James Whitbourn: Luminosity (And Other Works)

Author: CommotioBinding: Audio CDRelease Date: 23-02-2010Details: Review The scholarly music of British composer James Whitbourn (b. 1963) is some of the freshest to appear on the contemporary landscape. Along with his American counterpart, Eric Whitacre, the two have each achieved a unique choral sound that stretches far beyond traditional, sacred boundaries, while maintaining accessibility and tonality. This new generation of composers has found a popular "voice" among young singers, which resonates in high school and university concert halls everywhere. This sensational compilation, sung by Oxford's chamber choir Commotio, is infused with an array of distinctive colors and sounds, as heard in the eight-minute "Magnificat" with a brilliant tenor solo and in "Alleluia Jubilate" with its exultant strains of marked rhythms and vibrant organ. "A Prayer of Desmund Tutu" begins with the impassioned words "Goodness is stronger than evil; love is stronger than hate; light is stronger th