Stephen Caracciolo writes beautiful music. However, as pleasurable as the music is of its own accord, to hear it without at the same time taking in a full understanding of the sung texts is to miss the true essence of the music. It is Stephen Caracciolo’s consummate writing for chorus...

This is a gem. It’s one of those rare albums where, hearing only the opening few measures, you become completely absorbed in the beauty of what you are hearing. Simply titled Preisung (German for “Praise”), the music is sung by Sjaella, a group of six extraordinary young...

The third in a series from the Polish DUX label chronicling the sacred music of Paweł Łukaszewski, this latest volume presents the composer’s carols and motets for a cappella chorus. There’s an assortment of original works and arrangements of traditional carols, all performed by...

This Dacapo CD contains three works by Danish composer Erik Norby (1936-2007). The Rainbow Snake (1975) is a symphonic poem inspired by an Amerindian legend that describes the origin of the rainbow. Rilke-Lieder (1985) for mezzo-soprano and orchestra is a setting of three songs based upon...

Frank La Rocca’s music sounds as though it is simultaneously from two vastly different periods of music history. One foot is planted in contemporary art music, and the other in the ancient world of chant and early European polyphony. This is not new, of course. Mr. La Rocca joins the...