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Hardouin - Complete Four-Part a cappella Masses Vol.2 | Toccata Classics TOCC0423

Hardouin - Complete Four-Part a cappella Masses Vol.2

£12.69

In stock - available for despatch within 1 working day

Label: Toccata Classics

Cat No: TOCC0423

Barcode: 5060113444233

Format: CD

Number of Discs: 1

Genre: Vocal/Choral

Release Date: 21st January 2022

Contents

About

Henri Hardouin (1727–1808) was a chorister in Rheims Cathedral, rising swiftly through the ranks to become maître de chapelle – until the French Revolution disbanded religious establishments. As a priest he was in potential danger and seems to have gone into hiding until, in 1794, the death of Robespierre allowed him to resume his duties. Hardouin’s six four-part masses, published in 1772, are unusual for their time in being a cappella, and they enjoyed wide circulation in pre-Revolutionary France. Since then they have been roundly neglected – an omission this first complete recording intends to rectify.

"I find that the St. Martin’s Chamber Chorus is a well-disciplined ensemble. They are in tune, the soloists appear adroitly from inside the group, and their voices blend nicely together. Krueger has an excellent sense of tempo, keeping the music moving along, but neither too slow nor too fast. As a result the intricacies that Hardouin endows his Masses with come forth with steady ease. The recording sound is quite resonant, but here I don’t find it a distraction; rather, the reverberation lends itself to placement of the a cappella forces within the acoustical milieu that the composer intended. In short, this is a fine disc, and one that will certainly make choral music lovers take notice.” – Fanfare (Vol.1, TOCC0191)

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