Cappella Amsterdam, its celebrated chief conductor Daniel Reuss, and the Noord Nederlands Orkest present a recording of Igor Stravinsky’s late works, showcasing the composer’s remarkable transformation. Embracing the twelve-tone technique in his later years, Stravinsky reshaped his contrapuntal voice and produced works of rigorous structure, spiritual depth, and emotional intensity. These late compositions, from In Memoriam Dylan Thomas to Requiem Canticles, reveal a composer who fused intellectual precision with ritualistic power, creating music that is as moving as it is masterful.
Featuring an exceptional lineup of soloists – Berit Norbakken, Marianne Beate Kielland, Guy Cutting, Thomas Walker, Tobias Berndt, and Stephan MacLeod – together with harmonium players Dirk Luijmes and Martin Logar, this recording unites compelling interpreters of vocal and choral music. Under Daniel Reuss’s artistic direction of over thirty years, Cappella Amsterdam, together with the Noord Nederlands Orkest, bring these masterpieces to life with unmatched clarity and devotion.
The choir has garnered numerous accolades, including an Edison Klassiek Award for In Umbra Mortis (2021), and has continued its acclaimed recording journey with David Lang: the writings (2022), Schnittke: Psalms of Repentance (2023), Tales of Song and Sadness (2024), and Lassus: Penitential Psalms (2025).
Cappella Amsterdam
Noord Nederlands Orkest
Daniel Reuss, Conductor
Tracklist
Please note that the below previews are loaded as 44.1 kHz / 16 bit.Total time: 01:12:42
Additional information
| Label | |
|---|---|
| SKU | PTC5187489 |
| Qualities | DSD 512 fs, DSD 256 fs, DSD 128 fs, DSD 64 fs, DXD 24 Bit, FLAC 192 kHz, FLAC 96 kHz |
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| Producer | Florian Schmidt |
| Recording Engineer | Christoph Binner |
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| Recording Location | Grote Zaal, De Oosterpoort, in Groningen, The Netherlands |
| Release Date | January 16, 2026 |
Press reviews
The Guardian
Kudos to Reuss for bringing this spellbinding music to life. Noord Nederlands Orkest and Cappella Amsterdam breathe color and light into work from the composer’s most austere period.
In his later years, Igor Stravinsky became fascinated by serialism, both as a means of distilling musical thought and as an intellectual and stylistic challenge for a composer entering his 70s and 80s. The results struck some contemporary listeners as austere, but there’s a self-effacing purity and beauty about this complex, intellectually probing music that deserves a wider audience than hitherto. Kudos, then, to conductor Daniel Reuss, whose precise yet vital interpretations teem with color and light.
There are four main works here. In Memoriam Dylan Thomas from 1954 is an extended, impassioned setting for solo tenor of Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night. Threni, a spiny, multifaceted jewel from 1958, sets words from the Book of Lamentations. The haunting Introitus and bristling Requiem Canticles, from 1965 and 1966 respectively, complete the set, interspersed with briefer pieces including an unpretentious Lord’s Prayer and the severely cerebral two-minute Elegy for JFK.
The playing of the Noord Nederlands Orkest is fearlessly crisp and clean, but it’s the characterful vocals of Cappella Amsterdam that really draw the ear, bringing this spellbinding music to life. State-of-the-art sonics make this new recording a prime contender in a less than overcrowded field.
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