DANISH ROMANTIC A CAPPELLA
Canzone Choir
Frans Rasmussen

Christian Barnekow, composer
Julius Bechgaard, composer
Jakob Fabricius, composer
Otto Malling, composer
Frederik Rung, composer

About
As in many other European countries, a cappella music for mixed choirs - i.e. choirs made up of both men’s and women’s voices - began to appear in Denmark in the mid-nineteenth century. The Danish music traditions of this period were those that had been laid down by Gade and Hartmann. Both eminences were still alive during the careers of the five composers on this CD, who were a generation or two younger. The musical innovations were still slight: there was harmonic and melodic progress over the years, but no great development in terms of form and musical character. In this sense the five composers were typical representatives of Danish music in the last three decades of the 1800s.

Reviews
" The production is an excellent one" (Classical Music on the Web)

Lush harmonies, rich melodies, and an autumnal spirit make these very appealing pieces....This is an excellent choir with golden tonal quality and a perfect blend of voices.
(ArkivMusic.com)
Credits
Recorded at Sorgenfri Kirke in March 1999

Recording producer: Michael Petersen
Sound engineer and editing: Preben Iwan

Cover picture: Anna Ancher (1859-1953): "Missionsmøde på Skagen Fyrbakken" (1903), courtesy of Skagens Museum

This CD is kindly sponsored by Dansk Kor Forbund