René Clausen and Stephen Paulus are two of the biggest names in American choral music of the last few decades. Whilst well-known in their native country, Clausen and Paulus’ work deserves to be just as well-known in the UK, and ranks alongside Eric Whitacre and Morten Lauridsen. The Choir of Royal Holloway present a number of premiere recordings of sacred and secular music which present the composers’ expressive approach to tonal colours and rich harmonies.
Royal Holloway’s ‘Calm on the Listening Ear of Night’ sets Paulus’s music in dialogue with another Midwestern composer, René Clausen. It’s Clausen whose musical personality emerges most strongly here in these precise performances (Gramophone)
I’ve been impressed by the very high standards of singing and musicianship shown by the Choir of Royal Holloway every time I’ve heard them and this latest disc maintains their very high standards. Clearly Rupert Gough trains this student choir exceptionally well. Their singing has been captured in an excellent recording by one of Hyperion’s best teams (MusicWeb)
Hyperion, June 2014
All Hallows, Gospel Oak
Producer: Adrian Peacock
Engineer: David Hinitt
Released: October 2015
