonations, and astoundingly smooth blends as well as any vocal group that I have ever heard. Just outstanding!

Not surprising, the central theme of Magnum Mysterium is O Magnum Mysterium, featured no fewer than five times by different composers (Lauridsen, Victoria, Palestrina, Poulenc, Busto). Each version is absolutely splendid; I cannot emphasize enough the intense beauty and technical precision that pervades this album. My personal favorite (for nostalgic reasons) is Victoria's O Magnum Mysterium; I sang this piece (second alto) dozens of times in a college chorale (the Bowdoin Glee Club) and later in France (long story) many moons ago. Palestrina's version is a close second. These challenging pieces demand intricate, overlapping, ever-changing layers of sound; in the hands of Grex Vocalis, the resulting musical portraits are breathtaking.

The buoyant Les anges dans nos campagnes ("Angels We Have Heard on High") is an upbeat gem, and Il est ne, le divin Enfant similarly glows with the good news of the Savior's birth. The inclusion of excellent, familiar tracks such as these makes Magnum Mysterium more accessible to those who might otherwise look past a classical release.

In additional to the phenomenal singing, the acoustics here are brilliant. Sung in the Uranienborg Church (Oslo, Norway), Grex Vocalis' voices soar with warmth, basking in just the right level of reverb.

I love holiday music, and Magnum Mysterium gets my strongest recommendation. Grex Vocalis creates smooth, precise, vocal blends that are almost supernatural. Savor a cappella excellence of the highest order--embrace Magnum Mysterium!

--Carol Swanson
(Reviewed in 2009)

More

From the liner notes:

Recorded at Uranienborg Church, Oslo, Sweden

Grex Vocalis--The Singing Flock--was formed in 1971 by conductor Carl Hogset. The choir's repertoire ranges from renaissance and baroque music to Cuban rhythms, Norwegian folk songs and contemporary works. Over the years Grex Vocalis has commissioned and premiered works by many Norwegian composers...

Grex Vocalis has given concerts in most European countries and in Japan. Participation in national and international choral competitions has resulted in several first prizes; in Arezzo in 1999 the choir was also awarded "Il Gran Premio Citta di Arezzo" as overall best choir. Grex Vocalis has been awarded the Norwegian "Grammy" for two of its thirteen albums.

Grex Vocalis is renowned for its smooth, even sound--a combination of well-balanced timbre and shining overtones. The conductor works systematically at tuning each chord, and to create a unified shaping of each vowel. This process brings together all the individual voices to form an ensemble sound in which the vocal quality is greater than the sum of its parts.


From the Website:

The conductor Carl Høgset founded the choir in 1971. He holds degrees in languages and musicology from the University of Oslo as well as in voice and choral conducting from the Norwegian Academy of Music.

Grex Vocalis

Magnum Mysterium

Artist link

Track List